(Written by a friend in Shanghai)

          I am very happy to see the sun shining in Shanghai again.  We had rainy days for nearly two weeks and that bothered me a lot.  The moist air, the crowded buses, the traffic jams, and damp clothing made me fall into a depression.  Many of my friends and colleagues were also down in spirits.  There is no doubt that weather affects moods.

          The blue sky, the white clouds, and the shining sun make me happy though it is still quite cold outside.  I have decided to go out this afternoon to enjoy the sunny day.

          The Spring Festival will come next week.  Every year at this time, armies of migrant workers, students, and other travelers are hurrying to return to their homes for family reunions.  We like to call it "Spring Festival travel".  While it's going on, it is very hard to buy a ticket for an airplane, bus or train.  It's not surprising to see people waiting in long lines day and night.  The busy time at the stations usually begins one month before the Spring Festival and peaks two weeks before it.  The employees at the airport and the bus and railroad stations make every effort to get all those people to their homes comfortably and conveniently.  Everything is usually in good order when the peak comes, but this year a snowstorm in central China caused chaos.

          The storm shut down Zhengzhou, the intersection of the nation's main north-south and east-west rail arteries, and it almost caused railway paralysis.  Most trains were late, and thousands of passengers were delayed.  A news reporter said that on Thursday there were up to 100,000 passengers delayed in Beijing, 60,000 in Zhengzhou, 10,000 in Xian.  In Shanghai, there were also thousands of people waiting in and around the station.  As the hours passed, and with the combined efforts of railway workers, fewer and fewer trains were delayed and more and more passengers got home.  However, the situation was a red alert to the nation's railways.

          I feel that I am so lucky.  My home is right here in Shanghai so I didn't have to take a bus, a train or an airplane.