Year of The Dog_ VICE&HBO

Chinese New Year isn’t just a holiday. It's the largest annual human migration on Earth. And to Yang Jianguo and Liu Mingchun, it's the only time they get to reunite with their children 1,000 miles away. For decades, migrant workers like Yang have been the engine of China’s spectacular economic boom. But while their work is welcome, their children are not. The high cost of living and strict city regulations make essentials like schooling and healthcare difficult to access, and families, like Yang’s, often separate. An estimated 61 million “left-behind children” only see their parents once a year during paid time-off for the Chinese New Year. “Because we have to spend four days on the road, ” said Liu, “The only time we could get two weeks off is during the Chinese New Year, that’s when we can go home.”