Lunar New Year: Chinese families with emotional reunions...
The young communicator, who now calls hong kong home, last visited shanghai three years ago. When she visited china for the Spring festival, sometimes referred to as the Lunar New Year, in 2020, it was the last time she saw her family.
That visit took place right before the pandemic was declared, and in the years that followed, China's zero-Covid policy, which compelled travellers to stay in quarantine for weeks, kept her away from her family.
As the majority of Covid restrictions have been relaxed, millions of Chinese are returning home this weekend to mark the beginning of the Year of the Rabbit, which begins on Sunday.
However, the sudden reversal of zero-Covid has increased occurrences recently, weakening what is the biggest holiday of the year for the Chinese people.
Families can join together, recognise one another's successes, and unite for a fresh start. However, this year will be depressing. Even when large portions of china festively change into the scarlet of the Spring festival, it's tough to ignore the white, the sign of a family in mourning.
While some families are eager to gather around the table as they always have, the majority of folks were not celebrating because they were attending to sick family members or grieving the loss of a loved one.
Then there are some who are cheering yet are troubled by the fact that there are no empty seats.
Beijing resident Melody Liu lost her grandfather a few days before the Spring festival earlier this month. She asserts that it was a chaotic situation. The family struggled to find an intensive care bed for several days. When crematoria and funeral homes started to fill up, they had to use their connections to find him a final resting place.
Melody urges that her family get together even though they don't feel like celebrating the holiday this year because her 90-year-old grandmother hasn't been informed of her grandfather's passing. "We told her Grandpa was still in the ICU. Simply put, we can't be honest with her "Declares Melody. "I think he's watching over us still," the speaker said.
