Xintiandi and Huaihai Road, Shanghai During the Epidemic, February 2020

11 Feb 2020

At the beginning of the pandemic, when so many were outside of the city visiting family for Chinese New Year, Shanghai's bustling city life came to a halt. The empty roads and sidewalks were eerily silent, as residents stayed safe inside. It was like a scene from a sci-film where the city becomes empty overnight, with no explanation as to why it happened, or when it would end.

Let's take a drive downtown to the infamous streets of Xintiandi, and Huaihai Road.

Once completely packed with visitors, office workers, and residents, the streets felt deserted and lonely.

The shops were all sleeping, and the restaurants shuttered. Perhaps they were lonely, as it seemed as though they too yearned for the life that just a few months ago filled their rooms.

The roads were equally alone, with not even one taxi there to accompany them.

The renowned and recently renovated center of Xintiandi, famous for its prosperous scene of "people-mountain people-sea", was unsurprisingly bleak and desolate.

Food stalls remained unattended, shops empty but still with a few lights on, and rows of empty seats were all that could be seen on this gray and silent day.