Zhang Fei, a delivery worker in Shanghai for ZTO Express, and his wife, who works for a cosmetics packaging company, are planning to delay their trip home until after Spring Festival to reduce health risks during the busy holiday travel period.

It takes 12 hours to drive from Shanghai to their home in Anhui province, but traffic jams often double the journey time, Zhang said.

The couple has sent several boxes of food and clothes to their daughters, who are age 5 and 10, along with money for their parents back home. However, Zhang regrets that his parents are having to raise the girls and that he and his wife are missing important times in their children's lives.

Zhou Yongfei, general manager of Hangzhou Bapima New Energy Vehicle Co, based in the Zhejiang provincial capital, said: "Some 70 percent of our nonlocal employees will stay here for Spring Festival. We are giving each of them a payment of 100 yuan from Feb 1 to Lunar New Year's Eve and a further 200 yuan per day for the week after that.

"Everyone is eager to return home during Spring Festival, but with a rising number of orders and labor difficulties during this period, we are encouraging more employees to stay in Hangzhou for the holiday," said Zhou Yongfei, who supervises a large number of drivers.

According to Zhou Dewen, the economist, encouraging employees to spend Spring Festival in the cities and towns where they work can bring many benefits.

From a business perspective, companies who have most of their employees close to hand immediately after the holiday are in a good position to resume production and ensure supply chain consistency, particularly those with staff members who do not need extra training, Zhou Dewen said.