Short-Form News

My Philosophy: There are a number of challenges associated with short-form visual content, yet I have managed to master what is perhaps the greatest: creating visual consistency with the least amount of images. I managed to overcome this by looking at the tens, occasionally hundreds of provided images and sorting them into a variety of categories depending on the feelings I wanted the story to convey. In this case, the feeling of uncertainty, combined with that of being overwhelmed with emotion. Chinese city dwellers had been in quarantine for months before the Lunar New Year, and I wanted to incorporate their feelings of being nervous about COVID-19 and excited to see their families again after potentially years of separation. 

A child sits on a suitcase at Beijing West Railway Station in Beijing, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023. China in December lifted its strict "zero-COVID" policy, letting loose a wave of pent-up travel desire, particularly around China's most important time for family gatherings, referred to in China as the Spring Festival, that may be the only time in the year when urban workers return to their hometowns. (Mark Schiefelbein/The Associated Press)
A child sits on a suitcase at Beijing West Railway Station in Beijing, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023. China in December lifted its strict "zero-COVID" policy, letting loose a wave of pent-up travel desire, particularly around China's most important time for family gatherings, referred to in China as the Spring Festival, that may be the only time in the year when urban workers return to their hometowns. (Mark Schiefelbein/The Associated Press)
Travelers stand on an elevated walkway near an electronic schedule display at Beijing West Railway Station in Beijing, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023. China in December lifted its strict "zero-COVID" policy, letting loose a wave of pent-up travel desire, particularly around China's most important time for family gatherings, referred to in China as the Spring Festival, that may be the only time in the year when urban workers return to their hometowns. (Mark Schiefelbein/The Associated Press)
Travelers stand on an elevated walkway near an electronic schedule display at Beijing West Railway Station in Beijing, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023. China in December lifted its strict "zero-COVID" policy, letting loose a wave of pent-up travel desire, particularly around China's most important time for family gatherings, referred to in China as the Spring Festival, that may be the only time in the year when urban workers return to their hometowns. (Mark Schiefelbein/The Associated Press)
Travelers walk along a concourse at Beijing West Railway Station in Beijing, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023. China in December lifted its strict "zero-COVID" policy, letting loose a wave of pent-up travel desire, particularly around China's most important time for family gatherings, referred to in China as the Spring Festival, that may be the only time in the year when urban workers return to their hometowns. (Mark Schiefelbein/The Associated Press)
Travelers walk along a concourse at Beijing West Railway Station in Beijing, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023. China in December lifted its strict "zero-COVID" policy, letting loose a wave of pent-up travel desire, particularly around China's most important time for family gatherings, referred to in China as the Spring Festival, that may be the only time in the year when urban workers return to their hometowns. (Mark Schiefelbein/The Associated Press)
A man pushes a child riding on a suitcase at Beijing West Railway Station in Beijing, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023. A population that has crested and is slowly shrinking will pose new challenges for China's leaders, ranging from encouraging young people to start families, to persuading seniors to stay in the workforce longer and parents to allow their children to join the military. (Mark Schiefelbein/The Associated Press)
A man pushes a child riding on a suitcase at Beijing West Railway Station in Beijing, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023. A population that has crested and is slowly shrinking will pose new challenges for China's leaders, ranging from encouraging young people to start families, to persuading seniors to stay in the workforce longer and parents to allow their children to join the military. (Mark Schiefelbein/The Associated Press)
Lunar New Year Travel resumes in China post-zero-COVID policies
BEIJING (AP) — Millions of Chinese are taking advantage of the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions to make an emotional journey back to their families for the Lunar New Year holidays. Some are traveling for the first time in three years. Referred to in China as the Spring Festival, it may be the only time of the year when urban workers return to their hometowns. The Chinese government expects over 2.1 billion journeys to be made during a 40-day travel period around New Year’s Day, which falls on Sunday. In December, China abruptly dropped near-daily coronavirus testing and QR code monitoring of residents after public frustration boiled over into protests. This month, it dropped most remaining restrictions, including the demand that overseas travelers must go into lengthy and expensive quarantine.
Original story by The Associated Press / Edited for The Columbia Missourian 
Photos by Mark Schiefelbein / The Associated Press
January 18, 2023

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