Now as a supervisor in charge of equipment distribution at a construction site in Beijing, the 35-year-old is able to go home and hug his 7-year-old son when the lunar new year arrives.

"Before I could only hear my son's voice through phone calls. The Spring Festival is the only time for people like me, who are always on the move, to fulfill our duties to the family," Wu said.

He said that the construction process went so smoothly during winter that he could afford to buy an earlier train ticket to spend the xiaonian (a festival on the 23rd day of the 12th month of the lunar year when sacrifices are made to the kitchen god) at his hometown in Shaobei town, East China's Jiangsu Province.

It's the first time since leaving his hometown five years ago that Wu has been able to go home early and visit the town he claims to be a wonderful place with an amazing landscape and abundance.

The city of Jiangdu, which Shaobei town falls under in jurisdiction, is one of the most famous and prosperous places for the construction industry in the entire country, owning more than 70 construction teams, according to Wu.

Chen Jinsong, 27, who works with Wu as a supervisor in charge of construction quality and also comes from Shaobei, added that more than 2,000 people in Shaobei are engaged in the construction industry across the country.

But no matter how busy the construction schedule has been, they always go home for the family reunion festival, he said.

Chen said they have their own unique way to spend the festival holiday in his hometown. "They are colourful and full of fun," he said.

It includes exciting dragon-boat games, wonderful lion-dance performances, a big festival lantern show and it is always a good time for children to enjoy setting off firecrackers.

Besides family reunion, delicious local food also allures the folks home from across the country, Wu said.

Although often away from home for extended periods, both Wu and Chen said they still disliked the hot and salty food of northern and western parts of China and always missed the light and slightly sweet Huaiyang dishes, one of the four most popular cuisine styles in China along with the other three - Sichuan, Cantonese and Shandong dishes.

Moreover, food prepared during the Spring Festival in Shaobei usually has its special meanings, said Wu.

On the eve of the Chinese New Year, a dish of stir-fried celery is specially prepared.

The celery is called qiaocai by local people, which grows up in the water and the inside is hollow.

"The hollow channel symbolizes the next year's smooth promotions, transportations and communications with people," Wu said.

Another preferred vegetable during the festival is pea shoots. Local people used to call it anlecai, meaning peace and happiness of the coming new year.

Tangyuan, stuffed dumplings made of glutinous rice flour in soup, served on the lunar New Year's Day as blessing for a lasting family reunion with salted front paws of pigs served the following day as a blessing for a big fortune.

Chen specially noted his favourite shizitou, a dish of large meatballs browned and braised with soy sauce, because those he has tried in Beijing have not been made in the genuine Huaiyang style, he said.

Chen said it is a pity that they have to rush back to Beijing before the Lantern Festival, the 15th of the first lunar month, for the construction demands.

"But to have about a 20-day family reunion is already the biggest bonus for the one year of hard work," he said.

(China Daily January 30, 2003)