A child buys festival decorations with her grandfather on Jan 30 in Hefei, Anhui province, where they decided to remain during the holiday. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

About two weeks before the Spring Festival holiday began on Feb 11, Zhang Yuxi had started planning in her head the food and ingredients she needed to buy for a special dinner.

This New Year’s Eve was special for Zhang. It was the first time the 26-year-old had celebrated the holiday in Shanghai rather than returning to her hometown of Xingtai in Hebei province, which had reported a growing number of cases of the novel coronavirus.

On Jan 10, when she made the decision to remain in Shanghai, Zhang said the idea of “spending New Year’s alone in a rented room far from home” sounded miserable.

However, as the holiday approached, she decided it was not a big deal. 

“Basically, all my colleagues and friends stayed in Shanghai for New Year’s,” she said.

Like Zhang, many people chose to stay in the city where they work during Spring Festival, China’s most important holiday, to avoid the risk of spreading the virus amid the traditional mass migration. 

Zhang, who works for an internet company, returned home on Jan 1 during the three-day holiday for the New Year.

During the visit, her mother suggested that she would not be able to return for Lunar New Year because of the coronavirus. Those words were prophetic.

Shortly after Zhang arrived back in Shanghai, a major outbreak was reported in Hebei. On Jan 5, five areas in Hebei, including Xingtai and Shijiazhuang, the capital, announced they were in “a state of war” after 14 new cases were reported the previous day.

On Jan 8, the provincial government advised residents to stay in the two cities unless their journey was essential. The following day, it ordered all locals to stay home for seven days.

Last month, the province saw more than 900 new cases, compared with about 400 last year.

In the beginning of the year, many new cases have been reported across China, with most being in the northeastern provinces of Jilin and Heilongjiang, and in Beijing.

The new wave came just ahead of the Lunar New Year, which, in normal times, sees the world’s biggest annual migration. This year, such a mass movement would have posed a great challenge for control and prevention measures.

From mid-January, governments at all levels advised people to stay put for the holiday to help contain the potential spread of the virus during the event.

Meanwhile, each locality issued specific preventive measures to better manage people arriving from low, medium- and high-risk areas.

“The problem in Xingtai is already serious enough, so I decided I’d better not go back and add to the trouble,” said Zhang, whose hometown was listed as a medium-risk place in early January.

By contrast, Zhang Binhong decided to stay in Beijing even though his hometown of Xi’an, capital of Shaanxi province, is a low-risk area.

“In fact, the extent of the new wave in Hebei has far exceeded expectations, with 90 or 100 new cases being reported daily. When I discovered that some people’s travel histories covered Shanxi and Shaanxi, I began to feel that the journey home would not be safe and I might possibly catch the virus on the train,” said the construction company employee in the capital.

However, he felt sad that he was not able to celebrate the festival with his family. “I still want to go home. I bought a present for my little niece at home, but now I have to mail it back,” he said, speaking ahead of the festival.

It was the first time he had spent the festival outside of his hometown. “I had imagined not being able to go home for some reason, probably work or a business trip, but I never thought it would be related to the coronavirus,” he said.

The Yuyuan Mall in Shanghai on Feb 1. Many people stayed in the city during the Spring Festival to curb the spread of COVID-19. (YIN LIQIN / CHINA NEWS SERVICE)

The Spring Festival, a feature of Chinese life for millennia, is the country’s most important annual celebration. It has long been a tradition that wherever they are, people go home to share the festivities with their families.

That is why millions of journeys are made during the travel rush that runs from mid-January to late February.

Other customs include putting up decorations, giving hongbao — red envelopes containing cash gifts — and fireworks, but the most important theme is “reunion”.

Zeng Jiru, whose hometown is Luzhou, Sichuan province, usually accompanies his parents to visit his grandparents in Zigong, Sichuan.

On the Chinese New Year’s Eve, they always have a reunion dinner with more than 20, or sometimes 30, relatives from his father’s side.

This year, neither the 21-year-old Beijing Foreign Studies University student nor his parents made the journey.

Zeng started an internship in Beijing in December, and after the university officially closed on Jan 5 he moved from his campus and rented a room on his own.

“I felt okay about not going home. I am not that home-needy,” he said.

However, many of his classmates and friends had already left Beijing by the end of December, and the main thing he had to deal with was loneliness.

On Jan 24, Zeng posted a QR code on his social media account for a group chat called “BFSU students scattered across Beijing” with the aim of gathering as many “lonely” students as possible.

“We planned some outings during the holiday,” he said. The group gained more than 30 members in a single day.

For young people like Zeng, Zhang Yuxi and Zhang Binhong not being able to celebrate the Chinese New Year in the traditional way did not mean they abandoned all attempts to enjoy the festival.

Zhang Yuxi has made the seven-day holiday a “food journey” by staying in the kitchen and researching new recipes every day. On the Chinese New Year’s Eve, she made a big dinner and invited several friends to join her.

Zhang Binhong and Zeng were invited to eat at friends’ homes. The former said it was reasonable for the government to ask people not to travel during this difficult time.

“To put it frankly, not going home this year will ensure good New Years in the future. If the current situation continues, we may not have a good year every year. If it can be controlled and people are vaccinated, we can return home happily next year,” he said.

In addition to white-collar workers like Zhang Binhong and Zhang Yuxi, many service industry employees also canceled their travel plans, meaning their lives did not change during the holiday.

Zhang Binhong often visits a Shaanxi-style restaurant near his apartment, as it offers an authentic taste of home. The restaurant is run by a couple from the south of the province, who told him they would be staying in Beijing and would only close their establishment on the Chinese New Year’s Eve.

The couple normally shuts their restaurant for about 10 days before the Spring Festival and uses the time to return home.

Zhao Yingying, who owns a restaurant in Beijing that specializes in Tang Yuan, a traditional dessert, said she expected a lot of customers during the holiday.

A lover of traditional culture, she started the restaurant, called Tang Song Yuan after three famous dynasties, in September 2019. She decided to make Tang Yuan the focus because she found the dish was underrepresented despite enjoying a long history and playing a big role during festivals.

Last year, the restaurant closed for the Lunar New Year, which fell in late January just as the coronavirus outbreak started. Although the establishment was unable to reopen for several weeks as a result of several lockdowns, Zhao said the online orders never stopped.

The restaurant reopened in March. In June, the landlord said he could not maintain his business during the outbreak and was selling the property.

Zhao had to shut the restaurant, but customers kept calling and sending messages asking her to continue the business from home.

After being repeatedly asked when her restaurant would reopen, Zhao decided to find a new property.

The new restaurant opened in November and during the Winter Solstice Festival, on Dec 21, the establishment was packed from morning to night.

Because a lot of people stayed in the capital this year, Zhao said all seven members of her team also remained to serve the customers.

Since Zhao started her business in 2019, she has given up going home during the Spring Festival.

“It is a winter business. We need to be here for the New Year and for many other important occasions,” she said.

zhangyangfei@chinadaily.com.cn