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| China's 'Spring Movement' Begins |
| Gross passenger volume this year will surpass 2.17 billion |
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Xu Zhiqiang (xuzhiqiang)  |
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Published 2007-02-05 08:37 (KST) |
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Zhang Yong went into a terrible stew after dialing the ticket booking number for more than 10 times. The telephone reminded him again and again that there was no ticket left for him to go back home. Like a migratory bird, Zhang Yong is used to going home -- 2,000 kilometers away -- to reunite with his family during the spring festival, Chinese New Year, which originated 4,000 years ago.
China's annual mass migration (spring movement) began on Feb. 3. Hundreds of millions of people like Zhang have started their joyful and thorny return journey. The spring movement lasts 40 days -- 15 days before the spring festival (which is on Feb. 18 this year) for returning home and 25 days after the festival for going back to work. According to the ministry of transportation, the gross passenger volume for this tremendous movement will surpass 2.17 billion.
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FROM THE SECTION |
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| It is never an easy thing for the passengers. The spring movement is a crucial battle and only the winners will have the chance to reunite with family because of the huge shortage of tickets. Zhang is a peasant worker in China's southern city of Shenzhen, which is adjacent to Hong Kong. Peasant workers compose the main force of the movement.
Zhang feels like one drop of water in the returning tidal wave that is headed away from this city. This year in Shenzhen, more than 8.75 million people are eager to return. In the end, only 680,000 will be able to get a hold of railway tickets ahead of the festival. Bus tickets are already sold out. The opportunities for traveling by air and water transportation are quite small.
People who fail to book tickets on the phone will line up all night in transport stations. Last week, one over zealous traveler even jumped from an overhead pedestrian bridge to get a spot in line but still couldn't get a ticket. Those lucky enough to obtain passage, however, still have a long way to go. Despite having tickets, there may not be enough seats on a particular train and they will have to stand for more than one or two days to board one. Zhang has had this experience for the past 3 years. He is willing to wait once more so long as he can finally get on a train.
There are similar scenes and stories in all of China's great cities that are home to a large number of peasant workers such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
The spring movement is a unique phenomenon in China. It first emerged after restrictions that prevented peasants from entering cities were loosened. China established migration provisions in 1958. Peasants living in rural areas couldn't enter into and work in cities unless they could get hukou (a passport of sorts) by way of marriage, college admission or military enrollment. In 1984, the government allowed peasants to go to cities. Since then, peasants have rushed into cities to find work. In the past 20 years, more than 100 million peasants settled in the cities. They contribute their low cost labor, helping to make China the world's premier manufacturer. The need for all these people to return home for the spring festival is a huge problem.
Zhang, 40, left his rural village in Henan province 10 years ago. He has worked in three cities.
"Although it is like a battle, I try my best to go home every year because my parents, my wife and children are there," Zhang said.
He remembers one year during the 1990s when he was stuck at the station and had to spend his spring festival with hundreds of thousands of peasants.
Five years ago, in an attempt to scale back the migration, the ministry of transport began raising the price of railway tickets 15-20 percent during the spring movement. The cost was a big burden for low wage peasant workers, but it didn't curb their desire to reunite with their families.
After being criticized by passengers and the media, the ministry this year cancelled the ticket premium. That means Zhang should have more money to buy presents for his children.
"The saving might be lost to ticket scalpers," Zhang said without thought, from long experience.
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©2007 OhmyNews
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