Spring Festival rush: Foreigners’ perspective

Jocelyn Eikenburg

Traditionally, the Spring Festival migration used to follow one major pattern – people would travel back to their hometowns for a holiday family reunion. But I've observed how an increasing number of individuals in China choose to travel in other directions for the holiday. For example, it's becoming more common for young people in urban areas – who are usually only children – to have their parents travel from their hometowns to spend Spring Festival with them in the big city, which some have called the “reverse Spring Festival rush”. Other families, who have apartments near the warm, tropical shores of Hainan, reunite there for a respite from the winter weather and a chance to enjoy the beaches. Some of my friends have even joined in the trend of traveling abroad for Spring Festival, to get away and experience different countries and cultures.