“Waiting is not a solution, we have to work for hope!” said Tang Qiayou, a passenger of high-speed train D4856, which arrived at Guangzhou South Station at 22:26 February 18th after an eight hour ride from Kunming, Yunnan.
Passengers on this train are special. They are 496 migrant workers including Tang from seven cities and autonomous regions across Yunnan. They will head to different cities in Guangdong by bus after the arrival in Guangzhou and get back to work.
Tang Qiayou said he felt very excited when he got the train ticket. “My company in Dongguan will resume work very soon. So I registered for the ticket as soon as I knew that Guangdong and Yunnan have arranged this train to offer us a free ride back to Guangdong.”
The 496 passengers all passed health checks before getting on train Tang said the two provinces have taken lots of measures to prevent the spread of the virus and that he even received a face mask on train.
The train had been jointly arranged by the Human Resource and Social Security department of Guangdong and Yunnan. According to Guangdong’s Human Resource and Social Security Department, Guangdong has faced a more severe labor shortage after the holiday compared to last year. The department has adopted various measures such as offering free trains and bus tickets as well as free accommodation to enable migrant workers to get back to work.
Photo by Xiao Xiong, Shi Lei
Written by Huang Xuhao, Zeng Meiling
Translated by Jasmine Yin
Edited by Olivia Ouyang, Simon Haywood