The largest human migration in the world used to take place in the days leading up to Chinese New Year — which this year falls on February 1. Millions crossed vast distances to reunite with their families, many travelling on long-haul trains, sometimes for days. The last New Year of this kind was February 2019, when I joined a packed train heading from frozen Beijing to China’s warm southern province, Yunnan. It was a journey of 35 hours.
Perhaps it was only on these train trips that all the languages and diversity of China from north to south were drawn together so intimately. This seems unthinkable today, with Covid restrictions meaning many Chinese are unable to travel home for a third year in a row. Back then though, passengers were crammed in among piles of presents and luggage, sipping flasks of tea and Tsingtao beer, all buzzing for the holiday. In my compartment, a group of workers from Hunan province played Go noisily while passing round bags of melon seeds. These have a subtle roasted flavour and the chewing promotes reflection — perfect for the long hours on the train.
Progress was slow because we were aboard a lupiche, one of the “green skin trains” built in the 1950s under Mao. Characterised by heavy ironwork, clanking doors and faded yellow interiors, these old trains have lumbered across the vast country innumerable times — a slice of China perpetually in motion. Inside, they smell of metal, oil, and cigarettes from the smokers who lurk between carriages.