JOY - Ye Xiaoxia - #0505020254

Spring festival in China is known as a festival for family reunions. No matter how far away from home, people try their best to get back and stay with their family. My family is no exception.

My parents left their hometown after they were married. So it is a tradition for my family to return to their hometown and reunite with my grandparents each year. I can remember when I was a child, my parents took my younger brother and me, traveling on a long bumpy road, and finally we arrived at my parents’ old house. In those days, transportation was very poor. However, we all made it by our indomitable efforts.

This year, with the Spring Festival coming, my whole family was busy preparing our journey home. We didn’t anticipate that a devastating snowstorm was on its way.

Big flakes of snow kept falling down for days, with big ice balls whipping the house. Soon, the ground was covered with thick snow and it became frozen. The storm lashed across the Southern part of China. Electrical towers were snapped like fragile trees. Many expressways were blocked with cars lined up and they couldn’t move an inch. It was broadcast that the National Storm Center graded this storm as “the worst snowstorm in 100 years for many southern provinces.” Many houses were demolished; hundreds of thousands of people were homeless. People, who were on their way home, were trapped in the stations.

We kept calling grandparents to make sure whether they were all right. They assured us that they were fine and were very much concerned about our safety. As a result, we were not allowed to go back home with grandparents’ demanding order: “Don’t come home unless the weather gets better.”

Spring Festival eve was coming but the bad weather didn’t change. We prayed piously inside our hearts for the safety of all the people and the reunions for all the families.

Luckily, we heard the news that the road to our hometown was cleared a little bit. We quickly packed our suitcases and started our journey again. The bus took us to the foot of the mountain .The driver told us that we had to walk up the mountain. We didn’t complain. We were thankful for all the improvements.

We did all the preparation work. By wrapping our feet with plastic bags, we prevented our feet from being frostbitten by snow. The road was very slippery. Father told us to walk hand in hand so that we might not fall down easily. My younger brother and I were walking in the middle, under protection with my father and mother in front and back respectively.

Ahead of us, there were other people just like us who tried their best to go back home. My family, as well as others, made our way in single file along the mountain road. It reminded us of the Long March during the Chinese revolutionary history, which was a brilliant chapter for Chinese history. The Chinese soldiers walked through thousands of miles, covered with thick snow, and finally reached their victory. All of a sudden, we all felt that we were heroes too, just like the Red Army. We were challenging ourselves. Great joy filled our hearts as we approached home step by step.

Finally, we managed to get through all the hardships and arrived home safely. Grandparents were all greatly surprised. Joyful tears ran down their cheeks.

I didn’t get through a lot of adventures during this snowstorm. But that “Long March” will be in my memory for a lifetime. Maybe we will not encounter the snowstorm like this year again, the tradition of going home continues.