Spring Festival Travel Rush: Hangzhou volunteers team up to help visually impaired return home

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Squeezing with millions on the way home can be a headache for many. But for the visually imparied, the journey might be frightening instead. In the east Chinese city of Hangzhou, volunteers have come up with a rather innovative way to make sure they get home safely. CGTN's Li Jianhua travels with them to find out just how they do it.

People everywhere... hustling and bustling in a railway station. Travelling alone can be tough for the ordinary people, let alone the visually impaired.

But volunteers in Hangzhou are trying to make their journey a little easier.

MAO LIJING DEPUTY SECRETARY, HANGZHOU VOLUNTEER ASSOCIATION "As of the end of January, the number of volunteers in Hangzhou hit more than two million. Hangzhou has a population of nearly nine million - this means one in every four people is a volunteer."

For the volunteers, helping the visually impaired go back home is very much like a team effort. And this has been ongoing for years.

GU YAJUAN HEAD OF SPRING FESTIVAL TRAVEL RUSH VOLUNTEERS "We've been helping the blind for four years. Now we're collecting information about the blind passengers who are coming to or leaving from Hangzhou."

And after rounds of escalators, lifts and waiting, the one they've been waiting for is finally here. For Gu, her mission is complete.

The subway volunteers will take it from here to escort the blind person to another railway station where he will board the train.

After some 20 minutes, they are now at the railway station. And more volunteers are waiting here. With the help of four volunteers, he managed to arrive at the waiting lounge.

LI JIANHUA HANGZHOU "In February, nearly three billion trips are expected to be made during the Spring Festival - the most important holiday and family gathering in China. It's also considered the largest human migration in the world. For the visually impaired, the volunteers are making it possible for them to go back home safely."

GUAN DONGNING VISUALLY INMPAIRED PASSENGER "The service is terrific. People in the team are all amiable - I feel like they are my family."

Before this, going back home was a different story.

GUAN DONGNING VISUALLY IMPAIRED PASSENGER "I had to ask around while walking alone with a white cane. The tactile pavements are problematic. Sometimes the tactile pavements are gone while you are walking on them, then you wouldn't know which way to follow."

Walking through the crowd, Guan finally reaches the right platform. With the help of the volunteers, he manages to board the train that will take him home.

300. That's the number of visually-impaired people who have managed to safely return home for China's most important festival. And it's all thanks to these selfless volunteers. LJH. CGTN. Hangzhou.