In the run-up to the Lunar Chinese New Year, which falls on Feb 19, the lack of laborers and service staff has already hit metropolises and big cities as migrant workers start to go home for their family reunions. Comments:

Since the mid-1990s, a trend of disdain for physical labor and vocational education has gradually gained popularity in China, which has resulted in many young people choosing to stay at home rather than go to a vocational school or take a job as a laborer; many vocational schools have even closed down due to lack of students. Now society is paying the price for its past prejudice and we hope that lessons can prevent similar follies in the future.

shm.com.cn, Jan 29