Generally considered the greatest human migration on Earth, China's Lunar New Year festival this year will be unlike any other. In the wake of a fresh outbreak of Covid-19, the country called on its citizens not to travel home for the celebrations lest they spur further spread of the disease.
China's Ministry of Transport estimates that there will be 61 percent fewer journeys than there were for the 2019 festivities and 22 percent fewer than last year, when the Covid-19 pandemic was already underway.
Despite the personal sacrifice that forfeiting the traditional gathering implies, most Chinese are willing to comply.
FRANCE 24 met with a family and a group of friends in Beijing who are ringing in the Year of the Ox a bit differently this year.
FRANCE 24's Charles Pellegrin, Anna Hartley and Zhifan Liu bring us this report. To watch, click on the video player above.
