• World

Rough Commute? Spare a Thought for These Chinese New Year Travelers

1 minute read
epaselect epa05139968 Passengers are seen stranded outside the Guangzhou Railway Station in Guangzhou in south China's Guangdong province, 02 February 2016. Snow in the south has disrupted the travel peak ahead of the Spring Festival. EPA/KALYL SILVA CHINA OUT
Passengers are seen stranded outside the Guangzhou Railway Station in Guangzhou, China, on Feb., 2016.Kalyl Silva—EPA
By Simon Lewis

Commuters worldwide should spare a thought for travelers in China trying to escape the country’s megacities for the Chinese New Year holiday.

Pictures and video showed massive crowds stuck at least two major train stations on Monday, the most severe in the southern city of Guangzhou, where more than 100,000 people became trapped.

Long delays to train services were caused by snowy weather in other provinces, according to the South China Morning Post, which reported that more than 2,600 guards had been deployed to deal with the crowds.

Commuters were also packed tightly into one of Shanghai’s main railway stations because of delayed trains.

Many of China’s roughly 250 million migrant laborers return to their home provinces for the Spring Festival and the start of the Year of the Monkey on Feb. 8.

More Must-Reads From TIME

Write to Simon Lewis at simon_daniel.lewis@timeasia.com