反向春运 (fǎnxiàng chūnyùn): Reverse Spring Rush

People traditionally celebrate the Lunar New Year with their families. This has led to the Spring Rush, when people travel to and from their hometowns during the holiday.

For most of those participating in the Spring Rush it is not an enjoyable experience. It is often hard to get a ticket, the trains and buses are overcrowded, and taxis are hard to find.

Because of this, over past few years, a growing number of young people have been inviting their parents to come to them.

The reverse Spring Rush has not only eased the burden on the railways during the Spring Festival holiday, especially during the peak travel periods, but also encouraged more people to visit scenic spots in the big cities during the holiday, as young people act as travel guides for their parents. Family reunions, as has been said, are the permanent theme of Spring Festival, the reverse Spring Rush is a way to balance work and family, the traditional and the modern.