Busy journeys rife with risks for riders during Spring Festival

A collection of tips offering advice on how to guard against thieves during train journeys has became an Internet sensation against the backdrop of the world's largest annual human migration.

The collection - Safe-guarding Items for the Spring Festival Journey - was originally compiled by a 20-year-old sophomore student named Yang Zi.

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Yang, who experienced the journey back to her Guangdong province hometown in 2010, posted her tips on the local social networking service renren.com and quickly attracted plenty of comments and shared personal experiences.

"I heard passengers talk about the thieves' tricks on the train and put them on my blog," she said.

"But I never expected the draft would become such a sensation. I hope the collection will help ensure passengers have a safe and sound journey back home."

At present, 65 percent of the content of the document has been edited and compiled by netizens, including theft-prevention veterans.

The collection is now being described as the most inclusive and practical handbook available to guard against theft.

The collection covers every aspect of Spring Festival travel, from waiting in line to buying a ticket all the way to taking a nap on the train at night.

Netizens also voted for their most common six tricks used by thieves.

The most frequently reported trick was the hat-and-coat trick, which involves thieves hanging their own coats on top of their victims' coats and then grabbing their victims' money as they pretend to pick up their coats.

Thieves also target luggage because travelers often have a whole year's wages inside their cases.

Criminals have been known to put their victims' bags inside larger empty ones to spirit them off trains.

And the villains also often change their clothing to try to throw police and their victims off the scent.

Thieves also often use razor blades to cut open the pockets of their victims while they are asleep.

Railway police officers agreed with many pieces of the online advice and observations and suggested that passengers avoid leaving valuables in their coats and that they keep their luggage in sight at all times.

Reactions from netizens to the advice has been mixed. While some have said they found the tips useful, others wondered why thieving on the rail network was such a problem in the first place.

"While passengers are welcoming the collection of tips, the thieves are also reading it and taking note," wrote a microblogger named Tears of Goldfish 1101 on the Internet portal Sina.com.

"There are no real tips to guard against thieves," wrote another, named Peijiaoyouyou. "It requires the government's firm efforts to enhance public security."

Following the release of the collection, netizens posted other pieces of advice on such issues as booking tickets and distinguishing whether the tickets they have are genuine or not.