【War Archives】

A Chinese man who didn't have War Archivesenough money for a train ticket decided instead to spend a month cycling home -- only to find he was going in the opposite direction.

The migrant worker, who had cycled some 500km (310 miles), was trying to make it home for Chinese New Year.

He set off from the Chinese city of Rizhou towards his home up north in Qiqihar, which is over 1,700km away.

The man only found out he was going the wrong way after he was stopped by traffic police in the city of Anhui for riding illegally on the highway.

The man told the police that he had received the wrong directions at the start of his trip, and had been following them for the past 500km, according to the People's Daily.

He added that he had only been working for a short while, and had spent most of his money in internet cafes.

Officers and tollbooth workers decided to chip in to buy him a ticket home, rather than making him bike over 2,000km back.

This year, some three billion trips were made by millions of Chinese travellers rushing home for Chinese New Year, arguably the country's biggest celebration.

So at least he got to avoid the crowd for a while.