China’s Lunar New Year Arrives With Quiet Streets and Growing Unease

As state media tout stability, a resident in central China describes economic strain, fading hope, and a sense that ‘something big’ may be coming.

A migrant worker crosses a road after arriving on a long-distance bus in Beijing on March 10, 2021. Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images

During the Lunar New Year, Chinese state media filled TV screens with celebratory images of lanterns and fireworks, portraying the regime’s stability and prosperity. But people on the streets in central China told a different story.

In Henan Province, one man who returned home for the holiday described something he had never seen before—silence.