So we're watching CNN today in our Hotel room (one of a couple of tv channels available in English) and are tracking an amazing confluence of problems with the people of China traveling.
We are in Guangzhou (pronounced, goo-ahng-joe) where the weather has been rainy for several days and cold by local standards as it has been in the 40's most days. However, just north of this southern city, a snow and ice storm has hit in areas that are not used to dealing with much if any snow. The winter storm has shut down the trains and bus stations and service in a large part of China. The storm has happened at exactly the time when many, many Chinese people have plans to travel to be with their families, often far away, for the biggest holiday in China, the Chinese New Year (the lunar new year) which happens on February 7.
Many, many workers in the larger cities are referred to as "migrant workers" because they make their living at often hard jobs in the big cities, far away from their families. Many young couples with children that live in the countryside, will have to leave their children with extended family, many times grandparents, while they go to their jobs in the big city and aren't able to see their children or families for months at a time. The Chinese New Year is a week-long celebration where most Chinese people are off of work and it is the one chance, sometimes all year, for them to be with their families.
So many, many Chinese people (and there are MANY people in China) have purchased bus and train and airline tickets to travel home for the vacation week. However, the storm has stopped the trains and buses and made it very difficult for some airports and so people are stranded waiting for their planned transportation to move. In Guangzhou, it was reported that yesterday the crowd of people at the train station in the city was as high as 500,000 people stranded at the train station with no trains going. Many of them have been camping out for as long as 6 days waiting for word that their train would go. Today they're reporting that the crowd at the train station is down to 200,000 as many people have given up on traveling. The government quit selling train tickets and the vendors of food and local businesses with toilets and phones have jacked-up prices in the area of the train station.
People in Guangzhou are distressed because they have bought train tickets but now can't use them. On top of that, they're cold and wet because it's been raining and so there are reports that there was fighting and some trampeling because people are so anxious and disappointed to be stuck where they are.
The people in the area where the snowstorm actually hit are in an even worse situation as they are having trouble keeping the electricity going with downed power lines and a shortage of coal for heat. There was a bus accident on icy roads that killed 35 people.
China's Premier, Wen Jiabao was shown today with a loudspeaker saying that all government officials should take action immediately, although I'm not sure what they would do. When we were in Beijing and Xi'an, we were amazed that the methods of snow removal, even on the major thoroughfares quite literally consisted of people with dirt spades, hand-made brooms with short handles, and snow shovels with the blades made of plywood, shoveling snow into piles.
It really is a very sad situation for these people. Once again, it makes me appreciate how lucky I am to have been born where and when I was. I have added to the things I miss from home, snow plows and sand trucks!
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