Chinese families meet for bittersweet reunions

"I'm so looking forward to going home this time," says Sandy Bai. "I'm grateful that I'll be able to see my whole family."

It's been three years since the young communication professional, who lives in Hong Kong, has been home to Shanghai. She last saw her family in 2020 when she visited them over the Lunar New Year or Spring Festival, as it's known in China, reports BBC.

That visit happened just before the pandemic was declared - and China's zero-Covid policy in the years since, which required travellers to quarantine for weeks, kept her away from home. With most Covid restrictions now gone, millions of Chinese are traveling home this weekend to celebrate the beginning of the Year of the Rabbit, which falls on Sunday.

But the sudden reversal of zero-Covid has caused a surge in cases in recent weeks, dampening what is the biggest holiday of the year for the Chinese.

It's a chance for families to gather and celebrate each other's successes, and regroup for a fresh start. But it will be bittersweet this year. Even as large swathes of China turn festive red - the colour of the Spring Festival - it's hard to miss the white, the sign of a household in mourning.

Some families are eager to gather around the table just like they always have, while others are not celebrating because they are mourning the loss of a loved one, or caring for a sick relative. And then there are those who are celebrating, but with a heavy heart, well aware of the empty seats.

Melody Liu, who lives in Beijing, lost her grandfather earlier this month, just weeks before the Spring Festival.

It was a chaotic time, she says. The family couldn't find an intensive care bed for several days. And then, with crematoria and funeral homes filling up, they had to pull strings to find him a final resting place.

Melody and her family are in no mood to celebrate the holiday this year - but she says they will nevertheless meet because her 90-year-old grandmother doesn't yet know of her grandfather's passing.

"We told her grandpa is still in the ICU. We just can't give her the truth," Melody says. "I feel like he is still here and taking care of us."