TRAVELLING HOPEFULLY
It is a long journey. First they take a bus to Fuzhou railway station, then they pack themselves into a train specially laid on for migrant workers. The train has a seating capacity of 1,700, but will carry over 2,500 passengers, so about a third of them will be standing for the next 28 hours, or will perch precariously on stacks of luggage.
Every passenger is carrying armfuls of New Year gifts, and the overloaded, over-heated train is as comfortable as it sounds. But no one complains much: Everything can be tolerated on the way home!
After some fitful sleep, the bleary-eyed family stumble off the train in Dazhou City where they wait 5 hours for another train to Liangping County where they spend the night, before taking a bus to their final destination, Hongqi village.
The family's 40-hour journey is nothing special at this time of year. Most of China's 270 million migrant workers are heading home, and the Ministry of Transport expects people to make 3 billion trips around New Year this year. For many, seeing their families is a once-a-year event.
As soon as she gets off the bus, Xintong rushes into her grandma's arms. Grandpa Wang Yiping has taken a day off to welcome them. At 64, he still works in a restaurant in the neighboring town.
LESSONS OF HISTORY
Wang Yiping became a migrant worker in 1985, and has worked all over the country. At age 14, Xintong's father quit school to join him.
"Nobody here was looking after him, so we had no other option," the old man said.
Xintong's parents are adamant that their family history will not repeat itself.
"Xintong once said that she wanted to be a migrant worker when she grew up. I said no way," Yu recalled.
"We want our daughter to go to college some day," said Wang Xiangquan. "We are working hard to save money for her education."
Wang Xiangquan plans to continue the itinerant lifestyle for another five years and then start a farm, raising chicken and sheep in Liangping. By then, Xintong will have finished primary school and can go to the same school as her friends at home.
