Homeward bound on fewer wheels

Like hundreds of millions of others, Wei Conghuan is also preparing to return home for Spring Festival.

But he will not take a plane or train, nor will he ride a bus or car. Instead, he is readying his motorcycle to travel from Zengcheng in Guangdong province to his hometown in Cenxi county in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

And traveling with him on the 400-km, 7-hour journey today will be his wife and 3-year-old son.

Wei, 29, works for a furniture shop in Zengcheng and decided to hit the road on his motorcycle because "it's almost impossible to get train tickets".

"We want to reach home before it gets dark," Wei said yesterday. So he will start early today.

Wei is just one of the millions of Chinese who have given up hope of using traditional means to travel back home.

"For the past two years, more than 100,000 migrant workers from Jiangxi and Hunan provinces and Guangxi even those in the provinces of Guizhou, Yunnan and Sichuan have been riding motorcycles back home for Spring Festival," said Tian Yongli, a press officer with the Guangdong public security bureau's traffic administration.

Riding a motorcycle may be riskier than taking a train or bus, but it is certainly a lot cheaper. Wei, for instance, will save more than 600 yuan ($88). Wei said the gas for his trip would cost about 100 yuan.

Guangdong traffic police have been busy helping motorists, persuading them to rest, escorting them through fog and smog and warning them of harsh road conditions, said a policeman surnamed Li, who is with the Deqing public security bureau.

"The motorcyclists have a lot more luggage this year because they may not return to Guangdong as difficulties faced by many enterprises owing to the global financial crisis have reduced their job prospects drastically," Li said.

The provincial traffic administration has urged traffic police in cities to build makeshift rest rooms for motorcyclists, and provide free hot tea, ginger congee, food, raincoats and medical services to them.

"At least 6,000 motorbikes have sped on inter-province roads these past couple of days," Wei said.