When Daidai realised her father was too old to slaughter two pigs for a traditional community feast in the run-up to Chinese New Year, she turned to social media.

She didn’t want him to feel bad.

“Can anyone help me?” she asked on Douyin, China’s version of Tiktok, at the end of last week. “My father is old. I am worried that he can’t handle these pigs.”

Daidai, who’s in her 20s, promised that those who came to their village, Qingfu, to assist would be treated to a pork banquet.

Her appeal for help attracted more than a million likes and the response on the ground was like a scene from a cheesy feel-good movie, as thousands of cars poured in, carrying many more people than she needed for the task.

So many responded that traffic jams have brought roads in this part of rural Chongqing in south-west China to a standstill. Drone images show carloads of people queuing up with rice crops on either side hoping to still enter Qingfu. Walking in from long distances has been a traffic-beating option for some.