For three days in the past month, Lu Lianggui woke up before the crack of dawn to wait in line throughout the working hours at Beijing's train station ticket booth. His aim - to get a place on the express train leaving the capital for his hometown of Chaohu in Anhui province, in time to celebrate Spring Festival.
But for the first two days, the 51-year-old migrant worker for a house decoration firm returned to his small rented room, with no ticket in his pockets and an empty stomach to boot.
On day three, faced with dwindling options and the possibility of ushering in the Lunar New Year in Beijing without his wife and son, Lu resorted to buying a hard seat or third-class ticket on a slow train.
"A fast train would take me home in 14 hours. But I'm not so sure about this one these slow trains stop at almost every train station," Lu said.
Many would agree Lu has reason to be worried. Riding on a slow train during peak travel seasons in the country can be daunting, as one online user recently posted on his blog: "You won't want to ride on a slow train again the carriage is left with only standing room at best. Passengers will occupy every space - the aisles, toilets and even the floor space under seats. You better prepare diapers to answer nature's call."
From the near impossibility of getting a ticket on time to a fearsome train ride, these are experiences numerous Chinese countrywide would have had one way or another.
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Li Zhuoyao (center), carried by his grandfather, gets ready for his train journey at the main railway station in Fuzhou, capital of Fujian province, on Sunday. [China Daily]
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Come Spring Festival, when millions of Chinese throughout the country ready to head home for the all-important family reunion on the economical transport provided by trains, and the situation at railways hogs the headlines.
Trains during the Lunar New Year travel season, which starts on Jan 11 this year, can expect to carry six million passengers at most daily, up to twice that of a usual day operating under normal situations, said Beijing Jiaotong University professor Yang Hao.
Migrant workers form one of two major sources of passengers during these times, with part of about 200 million workers on the move opting to take trains during the 40-day festival period last year, Yang said.
The workers accounted for up to 40 percent of the total number of passengers during the peak travel period, a survey by railway stations showed. In the southern provinces, where major manufacturing bases such as Guangzhou province are situated, the migrants could account for up to 80 percent of rail passengers, Yang said.