SHENZHEN/GUANGZHOU: Every Chinese New Year, a familiar migration sweeps across China.
Millions squeeze onto packed trains, buses and planes, racing back to their hometowns in time for reunion dinner – an annual homecoming rooted in the deeply held belief that children should return to their elders to usher in the new year together.
This year, however, traffic is increasingly flowing the other way.
“Reverse reunion” travel is on the rise, experts say – which sees parents journeying from rural and hometowns and villages to the big cities where their children live and work.
And with this year’s nine-day holiday, the longest in decades, bookings for such flights and travel routes have climbed about 35 per cent year on year since January, according to data released by Meituan Travel.
Among those reshaping traditions are Zhou Songlin and his 42-year-old son Joe, a public relations consultant.
As the annual holiday approaches, the pair have slipped into their usual festive routine – staying home, cooking simple meals and sharing bowls of sweet desserts.
Only this year, they are not in their hometown Changsha in central China’s Hunan province – but down south in Guangzhou, where Joe is based.
For the younger Zhou, inviting his father to stay with him during the Chinese New Year break was a practical decision. Work commitments, Guangzhou’s milder winter weather and his recent move into a new home were just a handful of reasons.
Travelling to Guangzhou also made more sense for his father as it’s “convenient, safe, comfortable and simple”, he added.
Read the full article here
