Near the Spring Festival, many migrant workers are on their way home. In the past, in southern China, tens of thousands of migrant workers would choose to ride motorcycles back home for the new year. The mighty "motorcycle army" became a unique scenery during the Spring Festival transportation. In recent years, this "motorcycle army" has changed from a million vehicles in the peak period to today's "guerrillas" in twos and threes, gradually fading out of the public's view.
Where's the motorcycle army? Why did they "disappear"? What are the changes and changes of "Mobile China" With these questions, the reporter launched an investigation.
disappearing "motorcycle army"
In the early 1990s, during the Spring Festival, many migrant workers from Guangxi, Hunan, Guizhou, Yunnan and Sichuan rode motorcycles to interpret the annual Spring Festival migration from the Pearl River Delta. At its peak, there were millions of people, and the "motorcycle army" became a unique picture of the Spring Festival transportation in southern China.
At 3 a.m. of the lunar new year, Gan ganrong and his wife rode a motorcycle in Dali Town, Nanhai District, Foshan City, Guangdong Province and embarked on the road back to Malian Yao Township, Pingnan County, Guigang City, Guangxi Province. The trip home will take them nearly 20 hours.
Over the past three years, Gan ganrong has been used to the failure of "group" and the villagers who have been together for 10 years are unwilling to return home by motorcycle. "When there were many people in the past, the motorcycles on the road were vast and mighty."
It's 11 a.m. at the Spring Festival transportation service station at the east exit of Wuzhou, Guangxi, on national highway 321. Gan ganrong and his wife get off to rest. National Highway 321 connects the two provinces and regions of Guangxi and Guangdong, and the east exit of Wuzhou City is located at the junction of Guangdong and Guangxi. It is the only way for the "motorcycle army" to shuttle between Sichuan, Chongqing, Guizhou and Guangxi and the Pearl River Delta for the holidays and resumption of work.
At this time in previous years, Gan ganrong needed to "plug in" when he rested in a place crowded with motorcycles. This year, however, it seems extremely empty. At the moment, only a dozen motorcycles are parked.
Zou Dan, the instructor of the third high-speed brigade of the traffic police detachment of Wuzhou Public Security Bureau, witnessed the process of the number of motorcycles entering Guangxi from Guangdong from less to more and then from more to less over the past 10 years. "It was 70000 in 2008 and 250000 in 2013 at the peak. This year, it is expected to be 12000 left and right."
According to the data of Wuzhou transportation department, the inflection point of the decline of the "motorcycle army" returning from Guangdong to Guangxi is in 2014, a decrease of 35000 vehicles compared with the previous year, and a significant decrease year by year thereafter.
where are the people who go home by motorcycle?
Experts pointed out that in addition to the impact of the epidemic in the past two years, the "local new year" has led to a reduction in the number of people returning home for the new year. In addition, the "motorcycle army" with a distinctive mark of the times has also reflected many profound changes of the times from rise to prosperity and then to fade out in decades.
-- long distance public transport represented by high-speed rail is developing rapidly. The turning point of the scale of "motorcycle army" in 2014 is the opening of Guiyang Guangzhou high-speed railway and Nanning Guangzhou high-speed railway. Since then, Sichuan, Chongqing, Guizhou, Guangxi and other major labor export areas have achieved direct high-speed rail with the Pearl River Delta, which has become the first choice for many migrant workers to return home.
According to the data, the number of spring sports cars between Guangdong and Guangdong increased from 41 in 2015 to 199 in 2022. With the increase of transportation capacity and the refinement of services, the situation of "one ticket is difficult to get" during the Spring Festival transportation has been alleviated, and more and more returnees choose to return home by train. In addition, since 2016, Guangxi railway department has customized 54 love trains for returning migrant workers on the "warm way home" for seven consecutive years, transporting more than 30000 migrant workers free of charge.
-- road infrastructure is gradually improved. In the past, the transportation in rural areas was inconvenient, while the flexibility of motorcycles met the travel needs and became the first choice for many returnees. In recent years, the expressway network has been continuously dense. With the implementation of the national strategy of targeted poverty alleviation and rural revitalization, the rural transportation infrastructure has been continuously improved. The cement hardened road covers the villages. The problem of "the last kilometer" of returning home has been solved. Many motorcyclists choose to drive their own cars or take buses home.
Zou Dan used to be on duty every year at the Spring Festival transportation service station in Wuzhou, which is located at the junction of Guangdong and Guangxi. "Now there are fewer and fewer 'motorcycles'. In recent years, we have also shifted the focus of our work to the highway and the sections around Wuzhou South High speed railway station."
-- Rural Revitalization will enable more migrant workers to take root in their hometown. With the continuous promotion of the national strategy of targeted poverty alleviation and rural revitalization, rural areas have taken on a new look. More and more migrant workers who have gone to Guangdong choose to return to their hometown and start a new career.
Qin Hongfei, 50, is from Gulong Town, Tengxian County, Guangxi. He worked in Guangdong for more than 10 years and was also a member of the cavalry army. In 2017, aiming at the opportunity of rural revitalization, he returned home to start a business. Now he manages and protects 50 mu of anise at home, with an annual output of 10000 kg. "There are opportunities to make money at home, so why go out to work." Through efforts, Qin Hongfei built a two-story small foreign building in his hometown in 2021, and his life is getting better and better.
-- the income level of the masses has been increasing. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, economic and social development has accelerated, and the income growth of urban and rural residents has kept pace with economic development. After the "money bag" was raised, the people had the ability and confidence to take high-speed rail and plane, and many people also bought safer and more comfortable private cars. Recently, the reporter saw a new scene of private cars with "Guangdong" license sectors driving all the way west on many expressways in Guangxi.
who still insists on "riding alone for thousands of miles"?
Although the scene of the mighty "motorcycle army" in previous years is no longer, a small number of migrant workers still choose to drive motorcycles home for the festival. "The 'motorcycle army' will decrease in the future, but it will certainly not disappear." Liang Fangping, a native of Luocheng, Guangxi, rode home together with her husband Hu ran, a native of Chongqing, for the festival this year. Their professional equipment made them particularly different in the hands of many motorcycles.
Liang Fangping said that returning home is the goal, but the scenery and experience along the way are also their pursuit. "While riding back home, you can enjoy the scenery of Guangxi, which has a different experience compared with driving and taking high-speed rail."
Epidemic prevention and control is still the top priority of the Spring Festival transportation. Many riders interviewed are still worried about the epidemic, so they choose to ride motorcycles back home.
"Now the epidemic is still continuing, with fewer people on motorcycles and more freedom of movement." Zhuo Yuanfeng, a rider who lives in Shidong village, Malian Yao Township, Pingnan County, Guangxi, said that returning home by motorcycle is different from taking motor cars and buses. It can avoid entering densely populated areas and reduce exposure risk, which is a way to effectively implement epidemic prevention measures.
In addition, the riders interviewed said that although the railway network and road network construction in rural areas have been greatly improved, the construction of rural public transport network still needs to be strengthened. "Compared with the way of taking a bus that requires several transit trips and costs twice as much, adhering to riding a motorcycle is still a good choice for returning home." Gan ganrong said that although public transportation to the county level has been very convenient, public transportation in some remote villages is still difficult to cover.
Some riders insist on "riding alone for thousands of miles", and the warm service is still continuing. Warm ginger sugar water and considerate motorcycle maintenance services... According to the person in charge of Wuzhou traffic police department, from the establishment of a simple rest shed for the returning "motorcycle army" in 2008 to today's multi-functional Spring Festival transportation service station, the warm service provided by the traffic police department for riders has continued for many years. In addition, Wuzhou traffic police department also increased mobile duty vehicles to patrol back and forth along national highway 321 to provide help to motorcyclists who fall down or encounter vehicle failure along the way.
