SZers returning from holiday feel refreshed and energized

As the first Spring Festival holiday since China optimized its COVID-19 response policies came to an end, many people are returning to Shenzhen feeling refreshed, energized and ready to get back to work.

For Xu, a white-collar worker, it felt like “recharging” himself going back home for the family reunion during the Spring Festival holiday. Returning with fond memories of his hometown, Xu went back to Shenzhen re-energized and full of aspirations for the future.

“We slept for a few hours and when we woke up, we were back in Shenzhen,” Xu was quoted telling Shenzhen Evening News. “It felt a bit unreal.”

On the first day of work, basically all his colleagues were back in the office. “We also got a lot of lucky money in red envelopes,” Xu said while recounting details of him getting red envelopes in the office. He said he and his coworkers were “as fresh as a daisy after the restful holiday.”

A woman surnamed Lin flew directly from Shaoxing in Zhejiang Province to Shenzhen on Saturday, the first working day after the holiday. During her flight, she saw a passenger sitting next to her concentrating on making plans on his computer the whole journey, oblivious of his surroundings. She also noticed that as soon as the passengers left the airport, they all “seemed to have quickened their pace.”

“The bustling pace I saw at the airport embodies Shenzhen’s fast-paced life, but also its charm,” Lin commented.

After getting off a high-speed train from Hunan Province, Ma Weijun immediately called his family members to let them know that he and his wife had arrived in Shenzhen safely. They returned with specialties from their hometown and as they rolled their suitcases, they followed a huge crowd and strode toward the railway station’s exit.

The couple runs a small business and owns a store in Bao’an District. “My wish is that the business will be more prosperous this year and we can save enough money to buy a car so that we can also drive back to our hometown,” Ma said with a beaming smile.

Li Guang had lived a “boring and leisurely life” for two years in his hometown in Hubei Province before driving back to Shenzhen for 25 hours. He used to run a home decor business with his relatives and friends in Dongmen, Luohu District, and could earn up to 400,000 yuan (US$59,160) a year.

Li Guang, on his way back to Shenzhen, poses for a photo beside his car with the trunk full of specialties from his hometown. Courtesy of the interviewee

At the end of last year, Li and his partners had the idea of returning to Shenzhen. He said that the city fascinates him in many ways, especially the spirit of business contracts that is deeply rooted in the city. There are few cases of arrears in project payments in Shenzhen, which makes Li and his partners feel at ease, according to Li. “After returning to Shenzhen this time, I don’t want to leave the city again,” he said.

Two days before the Chinese New Year holiday was over, a woman surnamed Tu drove back to Shenzhen from Sichuan Province with her family, with the trunk of her car stuffed with hometown specialties. She said the closer they got to Shenzhen, the more traffic jams they experienced on the road.

“Shenzheners are not discouraged even if they encounter traffic jams,” Tu said.

At one point, Tu said they were stuck in a traffic jam in the middle of the night. Some drivers didn’t stop to rest when they passed an expressway service area. “All they thought about was returning to Shenzhen and getting back to work,” she said.

              A traveler brings Chaoshan specialties back to Shenzhen. Courtesy of the interviewee