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Chinese New Year celebrations are underway. Unlike our new year, which begins January 1, same time every year, the Chinese New Year is based on a lunar calendar. Lunar means relating to the moon.
This year's Chinese New Year began February 16, and the celebrations will go on for about two weeks! The celebration begins for many Chinese with a journey home to see their families. Reporter Matt Rivers tags along with some of these travelers.
MATT: When we turned up, Mai Haijun was selling a family pig for about $500, a lot of money for a typical family in rural China, and it comes at a good time. Gifts for Chinese New Year can get expensive.
To set the scene, we're in an extremely poor village in southern China. Most of the year, this place is quiet, but around now, it starts to fill back up. People come home to see family, welcomed with open arms, as we were at Mai's house. Over some food, he explains the holiday.
MAI: We Chinese have a tradition of family reunion in our hometown. We all return home. You don't really have a choice.
MATT: So, his entire family will soon arrive for a week's worth of eating and drinking and reminiscing. He's got 12 siblings, and the extended family that comes with that, but none can afford to live in the place they grew up.
The house is big enough to accommodate the entire family, but the problem is, if you live here, you can't make any money. So, most of the family leaves for the bigger cities to try and find work, and they usually do. The one time of year they come back to visit is right now, during Chinese New Year, and that's why it's so important.
Hundreds of millions of Chinese people head home this time each year. Planes, trains, cars, all relatively comfortable, but if you've got no money, a rickety motorbike will have to do. We saw thousands of bikes over two days outside of Guangzhou, riders outfitted for trips that can last for a day or more.
TRAVELER: If I had more money, I'd take a train. This trip is exhausting.
MATT: We drove along the route for hours, dotted by rest stops that make the trip a bit easier. Volunteers serve hot meals, run clinics, and even fix bikes. Yang Ricai was about to take off when we met him, So, we rode along on a bike of our own. What's the hardest part about this trip for you?
YANG: It’s dangerous, especially during the holidays with so many more trucks and cars on the road. It's easy to get into an accident.
MATT: But it's the only way to get home to see his family, while making sure his children have a future. So, it ends up being totally worth it in the end.
YANG: I can't make money if I stay home. I don't want my kids to be like us. Their lives shouldn't be as hard as ours.
MATT: The work is hard, the journey is hard, but the lure of tradition, of family, is strong. When we left him, Yang still had hours to drive before reaching home, a rural village just like the one where Mai Haijun insisted that we stay for dinner. The table will be more crowded when the rest of the family gets home, reunions set to be repeated all across the country