At the Shanghai Main Train Station, on April 22nd 2006

Migratory birds

The Greatest Single Human Feat of Migration on Earth

Tis' the season of migration during Chinese New Year! Approximately a month before the Chinese New Year, and still deep in wintry climate but already anticipating the arrival of Spring, the whole China physically sizes up and latently desires the notion that all will be celebrating the annual Spring Festival. Yes, only once a year, and they have been doing so for so many hundreds of years, and will still be for this up and coming one and those in time to come. Spring Festival is a more common terminology in Mainland China versus the one known as the Chinese New Year beyond and overseas. Essentially, they mean the same holiday.

That's right! We are talking about one fifth of mankind and all clustered here in China mainland. More than this, the next waves of migration is already slotted, yes, annually again, on May 1 and October 1, when Labor Day and National Day are respectively celebrated. Before these holidays, with respect to working days and any other form of personal or company holidays, together with weekends before and after, exquisite planning and meticulous scheduling are juggled and shuffled to ensure that holidays will fall consolidated in a consecutive stretch and a total of seven (yes, 7 in Arabic) days.

Sounds deadly cool, right? Oh, no. Any one living, working, and those who are interested in China would have known better. As mentioned, and to put it in another words, out of re-scheduling of working days and rest days, actually dues are already paid for prior to these manipulated arrangements. In true sense, the holidays are actually shorter than seven days and not that joyful after all.

Now, imagine the grand sales for all forms of transportation tickets at ticketrons, together with the overwhelming human tsunami jamming at all transit points and preparing to head homes and return later. In this Spring Transmigration, all are riding the waves. However, since the policy of consolidating holidays - claimed to be mostly benefiting those migrant workers to travel hours after hours on the road, miles and miles criss-crossing the land, hopping from Province to Province, predominantly by rails and coaches - all look forward to arrive home on time just to celebrate the Spring Festival. Annually, Chinese Nationals will demonstrate the greatest human migration in single feat on Earth; presumably, there is no other place on Earth quite like this. According to statistics derived from Xinhuanet by The Shanghai Morning Post on Thursday, January 11th, the number of travelers by rail this year is expected to be 1.5 hundred millions, and 4.3% more than all previous years. Again, imagine - the mass of humanity when speaking of 1/5 of mankind on Earth.

FYI, the first day of the Chinese New Year will be on Saturday, February 18th and it is the Year of Pig, while some say, the boar. (Yawn!? Ms. Piggy. Right!) Traditionally, it is celebrated for 15 consecutive days with a rapturous grand slam on the last day, the Lantern Day

And wishing you all a very High Pay New Year! Oink, oink!

Jeremy
Greetings from Shanghai upon the Sea
January 13th 2007