For many millions it is an unavoidable ritual, something to be tolerated with as much patience as one can muster because the reward at the end is worth it.
Every Chinese New Year as people board trains, planes, buses, cars and mopeds to head home for the warmth of the family reunion, they arrive battered and beleaguered, each with their own tale of travelling woe.
The 20-hour journeys with standing room only. The pickpockets. And just the sheer overwhelming numbers of people, thronging every platform, forming every queue.
So when the whole country seemingly becomes one large crowd it might seem unlikely that China would be shocked by pictures of a large crowd.