The annual Spring Festival travel season, called Chunyun,
started last Friday five days ahead of schedule, with a new twist:
a sharply higher number of migrant workers headed home.
In Beijing's West Railway Station, China's largest, many such
workers with backpacks on their shoulders and bags in their hands
were on the move. He Yongfeng was among them.
He, 40, who works at the construction site of Bird's Nest -- the
main venue for the upcoming Olympics in August -- was shown into a waiting
room by volunteers. He plopped into a chair and put down two big
tattered bags and a "suitcase" that he had made from a paint
container.
In the bags were Beijing dim sum he bought for his parents, an
Olympic mascot Fuwa toy for his 11-year-old son and a new watch for
his wife.
"As Spring Festival drew near, I was worried about overdue wages
and getting a ticket home," he said. In other years, he said, "I
had to buy train tickets from scalpers at unreasonably high prices
and had to begin worrying about a ticket back as soon as I got
home," he added.
But this year, he got paid on time and had a round-trip ticket
booked with the help of his construction company. All he had to do
was travel. He was one of those able to benefit from a new program
from the Ministry of Railways, which started offering round-trip
group tickets for migrant workers from companies of over 100
employees this year.
Not all migrant workers were as lucky. Xie Meixia, a nanny with
a small Beijing homemaking service company, was unable to buy a
ticket despite having waited on line for an entire morning. When
she was told that there were special ticket windows for migrant
workers at the railway station, Xie reacted with relief. "I'll get
up earlier and have a try," she said.
China has about 200 million rural workers in cities, most of
whom want to go home during the Spring Festival, which is just when
tickets become a luxury because of the country's limited
transportation capacity.
"Once I was pushed through a window by two friends to get on a
train," said Han Zhongxing, a migrant worker in Beijing who hails
from the eastern Jiangxi Province. "I even used to sit in a train
corridor, or a rest room."
?
Although he only got a hard-seat ticket this year, "the 40-hour
trip will be much easier," said Han.
Despite the time, energy and money that it takes, a family
reunion has always been the dearest wish for migrant workers after
a year's hard work.
State Councilor Hua Jianmin said Tuesday that local governments
should help guarantee that migrant workers get their full pay on
time and ensure their safety on the way home for a happy and
peaceful festival.
The government has also provided such services for migrant
workers as express lanes, medical services and special trains.
In northwestern Shaanxi, police vehicles escorted 2,000 migrant
workers to a train terminal after they had been trapped by heavy
snow.
"A Spring Festival with family makes it a real one," said Han.
"I hope one day I can go home by air."
(Xinhua News Agency January 25, 2008)