Festive but deserted

During the Spring Festival, millions leave Beijing to go to their hometowns to celebrate the Lunar New Year. This brings life in the normally crowded Beijing to a grinding halt. The Spring Festival is when China sees its largest migration each year. Then, more than 15 million people leave the city. At this time of the year, Beijing looks like a ghost town, making for most sparsely populated downtown in the country. Even the Forbidden City typically sees very few tourists during the first two days of the festivities. Passengers can also easily get a seat on subways. Earlier this year, the Beijing Municipal Government Information Office said that Beijing had a residential population of 21.7 million.

Beijing Qianmen Street. Fan Jiashan / For China Daily