More than 12.5 million migrant workers have been persuaded to stay in Guangdong Province for Spring Festival, the local labor department said yesterday.

The figure represents more than 40 percent of the total for the province.

But transportation issues remain, as a further 3.1 million people still plan to return home by rail, road or air, an official from Guangdong's department of labor and social security said.

Over recent days the department has been trying to persuade workers to stay in Guangdong, the official said.

Representatives from the migrants' home provinces and cities have also encouraged them to stay, rather than risk traveling home, he said.

The Sichuan provincial government has organized delegations to visit the families of migrant workers in Guangdong, urging them to stay put.

After deciding to stay in Guangzhou, Chen Bingyi, from Chongqing Municipality, said she will visit tourist spots in the city with colleagues who are also staying where they are for the holidays.

"I have not seen any scenic spots since I started work at an electronics factory in Guangzhou's Tianhe district two years ago," the 22-year-old said.

Over the past two days, authorities in Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhuhai have organized entertainment for the migrant workers.

Cui Renquan, director of the Guangzhou department of labor and social security, is leading delegations to neighborhood committees, companies and factories to persuade migrant workers to stay in the city.

The local government of Guangzhou has already spent more than 1.55 million yuan (US$215,000) on free movies, tours of the Pearl River and other entertainment and sightseeing events, Cui said.

Also, about 160 parks in the city will be open free of charge to migrant workers, he said.

Normal operations resumed at Guangzhou railway station yesterday after a record 260,000 passengers were stranded there on Saturday and Sunday.

Figures from the station showed more than 300,000 passengers left the provincial capital for home on 195 trains yesterday. Fewer than 100,000 passengers remained at the railway station.

Traffic on the Guangdong section of the Beijing-Zhuhai Expressway also resumed yesterday after about 80,000 highway workers helped clear the road.

In another development, the snowstorms that paralyzed transport have also stranded students at their campuses.

Universities and colleges across Shanghai, for example, are opening their doors to students who are unable to return home.

Liu Kui, a Hunan native studying at Tongji University, said: "I was waiting at the railway station last night, but was told all trains to my hometown had been canceled.

"My tutor told me I could celebrate Spring Festival with about 400 of my schoolmates who also can't go back home this year," Liu said.

"We will have dinner together tomorrow night, followed by a party. Although I can't be with my family, having fun with my friends will make me feel better."

(China Daily February 5, 2008)