In many countries, exit and contact restrictions have been tightened again in recent weeks due to the second wave of pandemics. Bars and restaurants in Germany ceased regular operations for the second time this year. Night clubs have been worried about their existence for months and young people complain in many places that they lack balance to everyday life.
A completely different picture emerges in Wuhan, China. The corona virus broke out here at the end of last year. The Chinese government issued a strict lockdown in January, and some people were no longer allowed to leave their homes. When cases surfaced in other provinces, China expanded measures. Up to 750 million people are said to have been in lockdown at times. In addition, there are the extremely restrictive entry and quarantine measures that have been in place since spring. As a result, China has managed to greatly reduce the number of new infections.
In the meantime, wild parties are being celebrated again in Wuhan. We spoke to three young people in Wuhan about what life is like for them after the lockdown.
Valdemar Alexander Shevchuk, 30, university professor of international law in Wuhan
Nobody here in Wuhan thinks about the corona virus anymore. On Halloween I was at a big party in Happy Valley with a friend. This is an amusement park in Hongshan District. In the last week of October, parties were held there, with live actors running through the park as zombies and monsters and terrifying people. On the way to the venue, we met many young people in the subway who were out and about in Halloween costumes. Western holidays are super popular in China. The park was accordingly full. Most people, however, wore masks.
I eat out at least five times a week.
Valdemar
We only stayed at Happy Valley for an hour and a half because I’ve been there a couple of times before. The last time for the Halloween party in November 2019, just before the start of the pandemic. Back then we didn’t have to wear masks. That was actually the biggest difference. In addition, we had to register our visit to the park online in advance and could not buy our tickets on site. If there had been an outbreak, it would have been possible to track who was there. Otherwise everything went pretty much the same. Most of the time we played hide and seek with zombies and vampires. That was pretty cool.
In Wuhan, I’m not scared of the crowd. I feel safe. I take the subway to work every day. The trains are packed. Everything in the city has long since reopened. Since July, young people have been able to party in almost the same way as they did before the pandemic. There are many clubs and bars here. It’s nice to be able to go out again. I currently eat out at least five times a week.
Ali Abbas, 26, a student in Wuhan
We have our freedom again. At night the street lights shine everywhere, people queue in the food streets, the restaurants and bars are full. Markets, shopping centers, cinemas, schools and universities are open. Tourist attractions such as the Happy Valley, the old museum or the pagoda of the yellow crane, a building steeped in history, are well attended. People move like they did before the pandemic. I can go partying wherever I want and move around as I like. That’s nice.
When the lockdown started in Wuhan, I was very concerned. After all, I had never seen anything like it before. There was a lot of fake news about the virus in the media. I was afraid of getting infected. From one day to the next we were no longer allowed to move freely, we had to stay in our student dormitories. But I didn’t feel alone because I was able to talk to the other international students there. Out on the streets only volunteers, distributing food, and officials moving around. Everyone else was at home.
I feel safer in Wuhan than in the rest of the world.
Abbas
My university’s international student office took good care of us. They kept us updated on the situation out there at regular intervals. They also provided us with food, masks, thermometers and traditional Chinese medicine to strengthen the immune system. I felt in good hands. That was also the reason why I decided against leaving the country and flying back to Pakistan. Many of my international fellow students had themselves flown out. I thought to myself: I am safer in Wuhan than in the rest of the world.
I couldn’t leave the dorm for 76 days. I celebrated the end of the official lockdown with friends at East Lake, a famous lake in Wuhn. We picnicked, ate something and just were together. After the long quarantine, it was good to go out with friends and feel this regained freedom. We really enjoyed that feeling.
唐 莹 Tang Ying, 22, a student in Wuhan
Wuhan is almost back to the way it was before the virus. I still don’t go out too often in the evening. But that’s not because I’m afraid of the virus, but because I live on campus. There is a canteen and cafeterias here, I don’t have to go out to experience anything.
When they cordoned off the city, I was visiting my mother in my hometown of Xiangyang, about an hour by express train from Central Wuhan. On the train on the way there, I read a message from the health authority on Weibo, the Chinese Twitter, in which the virus was reported. That was in December 2019, just before the New Year. Shortly thereafter, in January, Wuhan went into lockdown. I couldn’t go back to campus, so I spent the quarantine with my family. It wasn’t until June, after several Covid tests, that I drove to Wuhan. By then the city had largely returned to normal.
But I am not afraid.
Tang Ying
Most of the Chinese students I know don’t really care what happens to the coronavirus in the rest of the world. In general, young people don’t talk much about Corona anymore. My parents still do it sometimes. The season is changing right now. Winter is coming and it’s getting colder. They are concerned and tell me to be careful when moving around Wuhan. Personally, I am not afraid.