The upcoming Spring Festival will be very special for people in China.
Considering the needs of virus prevention, this year, more than 100 million people in China will stay where they are to celebrate the Chinese New Year, instead of returning to their hometowns, a tradition lasting thousands of years.
The current epidemic has not yet completely ended in China. There have been several scattered cluster COVID-19 outbreaks in the past months around the country. Therefore, many people have decided to stay in the city where they work and live during the holidays, and the government has urged local regions to ensure those who stay put have a safe and happy new year.
The Global Times reporters visited some of these people who chose to stay during the holidays.
Among them, there are people who work on the frontline of virus prevention, having to stay alert at all time to ensure the safety of people; there are office employees who volunteered to stay in the city they work in, in order to reduce the risks of virus spread in transportation; and there are also people whose duty is to keep the city running normally, like deliverymen, janitors or security guards.
“If we could make a tiny contribution to the anti-virus work, it would be worth it,” a netizen wrote. “My families understand my decision. My father told me, ‘come back when the epidemic situation is better. I will prepare the best wine and food to weolcome you.'”
Liu Huan, a nurse at Maternal and Child Health Hospital in Shijingshan district, Beijing, takes nucleic acid sample of a visitor. It is 27-year-old Liu’s first Spring Festival away from her hometown Baoding, North China’s Hebei Province. She will celebrate the festival with her sister who is also in Beijing. Photo: Li Hao/GT
