1.3 Billion Urban Exodus for the Chinese New Year!

Celebrating the Year of the Horse! Here are some pictures I collected from different articles showing the masses of people traveling this year to get home to celebrate the holiday with family.

People standing in line for days to get a train ticket home 

 

A train ticket! What everyone is trying to get their hands on! 

The red bag on this woman's back is the most common type of bag most people travel with across China

Waiting to get on the train

People pushing through the carousal to get on the trail

See how some people don't have a seat but are standing. This is called getting a 'standing' ticket. I had to do this in 2007 when I was traveling from Anhui back to Bejing about a 15 hour train ride. All the tickets were sold out for days and its all that was left. My friend and I stood overnight for the first 8 hours and then finally got a seat after some people got off early at one of the stops. An experience I'll never forget!

 

 

方便面 "Convenient noodles" The food of choice when taking a train in China! Its about a $1-2 and all you have to do is add hot water! I love eating these on the train! 

This year baidu.com (China's verison of google) mapped out a heat map showing where people were traveling to across the country. 

Pictures and map from:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-25911958

http://www.chinahush.com/2014/01/09/exactly-how-difficult-it-is-to-go-home-for-the-spring-festival/

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/chinas-travel-nightmare-161819112.html

China's Version of Baby Headbands and Ribbons

Having not lived in the US the past six years I can sometimes fall behind with popular trends. One thing I've continued to see pop up in baby pictures are little girls wearing these cute little headbands with bows and flowers. I'm not sure when this trend started in the US but I must say they are cute! 

For example:

Since coming to China years ago I've seen a similar trend but the only difference is the headband has a wig attached to it. I see moms in the park carrying their daughters around wearing these little wigs constantly trying to keep them from falling off. Similar to the US, lots of baby pictures are taking wearing the hand bands!

When you purchase them on Tabao.com (Chinese version of ebay) you have a choice of what color of hair you want (blonde, black, red, or dark brown), the style (straight or curly) and if you want bangs added. 

Renting a boyfriend/girlfriend for the Spring Festival

As time got closer to Chinese New Year this year we began asking friends what their plans were for the holiday. As the country pretty much shuts down for 10 days, the tradition is for everyone to go back to their hometown and spend the time with their families and follow the traditions of celebrating the New Year (fireworks, banquet dinner, giving money in red envelopes, etc). However, over the years many of our friends have expressed that they were dreading going home because of the pressure they would receive from their families about not making enough money or not being married yet.

Due to the pressure of getting married, within the last few years the idea of renting a boyfriend/girlfriend to go home for the holiday has become very popular. Below are some articles I've found about this:

http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/536610/20140131/rent-boyfriend-1-day-solves-problem-single.htm#.Uusobne1akQ
"Take my daughter!" Parents post pictures and ads of their children to try to find a spouse for their child. I highly recommend watching both videos on the page.

http://www.theworldofchinese.com/2014/01/rent-a-lover-this-spring-festival/
-This guy offers 1 million rmb (roughly $165,000) for a female to escort him for seven days. Special bonus was included if she had a Phd and/or was a virgin. Requirements included holding a bachelor's degree, not weighing more than 50kg (110 lb.)  and was cute looking. Over 5,200 girls responded to his post offering their services.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/17/world/asia/chinese-mother-newspaper-ad/
One mom placed a full page ad in the Melbourne newspaper ($2465) in Australia begging her son to come home for the holiday promising she won't pressure him to get married anymore.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2011-02/08/content_11963739.htm
Defending the practice of renting someone to take home

http://www.theworldofchinese.com/2013/07/chaoji-shengnu-episode-20-rent-a-beau/
Renting a 'loved one' on taobao.com (equivalent to craigslist or ebay in the US)

26 Weeks!

We had our first appointment at the Fu You Hospital in Xiamen. Its the hospital we plan to have our little one in! During the appointment I almost cried just being so thankful to be in such a clean, organized, and well staffed hospital (compared to my experiences in Xining)! The nurses and doctors were so kind and it was so orderly! David and I were very impressed! Its also really reassuring knowing many of my expat friends have also given birth there and have had good experiences. 

I had the glucose test and some blood work done. They just called a few hours ago saying all the results came out normal. Very thankful! Our little one and I are both growing and I’m at the weight I’m supposed to be (thanks to all the good food in Xiamen!). Lately, David and I have been learning a lot about hospital procedures, labor, and vaccinations. In China, most women opt for c-sections because its more convenient to schedule them and its what the doctors really encourage (they believe its more predictable even though it takes moms longer recover and the hospital makes more money from a bigger procedure). Also, vaccinations are done differently here so we’ve been having to do a lot of research about how to make the right decision for our little one (slightly different shot schedule along with different types of vaccinations are offered compared to western countries). 

We're Expecting!!!

Expecting our little girl on April 28, 2014 

Three Months! 

Xiamen ladies showing off the bellies! 

Six Months!