James Reynolds' China

Taking the new year train

• James Reynolds
• 15 Jan 09, 01:28 PM GMT

The world's biggest annual migration is getting started. Every year in China around 200 million people go home for the Chinese new year.

Most of the new year travellers are migrant workers, people who've left poor villages in the countryside to find work in richer coastal provinces. Many of these workers can only afford to get home once a year - at new year. Most travel home by train.

I'll be joining some of these workers on their way back home. My colleague and I have bought third-class hard seat tickets on an overnight train from Beijing to the central province of Henan.

I'll let you know how our journey goes.

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