Looking at the sea of people in the waiting room, Hou Jianguo, an employee at Beijing West Railway Station, sighed, "It is really difficult for us to accommodate so many passengers!"
To ensure the happy reunions of countless households, China's 30 million highway-related employees, two million railway staff, 200,000 airline workers and staff members, and tens of thousands of water-transportation staff remain at their posts every year during Spring Festival. They cope with workloads that are several times greater than at other times of the year. Li Meijuan, a ticket seller at Beijing Railway Station, said, "During the annual peak period, we do our utmost to work efficienby. Each of u
s has to say an average of 6,000 sentences to passengers every day, but we must drink as little water as possible, so we do not waste time to go to the toilets." During Spring Festival in 2005, Liu Guihua, a ticket seller at Beijing Railway Minor Office, became exhausted from overwork and fainted in the rest room. At the Guangzhou Long-distance Bus Station, people often see ticket sellers running, as they try to save time getting to their meals or the washroom. Every year, in the security-check areas at Beijing's Capital International Airport, employees must constantly repeat the movements of standing up and squatting. Many of them are too tired to straighten themselves up, from the ground, after they end their shifts.
Touched by what they have seen and heard, passengers-despite complaining about the difficulties they encounter while buying tickets, and the hardships they face as they travel-have become more understanding and tolerant towards the hardworking service providers.
As the old saying goes, "A whole year's work depends on a good start in the spring." Transportation during the Spring Festival period means a lot to Chinese, asit is the start of their annual economic and social life.
