Slow going in the snow
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(1): A train from Hefei to Zhengzhou is stuck in Hefei. Tao Ming |
"Chunyun" is a special term in Chinese. Meaning "spring transportation", it refers to the massive number of people traveling home before the Chinese New Year.
This year, the Ministry of Communications estimates the number of spring transportation units (one unit representing a single one-way trip) will hit the unprecedented figure of 2.37 billion (including railway, road and journeys by air).
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(5): Anxious passengers in Shanghai. Pei Xin |
The journey home at this time is always difficult, yet it is even harder this year, as Southern, Central and East China are experiencing the biggest snowfall in the last 50 years.
In the past week, more than 20 airports have been temporarily closed and hundreds of trains have been cancelled. In Guangzhou alone, train delays and cancellations have affected 700,000 passengers.
"I have been waiting three days here and I still don't know when I can go home," says Li Yajing, a migrant worker, who brought his wife and child to Guangzhou from Foshan to catch a train to Hunan. "I learned that my train was cancelled only after I got here. I can do nothing now but wait."
The severe weather has made it dangerous to travel in some areas. On Jan 29, a bus skidded off an icy mountain road in Guizhou province, killing 25 people.
Fourteen provinces have been affected by the heavy snowfall. Forty-four cities and counties have been left without electricity in Guizhou.
Guangdong, which has the biggest population of migrant workers in China, is trying to persuade 65 percent of them to stay in the city for Spring Festival.
"We are not going home. A friend has been waiting at the train station for two days and is also going to return his ticket and stay," says Yan Shifang, an employee of the 3CEMS Technology Group in Guangzhou. "I will go to a friend's home on the first day of the Chinese New Year to have dinner, and maybe tour some nearby places for the rest of the holiday."
The Workers' Union of Guangzhou will organize a series of activities for migrant workers during Spring Festival.
China Daily
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(2): Soldiers clear ice and snow from the Beijing-Zhuhai Highway, in Hunan province. Zhao Wenhua (3): Villagers provide free meals for students stuck in Hechi, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. Zhou Hua |
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(4): A driver from Nanchang looks out from his car window, which is covered with a layer of ice. Chen Chunyuan (6): Soldiers in Shaoguan, Guangdong, prepare congee for those stuck at the Beijing-Zhuzhou Highway. Xiao Wenfeng |
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(7): Hiking back home on a closed highway in Guangxi. Chen Ruihua (8): People line up to buy tickets at Beijing West Station. Wu Changqing |
(China Daily 02/01/2008 page18)
