If it's your first Chinese New Year in Guangzhou and you're excited about all the lively, thrilling events on offer during the holiday, sorry to disappoint you. As the world's largest exodus gains momentum, Guangzhou's streets will soon be an eerie, empty shell of its former self. Your regular bar is likely to be closed and your favourite hole-in-the-wall restaurant is certain to be bolted shut. Forget about trying to hire a nanny to clean up your mess and wave goodbye to the idea of catching a train out of the city. Each Spring Festival is a brash reminder that migrant workers and out-of-towners really are the engine of the city. There's really not much happening in Guangzhou during the Spring Festival; however, let this round-up of news and events remind you that despite the lack of cool events, there's never a dull moment in China, no matter what time of the year.

1)  Man dies after staring at Mahjong board for 10 hours
One man in Luohu District suddenly dropped dead after watching a fierce game of Mahjong for over 10 hours. An ambulance quickly rushed to the scene but it was too late for the 48 year old from Hunan. Can someone really be that into a game of Mahjong? After looking into the case, local police determined that the man had no place to stay, which is why he decided to sit out the night in the Mahjong parlour – a depressing ending to a tragic circumstance.

2)  China's biggest Korean fashion mall to open this year
But it wasn't all doom and gloom in the news recently. China's biggest Korean clothing mall is set to open in Guangzhou later this year. Hantaicheng (韩太城) will feature over 2000 vendors and will be spread over two floors. An exact address has not yet been disclosed but it will be situated somewhere along the Railway Station and Airport Road commercial area. Slated for a September opening, this'll be the perfect spot for Guangzhou's fashionistas to stay in tune with Korea's latest fashion trends.

3)  Guangzhou Railway Station can't meet Spring Festival travel need
China has been celebrating Spring Festival for over 4000 years, so you would be forgiven for thinking that by now, Guangzhou would have mastered a system for ensuring its transport system can cope with the staggering hordes of people travelling home each year. Not so. In fact, it seems like things are getting more frantic and difficult year by year. Recently, the director in charge of transport at Guangzhou Railway Station admitted that the station can only handle a capacity of 8 million travellers, which only accounts for half of outbound travellers. He further stated that there are not enough trains to meet the full demand. In what sounded like a very Marie Antoinette-like suggestion, the director said that people should choose alternative modes of transport to get home. Should people also bring a piece of cake for the road?

4)  People finding new ways to get home
Which brings us to the next topic: car pooling. With train tickets impossible to get and plane tickets being too expensive for many, more people are resorting to finding car pooling opportunities online. Over the last few weeks, several websites dedicated to sharing car pooling info have popped up and popular forums are proving to be another hot source for those heeding the advice of finding "alternative modes of transport to get home." People from the same hometowns are starting to connect online and together, finding solutions to getting home. At least the people haven't lost their sense of community in a time when officials have clearly left many people in the lurch.

5)  Spring Festival flower market opens
If you find yourself stuck in Guangzhou over Chinese New Year, why not cheer yourself up by looking at flowers, lots and lots of flowers. Until January 21st, Guangzhou residents can peruse and buy over 130 different types of flowers spread over a floor space of 1.46 million square metres. It may not exactly compare to a Yunnan jungle trek, but a few, colourful pots of flowers to pimp up the flat never go astray. More details here.

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Keywords: Guangzhou watchdog Korean fashion mall Guangzhou hantaicheng Guangzhou Guangzhou railway station spring festival