Liu Jing has decided not to go home to see her family for Spring Festival, or Chinese New Year, this year. Instead, she will celebrate the festival in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, thousands of miles from her hometown.

"I am going to spend Spring Festival overseas to seek inner peace," said Liu, 24, who just resigned from her job. "I'll have New Year's Eve dinner with other backpackers and send my greetings home via the Internet."

Liu Jing is just one of the many Chinese people who will travel abroad during the traditional family-reunion Lunar New Year holiday, which falls on Feb 10 this year.