Relocation of a Nation – Chinese New Year
Each year, as the Chinese New Year approaches the country’s workforce make the journey from the cities back to their home town to enjoy the celebrations with their families. Chinese social network Baidu has mapped where phones have been using data and shows just how many people leave Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen to return to the countryside.
The Year of the Goat begins in China on the 19th of February and an estimated 1.3 billion people have stormed public transport to make their journey beforehand. At this time of year, Beijing’s main train station is referred to by locals as the busiest place on the planet.
For a week or so, the powerhouses of Chinese industry shut off their machines as the country celebrates in unison. As China grinds to a halt the subsequent backlog of orders can lead to some pretty full ships as the floodgates open towards the end of the month. However, if you’re looking to import goods from China we expect this to ease moving into March. As a result the freight rates will return to a more stable level and the pandemonium that has come with trying to ship goods before Chinese New Year will subside.
At Shippo we wish everyone a very happy and prosperous Chinese New Year and hope that each of the 3 billion journeys that are made in China over the holiday period don’t drag too much. We have no doubt that Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing will be full of rejuvenated workers manufacturing the goods that you can import to the UK throughout 2015.