The winter vacation is coming, but what should be a pleasant trip home for students can be a challenging journey - they need to buy plane, coach or train tickets during chunyun period, the 40-day travel rush around Spring Festival。

盡管寒假近在眼前，但對于學生來說，本應舒舒服服的返鄉(xiāng)途卻并非一帆風順。他們需要在長達40天的春運期間買到回家的飛機票、汽車票或火車票。

In order to make the journey easier, 21st Century has compiled the following tips and advice on how to book tickets。

為了讓你輕松踏上返鄉(xiāng)路，《二十一世紀英文報》特別收集了一些訂票技巧和建議。

Train tickets

火車票

According to China Railway, more than 257.8 million passengers are expected to travel by rail during this year’s chunyun. Most of them are college students on their winter vacation and migrant workers returning home for the Chinese New Year celebrations. But students have a huge advantage in this competition to get home because they can book train tickets long before workers do。

鐵道部稱今年春運期間乘客將超2.578億人次，“春運大軍”中大多數(shù)都是放寒假的大學生以及回家過年的外來農(nóng)民工。不過學生在這場訂票大戰(zhàn)中占有絕對優(yōu)勢，因為他們可以比務工人員提前訂票。

Plane tickets

飛機票

Apart from the train, students can also go home by air. There are some cheap flight tickets available for them. China Southern Airlines, for example, offers a special discount for full-time students. As long as they register online and provide a valid student card, they can buy flight tickets that are up to 55 percent cheaper than the original price. Since discount flight tickets can be as cheap as train tickets, the airline company recommends students book at least 20 days before the travel date。

除了火車，學生還可以選擇乘飛機回家。如今各大航空公司也紛紛推出相對便宜的學生票。例如中國南方航空就為全日制學生提供了特惠折扣。只需在網(wǎng)上注冊一下，出示有效學生證便可以買到最高4.5折的機票。因為這些打折機票和火車票一樣便宜，所以航空公司建議學生至少應提前20天訂票。

Tips on booking

訂票小竅門

1. Book tickets for a trip that’s longer than the one you are actually on。

1.“曲線救國”：如果你是中短途的旅客，可以嘗試購買途經(jīng)你家鄉(xiāng)的長途車票。

2. Divide your trip into two parts. For example, if tickets between Hohhot and Yinchuan are sold out, book tickets from Hohhot to Wuyuan and then from Wuyuan to Yinchuan。

2. 分段購票。舉個例子，如果呼和浩特到銀川的車票已售完，那么你就可以先買從呼和浩特到婺源的票，再訂一張從婺源到銀川的車票。

3. Book a connection ticket if non-stop tickets are not available. To get a student discount, tell the staff that they are joint trip tickets。

3. 如果直達列車票售罄了，那就改買聯(lián)程車票吧。告訴售票員，你是分段購買的全程票，這樣才能享受到學生優(yōu)惠。

4. Seize the last opportunity. There may be some leftover or returned tickets available a few days before the departure date. Check online at 12 pm (noon)， 1 pm, and from 6-8 pm。

4. “最后一搏”。在發(fā)車前幾天可能還會有余票或是退票。中午12點、下午1點以及晚上6—8點這三個時段，記得上網(wǎng)查詢余票信息。