It snowed there a few days ago, and I'm happy I am experiencing Canadian snow rather than Chinese snow. Guangzhou drivers were not prepared for it, so I imagine it was a brouhaha out there on the already busy streets.
It is coming up on February 7th, the Lunar New Year, which is the biggest and most important holiday in China's calendar. Traditionally everyone leaves their place of work and travels to their home towns to celebrate with their families. Many rural people have moved from the country to bigger metropolitan centres to work, and the Lunar New Year is a highlight as they get go home and visit with their families again. It's been called the largest human migration on the planet, with the government estimating that 180 million people get on buses and trains to make their way home.
This snowstorm has interrupted travel for many people. Guangzhou has many migrant workers, so the Guangzhou railway stations get really full at this time of year. The recent snow has thrown sand into the gears of the already rickety Chinese New Year transportation machine.
Here are some pictures of people in Guangzhou struggling to get home, and the military trying to control them at one of the two railway stations. I do not recognize anything in the background, so I don't think it's the Guangzhou East Railway Station that I use at least twice a week. It must be the other one, simply called Guangzhou Railway Station, where I have never been.
It will be very interesting to see if everything is back to normal by the time Carol and I travel back to Guangzhou from Beijing and Shanghai in just over a week. The remnant effects of this storm will make for some interesting travel! I'm sure glad we left China before this all started, or I might not have been able to get home in time for Erik's wedding last week!
Thanks to this article for pics and stats.
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