I leave my apartment to cross campus and its desolate. The East gate is no longer open, and most of my favorite restaurants are closed and boarded up. Its a strange time to be in Beijing.
The largest human movement is taking place right now, as people return home for the Spring Festival. According to the South China post, “The world’s biggest annual migration of people – which authorities estimate involves more than 2.8 billion person-trips on highways, railways and airlines heading home for family reunions from January 19 to February 27…”
This holiday makes Thanksgiving travel seem like any other weekend, with the average person in China making at least one round trip. Most of my Chinese friends are long gone from Beijing, and their semester won’t start again until the end of February.
With Beijing running as a shell of a city we will be heading to Yunnan province for two weeks. We could not have classes during this time period anyway, as most of our professors are also preparing to head home and celebrate the Year of the Rabbit with their families.
For anyone who is interested below is an overview of my trip, I will be posting photos when I return!
http://www.thebeijingcenter.org/undergraduate/yunnan/