By Chris Buckley
Scores have died in snow-related accidents in the run-up to the holiday, one of the greatest annual migrations of humanity, with the usual travel chaos compounded by the coldest winter in 100 years across vast swathes of the south, centre and east.
"As most of China is predicted to have clear weather for the Lunar New Year holiday, the country may get a breathing space to recover from the disaster," Xinhua news agency said.
The remote township of Wengxiang in the snowy mountains of Guizhou province hadn't had electricity since January 14. Residents also have to negotiate steep, icy paths to fetch water in buckets because pipes are frozen or cracked.
"I guess we'll have to have the new year celebrations in darkness." he said. "We can't afford candles."
About 1,000 pylons and poles had collapsed under the weight of ice and snow, which means the local grid, that took decades to build, had effectively been destroyed.
Premier Wen Jiabao was in Guizhou on Wednesday on his third visit to disaster areas in nine days.
HOLIDAY MISERY
China would distribute 400,000 tonnes of vegetables, including potatoes, onions and white radish, to snow-hit regions in a couple of days to help alleviate price pressure, Xinhua said.
But the holiday preparations continued, including a group of small boys and young men in Wengxiang, roosters under their arms, getting ready for a cockfight.
"The biggest problem has been keeping the children warm at night," said farmer Ye Xiaoling in the farming and manganese mining area of Wanshan in the Guizhou prefecture of Tongren, which has also been without power since January.
She also said the children had complained they would not be able to watch the traditional state TV entertainment special, often described as the most watched on Earth, which many will have to listen to by radio.
"Please set off fireworks in a legal, civilised and safe manner," it said.
