BEIJING, CHINA - Millions of Chinese rushed home Wednesday to be with family on Lunar New Year's Eve but for many there would be little to celebrate after the worst weather in 100 years in places.

On the last day of the Year of the Pig, one of the biggest mass movements of people anywhere in the world was taking place along rail and road links newly restored for what is the biggest holiday in the Chinese calendar.

But those who had not managed to get a ticket home were resigned to spending the holiday away from loved ones as the world's most populous nation welcomed the Year of the Rat, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

"Millions of Chinese had to say 'sorry' to their loved ones," the agency said.

The reason was three weeks of severe winter weather, hitting some parts of China with the most prolonged and disruptive snow storms in decades, seemingly catching the government unprepared and even surprising state meteorologists.

The freak weather came at the worst possible time for the transport system, ahead of the New Year's rush when 200 million migrant workers were trying to go home for what is a rare time to savour in a life of often hard toil.

Officials had been struggling to get trains and buses running again, and while most key transport arteries reopened this week, the backlog of passengers that had built up meant not all could get the tickets they wanted.

In the southern province of Guangdong, whose plants and sweatshops employ up to 30 million migrants from all corners of China, as many as 12 million had decided to stay in their dormitories, bracing for a bleak Lunar New Year.

This was repeated elsewhere up the east coast where wealthy cities employ people from poorer parts of China. In Shanghai, 120,000 migrant workers had heeded official calls to stay put, according to Xinhua.

The weather also made this one of the most miserable - and unusual - Lunar New Years in memory by disrupting power supplies, causing millions to face a festival season with little or no access to electricity and water.

Worst hit was Chenzhou, a city of about four million located in central China's Hunan province, which had suffered power blackouts and water cutouts for 12 consecutive days.

Thousands of soldiers and civilians were commandeered to work on restoring electricity to the city, and reported progress early Wednesday.

"Parts of the power lines have been restored, and power supply will return gradually for citizens in Chenzhou starting today," Huang Qiang, a Hunan electricity official, told Xinhua.

But at least eight counties in southern and eastern China were expected to be without power when dusk settled on the last day of the lunar year, Xinhua said, citing the State Council, or Cabinet.

"Relief work has come to a critical point. We should not be slack, but keep pushing it forward," Premier Wen Jiabao said Tuesday, as he toured southwest China's Guizhou province, one of the affected areas.

"Only when the masses are reassured, can the country be in peace. Only when the country is in peace, can the leaders be relieved," Wen was quoted as saying.

At least 105 million out of the country's 1.3 billion population have been affected by the inclement weather and more than 60 killed, the government said.