BEIJING, Feb.6 (AP) -- They swamp the rails every year _ millions of giddy travelers who brave crowds, germs, pickpockets and standing for hours on lurching trains to make it home for China's biggest family holiday.

The government says Chinese will make 1.97 billion trips during the 40-day travel period around Lunar New Year, which begins Wednesday. The railways are carrying 4 million people a day.

But to get home, most seem ready to put up with the hardships.

"I am going to see my wife, my kids, my parents," said Chen Ganshun, a 35-year-old construction worker. Chen was waiting at Beijing's West Train Station for a train to Sichuan province, 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) to the southwest. Like many of China's millions of migrant workers, he hasn't been home since this time last year.

Around Chen in the hulking, hangar-like station, other travelers bustled past, hurrying from ticket counters to souvenir shops to train platforms, their breath white in the cold air.

Massive speakers blared out tinny warnings: "Travelers, when standing in line, don't push. And be mindful of your belongings, especially your mobile phones and wallets."

"You do have to be careful," said Chen, bundled up against the cold in a flannel shirt, four sweaters and a sport coat. His trip will be long, but Chen is lucky. He's with friends and he has a seat.

Thousands of others were forced to buy standing tickets.

Jiang Feng, 36, a clothing shop owner from the southern coastal city of Wenzhou, said he did it for a 30-hour journey after he couldn't get a plane ticket or even a seat on a train.

"I am getting prepared by sitting here," Jiang said, smoking a cigarette on a frigid concrete bench.

Others are preparing to protect their health.

This year's travel season comes after a meningitis outbreak that killed at least 17 people and sickened 258. The government declared the outbreak under control last week, but ordered extra sanitation for trains, buses and other vehicles.

Meningitis is an infection of the fluid in the spinal cord or around the brain. It spreads through contact with an ill person's respiratory or throat secretions.

A 20-year-old college student waiting at the Beijing West Station wore a cotton face mask decorated with cartoon kittens. "I am wearing it because of the cold and I am concerned about germs, getting sick," said the woman from the western province of Shaanxi, who would give only her surname, Zhang.

China's crowded trains _ littered with pumpkin seed husks, cigarette butts, used tissues and where many people spit in aisles _ are an ideal breeding ground for contagious diseases.

Announcements at the train station also warned travelers against falling prey to scalpers or China's thriving trade in fake tickets.

But the government also cashes in on the holiday travel, raising ticket prices for airlines, trains and other transportation by up to 40 percent.

The higher prices shocked Ye Xiufeng, a 38-year-old farmer from the northern region of Inner Mongolia. She came to Beijing with her 18-year-old daughter, hoping to catch a train to Guangzhou, a city 1,400 kilometers (900 miles) to the south.

She looks startled by the 300 yuan (US$36; €30) price. "But I have to go," said Ye, who makes only 2,000-3,000 yuan (US$250-350; €200-300) a year. "My son is there. I haven't heard from him since Aug. 15 and I'm afraid he might have been cheated by someone."

Fellow passengers overhear her story and one man pulls out his mobile phone so she can call her son's last known phone number.

Ye doesn't get through and resigns herself to making the trip with little more than a hope of reuniting her family.