This application relates to a method applied to a radio access network. Where the method includes: establishing, by a first node, a first path and a second path between a first node and a second node, where both the first node and the second node are nodes in the radio access network, and the first node is a wireless backhaul node, a donor node, or a distributed unit of the donor node; sending, by the first node, a data packet to the second node through the first path; and when the first node determines that a path change condition is met, changing, by the first node, from the first path to the second path to send the data packet to the second node.