BEIJING (AFP) — Millions of Chinese rushed home Wednesday to be with family on Lunar New Year's Eve but for many there would be little to celebrate after the worst weather in 100 years in places.
On the last day of the Year of the Pig, one of the biggest mass movements of people anywhere in the world was taking place along rail and road links newly restored for what is the biggest holiday in the Chinese calendar.
But those who had not managed to get a ticket home were resigned to spending the holiday away from loved ones as the world's most populous nation welcomed the Year of the Rat.
"Millions of Chinese had to say 'sorry' to their loved ones," state-run Xinhua news agency said.
The reason was three weeks of severe winter weather, hitting some parts of China with the most prolonged and disruptive snow storms in decades, seemingly catching the government unprepared and even surprising state meteorologists.
The freak weather came at the worst possible time for the transport system, ahead of the New Year's rush when 200 million migrant workers were trying to go home for what is a rare time to savour in a life of often hard toil.
The elements have turned kinder since, with the national meteorological administration on Wednesday lifting a severe weather alert across the affected areas in central, southern and eastern China, although it remains chilly.
But while most key transport arteries reopened this week, the backlog of passengers that had built up meant not all could get the tickets they wanted.
In the southern province of Guangdong, whose plants and sweatshops employ up to 30 million migrants from all corners of China, as many as 12 million had decided to stay in their dormitories, bracing for a bleak Lunar New Year.
This was repeated elsewhere up the east coast where wealthy cities employ people from poorer parts of China. In Shanghai, 120,000 migrant workers had heeded official calls to stay put, according to Xinhua.
The weather has made this one of the most miserable Lunar New Year periods in memory by disrupting power supplies, causing millions to face a festival season with little or no access to electricity and water.
China's air force Wednesday airlifted 100 tonnes of candles to the cities of Guiyang, Changsha and Nanchang in the south where people were still without power, Xinhua said.
After a feverish effort, however, 162 of the 170 worst-hit counties had their power restored by Wednesday, it said in a separate report.
The power supply was being restored to Chenzhou, a city of about four million in central China's Hunan province, which had suffered blackouts for 12 days. The report gave no information on progress in restoring running water.
"If power resumes, I think I will have a shower first," Xinhua earlier quoted a Chenzhou resident, identified as Xiaotan, as saying.
However, the government warned that much remained to be done in getting hard-hit areas back on their feet.
"Relief work has come to a critical point. We should not be slack, but keep pushing it forward," Premier Wen Jiabao said Tuesday, as he toured the southwestern province of Guizhou, one of the affected areas.
"Only when the masses are reassured can the country be in peace. Only when the country is in peace can the leaders be relieved," Wen was quoted as saying.
At least 105 million out of the country's 1.3 billion population have been affected by the inclement weather and more than 80 killed, the government said.
The government planned to transport 400,000 tonnes of vegetables to affected areas as the transportation problems have hit food deliveries, driving up prices.
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