China's Lunar New Year holiday disrupted by snowstorms

The harsh winter weather comes as China kicks off its Chunyun travel season, which is expected to see a record 9 billion trips over 40 days around the Lunar New Year holiday. Millions of urban workers brave crowded bus stations and heavy traffic jams to return home ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.

Vehicles move in the capital of Hunan province on January 22 during the first snowfall of 2024. Photo: Xinhua

Many highways have to be closed

Sections of 90 major highways across China have been closed due to snow and ice since Tuesday morning, according to state media. In Hubei and neighboring Anhui province, where temperatures have dropped below freezing in recent days, thousands of workers have been deployed to restore train services and clear roads.

Numerous videos and photos circulating online show snow-covered cars stalled on highways. Other photos show crowds of passengers stranded at train stations, with many trains canceled with notices reading: "No trains depart today. Please go straight and get your refund."

Transport across central China was also disrupted as dozens of highways across Hubei were closed and hundreds of flights were cancelled at the transit hub of Wuhan over the weekend, with bad weather forecast to hit the wider region in the coming days.

This is the first holiday since 2020 when tens of thousands of people across China have been able to travel freely with friends and family, after the end of strict Covid-19 restrictions that severely restricted travel. Last year’s holiday came just weeks after those measures were lifted.

Travelers drag their luggage through the snow at Luohe Railway Station in Henan Province on February 2. Photo: Visual China Group

Difficult journey, high spirit

This year, despite severe weather warnings, many Chinese people are still traveling home to celebrate the Lunar New Year, which begins on February 10.

Tang Zitao, a used car dealer in Hubei, was one of many who decided to drive home to celebrate the Lunar New Year with his family. Normally, his journey home would take only six hours, but this time, he was stuck in his car overnight and has not returned home for 24 hours.

"This trip is so long and really a torture," said Duong, stuck in a traffic jam in the snow. "It snowed the day before yesterday. Some of the snow melted and turned into ice, so the road was very wet and slippery."

Anticipating this situation, Mr. Duong had prepared a thick coat as well as enough food and water. "No matter what, we always go home during the Spring Festival. It's a Chinese tradition," the man said optimistically. He finally reached his destination at 2 a.m. on Tuesday.

On social media, numerous videos showed people walking from car to car along icy roads or setting up roadside stations to provide supplies to stranded motorists, with some passing bottles of warm water over highway barriers.

"These are not for sale. They are all free," said a woman handing out porridge to stranded travelers along the highway.

Although rail services in Wuhan gradually resumed on Monday, 100 highway toll stations around Hubei are still implementing traffic control measures due to icy roads, state media reported.

China's meteorological agency issued a warning on Tuesday for heavier snowfall in parts of Hubei and parts of central and southern China, which is expected to last until Wednesday afternoon.

Hoai Phuong (according to CNN)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/ky-nghi-tet-nguyen-dan-o-trung-quoc-bi-can-tro-boi-bao-tuyet-post283929.html