Travel crush overwhelms transport systems in China

BEIJING -- Carrying his belongings in two huge bundles balanced over his shoulder on a stick, a jovial Yuan Honglin pushed through the surging crowds at Beijing Railway Station, eager to get home for Chinese New Year.

Yuan, 44, came to the capital to work as a day laborer, since jobs are scarce in his rural district in Jiangsu province, about 600 miles to the south.

"I haven't seen my family in 350 days," said Yuan, aiming to get home by Saturday -- the start of the most important family event on the Chinese calendar.

Such holiday joy for Yuan and millions of other Chinese bound for their hometowns this week is tempered by the ordeal of facing an overloaded transportation system.

The government says it will handle some 1.8 billion trips during the holiday.

Disorderly lines

Ticket lines quickly become disorderly as overworked clerks deal with frustrated travelers. Trains and airlines raise prices to take advantage of the surge, and travelers complain that scalpers buy up train tickets to resell at inflated prices.

On the highways, overcrowded buses and overworked drivers are blamed every year for fatal accidents.

Plus, the train station "raises the price and forces you to buy a ticket to the end of the line," said Yuan, who complained that his $11 ticket cost 20 percent more than usual. "Even if it goes up 100 percent, you would still go home."

Decades of growth

The crush is a result of China's two decades of economic growth. Tens of millions of people have moved into cities to work and study -- all of whom want to return home at New Year's.

Newspapers warn that transportation problems will grow along with the economy.

The government announced new rules this year loosening restrictions on migrants traveling to cities to work -- possibly opening the door to another travel boom.

Yuan made $600 for a year's work -- not the most he's made, but not the least either. Some paid for New Year's gifts for his wife and son, which were crammed into his bundles along with his clothes.

"It was a pretty good year," he said.