A girl eats tangyuan at Guiyangbei Railway Station on Lantern Festival which fell on Feb 11. [Photo/xinhuanet.com]

Warm-hearted volunteers doled out bowls of tangyuan to passengers at Guiyangbei Railway Station on Lantern Festival, which fell on Feb 11 this year.

Lantern Festival is celebrated on the 15th day of the first month of lunar year and marks the end of Chinese New year celebrations. People usually eat tangyuan, sweet rice dumpling filled with red bean paste, dried fruits, or sesame. The eating of tangyuan symbolizes the coming together of families and reunion.

As the Spring Festival holiday draws to a close many migrant workers must leave their hometowns and return to the larger cities where they have found work. Making tangyuan even more fitting, often the last meal that family with migrant workers share together until the following Spring Festival.

Due to Guizhou’s rural nature, the province has many migrant workers, often travelling from their hometowns and villages to find employment in bigger cities.

To warm the travellers on the journeys back to work, Guiyangbei Railway Station prepared some 500 bowls of tangyuan, as well as organizing cross talk performers to put on a show.

“I thought I wouldn’t have tangyuan today. To my surprise, I can still enjoy the festival in the station’s waiting room,” said Fu Changxun, a 25-year-old migrant worker on his way back to work.