Free upgrades for stranded Chinese travellers

Tens of thousands of Lunar New Year travelers in China were stranded on February 2 at a station in Guangzhou, state media said, after snow and ice elsewhere disrupted the world's largest annual human migration. - AFP

Beijing (AFP) - Chinese rail authorities offered 10,000 stranded Lunar New Year travellers free upgrades to high-speed trains Wednesday as they tackled a huge backlog of passengers stuck in Guangzhou by snow and ice.

The city is the capital of the southern province of Guangdong, which as China's manufacturing powerhouse is a major hub for the vast numbers of migrant workers who leave their homes in the countryside to labour in factories.