China legislates to maintain Spring Festival traditions(2)

Because of the online ticketing system, Yu is having to go home alone, as her friends did not get tickets on the same train. "We have to go home separately. Some have had to spend 1,000 yuan for a flight, which equates to half-a-month salary," she said.

At her work, only half of the hotel's 100 employees will go home before New Year's Eve, while the other half will have to wait for after the festival.

The good news is that the hotel owner also arranges the opportunity for its staff to visit their families every summer.

Her work's "two home visits" system is advanced but rare for hotels in big cities like Beijing and Shanghai.

Yu told Xinhua that because of the hotel's system, she and her colleagues would rather stay working there than another place with a higher salary, but have less opportunity to go home.

"The ideal frequency to go home would be once a week. It might be possible if I worked in a big city of my home province but it is impossible being in Beijing or Shanghai," she said.

Yu said she spends more than 200 yuan a month on phone calls to her family.

The hotel's home returning system is in accordance with the law article as well as social morality and conscience, Shen Guoming said.

"The legislation aims at proposing home returning. Actually we hope that the power of social morality will stand out as the law cannot guarantee everything," he said.

As well as people finding it hard to get home, the country also has millions of empty-nesters and children left behind by their parents who seek jobs in cities.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Civil Affairs, more than half of Chinese families are empty nests, and the number reaches 70 percent in big and mid-sized cities. There are more than 40 million empty nesters in rural areas.

One single law cannot solve China's dilemma and thorough reformation is needed, Shen said.

Experts also said that the elderly should have faith in the younger generation when it comes to problems of material supporting and spiritual care.

"On the morning of the Chinese Lunar New Year, I will give my parents each one red envelope(usually a monetary gift)," Yu Jie said excitedly.

Yu said the happiest thing for her is that she can give her parents more than 10,000 yuan a year now. "All of it is saved from my daily expenses. I feel much better when I go home to eat and chat with my parents and brother," she said.