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| The deadly coronavirus epidemic has brought much of China to a standstill, but perhaps nowhere has the change been more stark than in Shanghai (AFP Photo/NOEL CELIS) |
For more than a week, the rare resident of Shanghai who dared venture outside has encountered something unfamiliar: a surreal peace and quiet.
The deadly
coronavirus epidemic has brought much of China to a standstill, but perhaps
nowhere has the change been more stark than in the country's biggest and most
vibrant city.
Gone are
the traffic jams, crowded sidewalks and businessmen hurrying to work, replaced
by eerily empty roads, shuttered bars and businesses, and only the occasional
pedestrians -- always behind a protective mask.
Shanghai is
the most populous of China's many mega-cities, but its usual gathering points
look like they were hit with a neutron bomb.
The scenic
Bund riverfront is normally filled with gawkers taking in the European neo-classical
architecture on one shore, facing a futuristic financial district on the other.
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Shanghai's
slumber is due partly to a more than week-long city extension of the Lunar
New
Year holiday to help combat the novel coronavirus (AFP Photo/NOEL CELIS)
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But the
heavily-laden barges that usually keep the Huangpu River's surface churning
have been absent, the towering corporate skyscrapers largely empty.
The stillness
is only occasionally interrupted by the clang of the 90-metre-high (300-foot)
clock tower atop the 93-year-old Shanghai Customs House.
Zhao Feng
was one of only a few scattered amblers on the promenade on a recent day.
"We
know it's not good to go outside, but we're wearing masks as a
precaution," said Zhao, 40, on a stroll with family.
"(Shanghai)
is so quiet because everybody has a strong sense of self-protection."
Stir-crazy
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Shanghai's
towering corporate skyscrapers are largely empty due to coronavirus
concerns
(AFP Photo/NOEL CELIS)
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Stir-crazy
Shanghai's
slumber is due partly to a more than week-long city extension of the Lunar New
Year holiday to help combat the virus.
That ends
on Monday, but many businesses and government departments are planning to allow
staff to work from home.
Shanghai has
avoided the full or partial lockdowns seen in other parts of China.
But
residents are largely complying with official directives -- issued via mass
text messages or over blaring public loudspeakers -- to avoid going outside
unless absolutely necessary.
When they
do, pedestrians often move far to one side of the pavement to avoid other
approaching residents.
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Shangia's
subway system has made masks mandatory, as has nearly every
business that
remains open (AFP Photo/NOEL CELIS)
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The city's
subway system, one of the world's longest, has made masks mandatory, as has
nearly every business that remains open.
And few bat
an eye any more at pausing for the ubiquitous temperature reading -- a plastic
thermometer gun aimed unnervingly at the forehead -- when entering almost any
public building.
For those
stuck at home, the government has issued a steady stream of tips on things like
home exercise or how to avoid being stressed by the prospect of a
pneumonia-like death.
"Reduce
your consumption of media reports that make people unhappy, thereby reducing
your worries and troubles," one government circular said brightly.
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Shanghai's
residents are largely complying with official directives to avoid going
outside
unless absolutely necessary (AFP Photo/NOEL CELIS)
|
But sheer boredom
weighs on many.
"All I
can say is that I'm sick of staying home!" said one social media response
to the government's stress-reduction post.
Clear
weather that graced the city several days into the viral crisis briefly lured
many stir-crazy citizens out for some sun.
But that
prompted yet another government social media post.
"You
cannot disinfect yourself by standing out in the sun," it said.
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