The largest annual migration in the world is in full swing, as hundreds of millions of Chinese squeeze into trains, aircraft and buses to make it home in time for lunar new year’s eve today.
The holiday is the most important in the Chinese calendar, the one time of the year that the 245m migrant workers leave the factories and cities where they work to return to their hometowns and elderly parents. Shops are locked and boarded up and city streets empty out in most big cities, a testament to the role the migrants play in the urban economy.
But a growing minority have no plans to return home for the holiday. Their decision to stay put reflects the changing face of Chinese cities, amid an urbanisation process that has already cut many migrants’ ties to the countryside. Over half of the population live in cities, according to official statistics, with another 1 per cent making the transition each year.