HUDDLED against the freezing chill, Wang Chunhong waits outside the Shanghai Railway Station with thousands of other migrant workers struggling to book a ticket home before the Chinese New Year.

Wang, a native of Henan Province, has waited for five hours in a plaza with her husband, her 15-month son in her arms, and a mountain of luggage. They watch the bags containing gifts while other relatives wait in the queue to buy train tickets.

The transport peak before Spring Festival (the Lunar New Year is January 26 this year) is always a difficult time for migrant workers in Shanghai. A financial center and traffic hub, the city attracts migrant workers from all over the country, especially nearby Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces to buy tickets.

The sight of huge crowds and long lines is common at the railway station.

According to railway officials, only one out of every six migrant workers is likely to get a ticket in time to get home for the Lunar New Year. But situation is better than expected this year ?? no packed plaza, no endless queues, no fights over tickets.

"It's not that bad. I'm not saying it's easy, but it's better than what people thought," says 37-year-old Anhui Province native Liu Gui, head of a construction team who has worked in Shanghai for almost eight years.

Five or six years ago, it was almost impossible to get even a standing-room ticket. He used to wait two days in advance, he says.

Liu sent his construction workers to buy tickets for him. But most migrants like Wang carried heavy luggage to the station without tickets, and waited.

Because of last year's snow disaster, many workers couldn't make it home. This year, the financial crisis also affects travel plans in different ways.

Many head home earlier than usual because they are out of work and can't find jobs in the city. Some hope to return earlier than usual after the Chinese New year to look for shrinking job opportunities.

Some aren't coming back at all.

They don't think they can find work as so many migrants are competing; instead, they'll try their luck in other big cities like Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, or Beijing.

Some are not leaving at all ?? they are afraid of losing their current jobs because it's so hard to find another in the sluggish economy.

Like Thanksgiving in America and Christmas around the world, Spring Festival means family reunion for Chinese people, and it's the most important festival of all.

Migrants from suburban areas are more heavily influenced by the tradition.

"My mother is 67 years old and I think I should visit her at least once every year, no matter how busy I am," says construction team leader Liu.

"None of my siblings is at home with her. Everyone's working in different cities.

"My mom is so old that I can't even understand her on the phone, so Spring Festival is really the only chance I get to talk to her, or just to be with her," he adds.

Workers like Liu value the Chinese New Year because it's the once-a-year chance to catch up with parents, spend time with their spouses or visit their children.

For the rest of the year, they're working hard to support their family. Even though they have other holidays, they would rather save on travel and send money to the family.

Shanghai Daily interviewed 11 migrant workers about their plans for Spring Festival, their lives in Shanghai and their feelings and responsibilities toward their families.

Some, mostly middle-aged men, are the major provider for the whole family. Some have moved their whole families to Shanghai. Some started working at the age of 17 or 18. Some kissed their brides good-bye and left for the city. Xie Chao is a 55-year-old carpenter who has worked in almost all the big cities, from Beijing to Guangzhou. He is the major support of his small family ?? his wife only gets occasional jobs and his son is still in school.

He moved to Shanghai three months ago for lack of work in Shenzhen of Guangdong Province due to the financial crisis. His wife gave up and returned to Anhui Province even earlier. He didn't do much better in Shanghai.

"I might stay at home for a while after the Spring Festival. It doesn't look like it's going to get better soon and the cost of living is too high here," says Xie.

Unlike Xie, 46-year-old construction worker Miao Genquan from Henan Province is staying in Shanghai for the holiday.

Construction workers often sleep on site when they have jobs. Their meals are provided by their team head.

Since the financial crisis hit, Miao has had a hard time finding work and at first planned to go home for the festival.

After all, he hadn't been home for almost four years. What's another year?

"I need to make more money because my son is in high school. Many friends just send their children to work when they finish middle school, but I really hope my son can get into a college," explains Miao.

High school tuition is costly and college would be a huge burden.

So he leaves his wife to care for his parents and son at home, while he makes as much money as possible while he is still able to work.

He was out of work for six weeks and was going to head home, however, a friend called just in time, telling him there was a house renovation in Shanghai, and he needed the job. Construction team head Liu Gui and his family left for Anhui Province last Friday, even though his wife and 5-year-old son had moved to Shanghai early last year.

"I really want to spend more time with my wife and son since now I'm a little better off than before, when I worked as a construction worker. I felt bad for my family but I couldn't help it. My son will go back to Anhui to go to primary school in a year or two, so I really want to be with him as much as possible before that," says Liu.

Liu's wife cooks for the workers in his team and he takes his son with him at work. Liu treasures the time he can spend with them now ?? for almost eight years they had been separated.

They are still heading home, however, because all the other family members will be at his parents' home.

For them, family is not just the three of them, but a much larger idea of everyone they are related to. "My mother gets really happy when she sees the whole family getting together, even just once a year," explains Liu.

It's the same for Wang Chunhong and her family, so they lugged their baggage and braved freezing wind for hours to get tickets home. They couldn't make it back to Henan Province last year because of the snow. So this year is even more important.

Wang says she's lucky to be able to work with her husband in the same city because "many couples have to work in different places, or the wife has to stay at hometown to take care of the child." Su Zhongshuang from Guizhou Province is a typical small Chinese girl and looks even younger than her age ?? 18. Her dad supported the family by working in different cities and now Su is doing the same, working on an assembly line.

She works in nearby Jiangsu Province because she couldn't find a job in Shanghai. "I came for a short while and the living cost is too high," she says.

For Spring Festival, she is meeting her father who works in Shanghai, and they will return together.

Like Su, many children of migrant workers also start as migrant workers at an early age, usually after middle school.

Wang Yingyu, 20, washes hair in a salon and sends half of her low income back home to support her younger brother's schooling. She lives in the employee's dormitory, an old two-bedroom apartment of 60 square meters, with seven colleagues.

She hasn't been back home for three years and isn't going back this year either. The triple wage for overtime during the holiday is too tempting and she considers it a good chance to impress her boss.

"I hope my little brother can graduate soon and find a good job," she says, "so I won't have to shoulder so much responsibility anymore."