Lots of people and very bad weather

In what is often declared as the world's biggest single migration event, the returning home of tens of millions (over 200 million according to CNN) of chinese to spend chinese new year with their families is quite something.

It is, in truth, the only important day in the calendar for this non-religious population and for a month every school closes; for a week every office closes. It is so hard to get tickets on the thousands of trains (of which extra trains are laid on, with extra carriages) getting one is THE challenge of the year. Many make massive profits from selling tickets if they have friends working in stations or ticket agencies; employers that can help get such tickets become employer of choice. In some cases employers hire coaches for their employees (this helps ensure their migrant workers return after the holiday too) and in rare cases some have even chartered flights (although with the PR this generosity gets in the papers it is probably worth it!).

Since i was in Shanghai for the weekend, last night i was at Shanghai station -possibly the busiest in the country. It very mush resembled a football match since there were tens of thousands of people. But this year is special.

Shanghai is (like more than half of China) buried in a foot of snow meaning trains are all late (flights too) so there were many many ppl who, not wanting to miss their prized train, had no clue when the train was going but were carrying babies and their worldly goods around fighting to speak to the hundreds of police that blocked the entrance.

Despite my feet being run over 20 times by suitcases i got through to 1 such officer to be told the soft sleeper train i had (1st class basically as all other tickets are sold out) was going to be 4 hrs late. Frustrated but not too distraught i weighed up my options... what to do for 4 hours, what meetings to rearrange that i'd miss etc.

Then, aware of the sketchiness of the info i'd got and thinking a 1st class train to Beijing ought to be the least affected, i struggled to another officer manning the barrier only to receive a 'i'll find out' reply whilst looking at his mobile phone. 10 minutes later i asked a neighbouring officer who beckoned me through. In the end my train only left 4 minutes late...with me on it, but plenty of others not.

It was quite an experience because tensions were very high outside the station. Whenever someone was let in, over the barrier (literally) after shoving their ticket in an officer's face, everyone else surged forward not knowing why the other was let in..or what train was actually leaving. The lack of information, the weather, the occasion, the barrier, the huge mass of people (many with babies) and all the luggage made for a scary situation. It is one probably happening all across the country. I hope nothing too bad happens!

p.s. there are articles saying much of China has run out of power because of a lack of coal; that coal being exported has been turned around and ordered back to port and so on. It is a big problem. Coal mines have been closed down because of health and safety problems; it is very cold so more coal is needed as heating; the roads are closed making it hard to transport coal to the areas that need it. The weather has cost over 20 lives and 2 billion USD of damage SO FAR with worst weather predicted to come.