What did Shanghai people do after lockdown was lifted? Hairdressing, shopping, coffee!
On the first day of Shanghai resuming normal life, one of the main attractions in the city, the Yuyuan Garden welcomes tourists on June 1. Visitors take photos and many time-honored brand restaurants welcome customers. At present, the scenic spot requires visitors to make an appointment and show their health code to enter. Photo: Wu Shiliu/GT
After Shanghai lifted COVID-19 restrictions for low-risk areas on Wednesday, most Shanghai people went outside to "get a sniff of fresh air." The city's barber shops were among the first to become busy again. A barber in Huangpu district said he got 30 phone calls to book appointments within half an hour on Wednesday.
At downtown barber shops, residents were seen waiting in line to get a haircut. "Hairdressing is the first thing I need to do on the first day after our communities lifted the lockdown," said a Shanghai resident living in Jing'an district.
Mark from Germany couldn't wait to go boating with his neighbor after the lockdown was lifted. Mark told the Global Times that it's like "from complete lockdown back to normal overnight." A 42-year-old resident surnamed Yu said he went to his office in the early morning on Wednesday, and found that most of the plants had died. "I will do some cleaning up and buy new plants to decorate my office to make everything refreshing," Yu said.
On Wednesday, the familiar sight of people lining up at popular shops was back again. Outside a Nanxiang steamed bun shop in Shanghai's Chenghuang Temple tourist area, the Global Times saw around 20 people lining up to buy the buns in the morning. About half of them were young people.
Citizens take to Shanghai's Anfu Road, to go shopping, visit bookstores, drink coffee, take pictures with flowers to enjoy normal life again on June 1, the first day of resuming production and normal life in Shanghai. Photos: Chen Xia/GT
The scene was similar at a "web celebrity" cafe on Anfu Road, where the Global Times saw people queuing up to buy coffee. Customers would also voluntarily wash their hands using the liquid soap provided by the cafe.
A customer surnamed Yu said that she was passing by the cafe, and decided to come over as she saw it was open. "I feel a little unused to being outside," she joked. "I miss the feeling of eating in restaurants," she said.
A group of blind masseurs were offering massages for passers-by for free near a shopping mall in Nanjing Road West. One of them, surnamed Gou, told the Global Times that they wanted to thank society for helping them during the lockdown. "Many kindly people sent us food and daily commodities when we were put under quarantine," Gou said, noting that it's time for them to show kindness to other people.
Another resident surnamed Chen purchased perfume, clothing and other items when her community lifted the lockdown. "I want to go to the Disneyland resort soon," Chen said, adding that she had no concerns about the epidemic as the number of positive cases has fallen significantly.
The Plaza 66 shopping mall on Nanjing road in Shanghai resumed business on June 1. The flow of people has increased and there are long queues in front of some luxury stores. Photo: Chen Xia/GT
At a shopping plaza in Nanjing Road West, residents were seen lining up outside luxury stores such as Chanel and Hermes.
Zhou Yu, director of the Research Center of International Finance at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said he felt like it was a dream when he saw Shanghai's streets and life returning to normal in a rapid manner.
"I can see people queuing up to buy products almost everywhere. This is a kind of revenge consumption, after the pent-up consumption demand that has been suppressed for two months," he told the Global Times on Wednesday.
According to Zhou, this pent-up demand and the government's support for consumption will push Shanghai's economy to have a fast recovery.
A number of tourist attractions and parks across the city also reopened on Wednesday, with the visiting capacity limited at less than 50 percent of the normal level. The landmark Shanghai Oriental Pearl TV Tower in the Pudong New Area reopened on Wednesday, although the visitor flow was limited to 50 percent.
Residents were also seen taking nucleic acid tests at designated sites on Wednesday as they are required to show a negative nucleic acid test result from within 72 hours before entering public venues and taking public transportation.
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