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Chinese New Year
China welcomed in the Year of the Rat Thursday with a bonanza of fireworks and festivals, but the celebrations for many were subdued due to ferocious cold weather that kept them from their families.
Explosions of colour could be seen in the skies of Beijing and across China in a centuries-old fireworks tradition that is meant to scare off evil spirits but this year also sought to raise national morale after the horror cold snap.
While the fireworks brought much delight, they also led to at least one fatality, dozens of injuries and a spate of fires in Beijing alone, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
The start of the new lunar year, the most important national holiday for China's more than 1.3 billion people, followed three weeks of ice and snow storms that crippled transport and power supplies in many cities.
With millions of migrant workers in China's southern and eastern economic hubs stranded by the weather crisis and unable to reunite with their families for the holiday, their plight was in the thoughts of those more fortunate.
"We are all a big family. Come on, let's fight this," a group of celebrities said in a rallying cry as part of the annual New Year's Eve extravaganza televised on national broadcaster CCTV.
State-controlled media highlighted the continued travels this week of President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao to areas that had suffered the most from the cold weather.
Xinhua also ran a long article focusing on the more than 14 million migrant workers in southern Guangdong province and Shanghai on the east coast who could not get home to welcome the New Year with their families.
"I miss my little daughter very much. She is only one-and-a-half years old," said Wang Xiaoli, a toy factory worker in Guangdong who had been desperate to return to her family over 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles) to the north.
"When I arrived at the railway station a few days ago, I was astounded to see so many people waiting for trains and I couldn't get through the crowd."
With the worst of the weather over, Xinhua reported on Wednesday that power had been restored to 162 of the 170 worst-hit counties, but that many people were still suffering.
"The world's most populous nation began its week-long Lunar New Year holiday on Wednesday, but hundreds of thousands -- perhaps millions -- of people will probably spend the biggest festival of the year in the cold and dark," it said.
In Chenzhou, a city of about four million in central China's Hunan province that had suffered blackouts for 12 days, many residents remained without power.
Despite the problems, the Chinese New Year has once again seen one of the biggest mass movements of people anywhere in the world.
There are more than 200 million workers in China who have moved around the country for their jobs, and many had negotiated their way through the transport chaos to get home for the festivities.
Elsewhere in Asia, more than 40 million South Koreans were expected to be on the move for reunions with relatives during the three-day Lunar New Year holiday.
The vast majority used their own cars, creating massive jams up and down the country. Highway authorities said 350,000-400,000 vehicles left Seoul on the busiest travel day on Wednesday.
Millions of Chinese had to say "sorry" to their loved ones on Wednesday as the nation geared up to greet the Lunar New Year's Eve. Some had to abandon their trips home because of the worst winter in at least 50 years.
More than 12 million migrant workers chose to stay put in southern Guangdong Province, which has about 30 million such workers, according to the Guangdong Provincial Department of Labor and Social Security.
In Shenzhen, neighboring Hong Kong, about 2 million migrant workers expressed a willingness to stay, and in the financial center of Shanghai, about 120,000 migrant workers chose not to go home.
"I miss my little daughter very much. She is only one year and a half. I can not wait to go home and see her," said Wang Xiaoli, a toy factory worker in Guangdong's Nanhai City who is from Pingdingshan, Henan Province, in the central part of the country.
"But when I arrived at the Guangzhou Railway Station a few days ago, I was astounded to see so many people waiting for trains, and I couldn't get through the crowd," she said.
Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong, with one of the biggest concentrations of the country's migrant farm workers, is the southern terminus of a trunk railway line that runs northward to Beijing. The number of stranded passengers at the Guangzhou Railway Station had at one point reached 600,000 after the weather disrupted transportation.
"My husband called me from Henan to say that he and our daughter are both doing well. He asked me not to feel worry or sorry but just stay in the factory and be happy," Wang said.
More than 1,000 workers in the factory who came from beyond Guangdong will stay put, like Wang. The factory has prepared a variety of activities for them to greet the festival -- visiting local parks, tug of war and a badminton contest, in addition to feasts and cash, Wang said.
"Maybe I will go home a few days later, because, after all, the weather has turned better and trains have begun running again," she added.
Local governments have also planned cultural activities for migrant workers who chose to stay, such as free movies and free visits to local parks, museums, libraries, galleries and exhibitions, and holding art performances and sports contests.
The local government in Shenzhen's Bao'an District organized a group wedding ceremony for 12 couples from other parts of the country on Tuesday afternoon. On the same day, another six migrant-worker couples tied the knot in Putuo District, Shanghai, in a ceremony organized and witnessed by district government officials.
"My girlfriend and I both come from the countryside and we can not afford a wedding in such a metropolis as Shanghai. I planned to go home for the marriage but it was stopped by the snow," said Kong Lujun, from Huai'an, eastern Jiangsu Province.
"I had never thought I could get married in Shanghai today. I should thank the government," said Kong, whose bride is from Tunzhou, eastern Shandong Province.
Activities were also organized elsewhere in China to ensure that migrant workers had a happy Spring Festival away from their hometowns.
In Changchun, capital of the northeastern Jilin Province, migrant workers who couldn't get home for the holiday were told that they would be able to attend two movies for free at a local cinema before Feb. 29. They could bring a pass from their labor union and choose their show, including the blockbusters CJ7 and The Assembly.
"We would fix a time with their employers so that they would not miss seeing the movies due to overtime," said Li Shiyi, manager with the Changchun Workers' Palace Cinema.
In Fuzhou, capital of the eastern Fujian Province, more than 500 migrant workers got together for a Spring Festival eve dinner, which is traditionally eaten with the family. They were treated to a show put on by the workers themselves and were able to call home for free using six telephones.
"This is the first time I have eaten with so many people," said Li Xiaobin, a 21-year-old from Sichuan province. "The dishes are delicious. Although I can't return home, I feel so happy in such a big family."
Wednesday also marks the start of the nation's week-long holiday of the Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival, the most important festival for family gatherings in China.
The millions who were lucky enough to get tickets were rushing home by plane, train and coach, or waiting to leave following the resumption of transport services. They were eager to get home and eat "nianyefan," or the evening dinner on Lunar New Year's Eve, with relatives -- a tradition cherished by Chinese for thousands of years.
According to the lunar calendar, 2008 is the Year of the rat. The rat is the first of the 12-year cycle of 12 animals appearing in the Chinese zodiac. The ox is second and the pig is last.
China has about 200 million migrant workers out of the country's 1.3 billion population. For many, the Spring Festival is the only chance each year to see their families at home.
But this year, their trips were delayed by freak weather featuring prolonged snow, rain and sleet. Since mid-January, this weather pattern has downed power lines, covered roads with thick ice, brought trains, buses and planes to standstill and stranded millions of people.
Given the circumstances, migrant workers were advised by officials to stay in cities where they work to reduce transport chaos.
The snow havoc, the worst in five decades, and even in a century in few areas, has led to deaths, structural collapses, blackouts, accidents, transport problems and livestock and crop losses in 19 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs. More than 100 million people have been affected, and at least 60 people have died in the freezing weather.
Senior leaders, including President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, have gone deep into coal pits or visited railway stations in snow-stricken regions to encourage workers to produce more coal for power generation, to sympathize with stranded passengers and urge local authorities to prevent price hikes.
Explosions of colour could be seen in the skies of Beijing and across China in a centuries-old fireworks tradition that is meant to scare off evil spirits but this year also sought to raise national morale after the horror cold snap.
While the fireworks brought much delight, they also led to at least one fatality, dozens of injuries and a spate of fires in Beijing alone, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
The start of the new lunar year, the most important national holiday for China's more than 1.3 billion people, followed three weeks of ice and snow storms that crippled transport and power supplies in many cities.
With millions of migrant workers in China's southern and eastern economic hubs stranded by the weather crisis and unable to reunite with their families for the holiday, their plight was in the thoughts of those more fortunate.
"We are all a big family. Come on, let's fight this," a group of celebrities said in a rallying cry as part of the annual New Year's Eve extravaganza televised on national broadcaster CCTV.
State-controlled media highlighted the continued travels this week of President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao to areas that had suffered the most from the cold weather.
Xinhua also ran a long article focusing on the more than 14 million migrant workers in southern Guangdong province and Shanghai on the east coast who could not get home to welcome the New Year with their families.
"I miss my little daughter very much. She is only one-and-a-half years old," said Wang Xiaoli, a toy factory worker in Guangdong who had been desperate to return to her family over 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles) to the north.
"When I arrived at the railway station a few days ago, I was astounded to see so many people waiting for trains and I couldn't get through the crowd."
With the worst of the weather over, Xinhua reported on Wednesday that power had been restored to 162 of the 170 worst-hit counties, but that many people were still suffering.
"The world's most populous nation began its week-long Lunar New Year holiday on Wednesday, but hundreds of thousands -- perhaps millions -- of people will probably spend the biggest festival of the year in the cold and dark," it said.
In Chenzhou, a city of about four million in central China's Hunan province that had suffered blackouts for 12 days, many residents remained without power.
Despite the problems, the Chinese New Year has once again seen one of the biggest mass movements of people anywhere in the world.
There are more than 200 million workers in China who have moved around the country for their jobs, and many had negotiated their way through the transport chaos to get home for the festivities.
Elsewhere in Asia, more than 40 million South Koreans were expected to be on the move for reunions with relatives during the three-day Lunar New Year holiday.
The vast majority used their own cars, creating massive jams up and down the country. Highway authorities said 350,000-400,000 vehicles left Seoul on the busiest travel day on Wednesday.
Millions of Chinese had to say "sorry" to their loved ones on Wednesday as the nation geared up to greet the Lunar New Year's Eve. Some had to abandon their trips home because of the worst winter in at least 50 years.
More than 12 million migrant workers chose to stay put in southern Guangdong Province, which has about 30 million such workers, according to the Guangdong Provincial Department of Labor and Social Security.
In Shenzhen, neighboring Hong Kong, about 2 million migrant workers expressed a willingness to stay, and in the financial center of Shanghai, about 120,000 migrant workers chose not to go home.
"I miss my little daughter very much. She is only one year and a half. I can not wait to go home and see her," said Wang Xiaoli, a toy factory worker in Guangdong's Nanhai City who is from Pingdingshan, Henan Province, in the central part of the country.
"But when I arrived at the Guangzhou Railway Station a few days ago, I was astounded to see so many people waiting for trains, and I couldn't get through the crowd," she said.
Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong, with one of the biggest concentrations of the country's migrant farm workers, is the southern terminus of a trunk railway line that runs northward to Beijing. The number of stranded passengers at the Guangzhou Railway Station had at one point reached 600,000 after the weather disrupted transportation.
"My husband called me from Henan to say that he and our daughter are both doing well. He asked me not to feel worry or sorry but just stay in the factory and be happy," Wang said.
More than 1,000 workers in the factory who came from beyond Guangdong will stay put, like Wang. The factory has prepared a variety of activities for them to greet the festival -- visiting local parks, tug of war and a badminton contest, in addition to feasts and cash, Wang said.
"Maybe I will go home a few days later, because, after all, the weather has turned better and trains have begun running again," she added.
Local governments have also planned cultural activities for migrant workers who chose to stay, such as free movies and free visits to local parks, museums, libraries, galleries and exhibitions, and holding art performances and sports contests.
The local government in Shenzhen's Bao'an District organized a group wedding ceremony for 12 couples from other parts of the country on Tuesday afternoon. On the same day, another six migrant-worker couples tied the knot in Putuo District, Shanghai, in a ceremony organized and witnessed by district government officials.
"My girlfriend and I both come from the countryside and we can not afford a wedding in such a metropolis as Shanghai. I planned to go home for the marriage but it was stopped by the snow," said Kong Lujun, from Huai'an, eastern Jiangsu Province.
"I had never thought I could get married in Shanghai today. I should thank the government," said Kong, whose bride is from Tunzhou, eastern Shandong Province.
Activities were also organized elsewhere in China to ensure that migrant workers had a happy Spring Festival away from their hometowns.
In Changchun, capital of the northeastern Jilin Province, migrant workers who couldn't get home for the holiday were told that they would be able to attend two movies for free at a local cinema before Feb. 29. They could bring a pass from their labor union and choose their show, including the blockbusters CJ7 and The Assembly.
"We would fix a time with their employers so that they would not miss seeing the movies due to overtime," said Li Shiyi, manager with the Changchun Workers' Palace Cinema.
In Fuzhou, capital of the eastern Fujian Province, more than 500 migrant workers got together for a Spring Festival eve dinner, which is traditionally eaten with the family. They were treated to a show put on by the workers themselves and were able to call home for free using six telephones.
"This is the first time I have eaten with so many people," said Li Xiaobin, a 21-year-old from Sichuan province. "The dishes are delicious. Although I can't return home, I feel so happy in such a big family."
Wednesday also marks the start of the nation's week-long holiday of the Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival, the most important festival for family gatherings in China.
The millions who were lucky enough to get tickets were rushing home by plane, train and coach, or waiting to leave following the resumption of transport services. They were eager to get home and eat "nianyefan," or the evening dinner on Lunar New Year's Eve, with relatives -- a tradition cherished by Chinese for thousands of years.
According to the lunar calendar, 2008 is the Year of the rat. The rat is the first of the 12-year cycle of 12 animals appearing in the Chinese zodiac. The ox is second and the pig is last.
China has about 200 million migrant workers out of the country's 1.3 billion population. For many, the Spring Festival is the only chance each year to see their families at home.
But this year, their trips were delayed by freak weather featuring prolonged snow, rain and sleet. Since mid-January, this weather pattern has downed power lines, covered roads with thick ice, brought trains, buses and planes to standstill and stranded millions of people.
Given the circumstances, migrant workers were advised by officials to stay in cities where they work to reduce transport chaos.
The snow havoc, the worst in five decades, and even in a century in few areas, has led to deaths, structural collapses, blackouts, accidents, transport problems and livestock and crop losses in 19 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs. More than 100 million people have been affected, and at least 60 people have died in the freezing weather.
Senior leaders, including President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, have gone deep into coal pits or visited railway stations in snow-stricken regions to encourage workers to produce more coal for power generation, to sympathize with stranded passengers and urge local authorities to prevent price hikes.
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