here it comes again. i really don’t want to go home this year.

whenever i hear my friends utter similar phrases, i know it’s that time of year again.

in a city like shanghai, in which more than a third of its residents aren’t locals, chinese new year is the time where many leave shanghai for their hometowns. the consequence of that is the infamous 春运 chunyun, named after the colossal amount of traffic that leaves people stuck for hours trying to get home.

i would deem chinese new year as the chinese equivalent to christmas, an event where family members get together and celebrate, a time of year that’s supposed to represent togetherness (the dinner itself is even called reunion dinner), but for many, it can be one of the most dreaded times of the year.

in mainland china, chinese new year is often a grand affair attended…