Visitors swarm into the World Peace Park in the downtown area of Yichang, Central China's Hubei Province to enjoy the New Year Lantern Festival with their family and friends.Photos: Courtesy of Chen Ping

A few days before the Spring Festival in 2020, I returned to my hometown - Yichang, a city about 320 kilometers away from Wuhan in Central China's Hubei Province, at that time there was no way to know that it would be the last Spring Festival, the most important traditional Chinese festival centered on the eternal theme of family reunion, I spent with my grandfather. 

Three years later, I finally made the long-awaited journey home again, like many people who work and live far away from their hometowns, after China adjusted and further optimized its COVID response. For many people, the Chinese New Year for the past three years has been usually quiet as local governments across the country encouraged people to stay put for the holidays to reduce the risk of COVID infections during the Spring Festival travel rush as it is dubbed as the largest human migration in the world. 

I still remember the Chinese New Year's Eve three years ago. Less than 48 hours after I finally returned home, had dinner with my family and took some family photos, we heard the news about Wuhan planning to impose the unprecedented citywide lockdown to cut off the virus transmission and other cities in the province would follow the suit. My father strongly encouraged me to fly back to Beijing immediately as the epidemic situation was becoming perilous. 

At a local airport on the Chinese New Year's Eve in 2020, I witnessed beloved ones who had to suddenly separate due to the outbreak and the elderly people who had to say goodbye to their children again after a year of separation, all of which became part of the public's collective memory of the arduous fight against COVID-19.

Following a tough three-year battle, local residents in Hubei - the province that was the ground zero for COVID-19 outbreaks in China - has finally emerged from the shadow of the epidemic and embraced joyful family reunions. 

Some lost their beloved ones during the epidemic, and some experienced months of quarantine, being separated from their families during the most important Chinese festival. Some have been working day and night at the frontline hospitals and communities during this battle, and finally understood that one thing matters most - their family members stay healthy and safe. 

Cities across Hubei were also the first localities to impose strict lockdown measures at the beginning of 2020, which was seen as an effective move to curb the spread of the virus to other parts of the country. During the Spring Festival in 2020, my parents stayed with my grandparents for nearly three months, following strict home quarantine orders. The normally bustling streets were deserted and downtown stores were all closed, which has become an enduring memory of the country's anti-epidemic battle. 

Global Times reporter Chen Qingqing conducts interviews at the World Peace Park in Yichang, Central China's Hubei Province.Photos: Courtesy of Chen Ping

This week, hundreds and thousands of visitors gathered in the World Peace Park in the city's downtown area, on the banks of the Yangtze River, to enjoy the New Year Lantern Festival with their family and friends. Some famous figures such as Wang Zhaojun - one of the four China's ancient beauties - and Qu Yuan, a Chinese poet and politician widely known for his patriotism, lit up the skylines of the city. 

Small red lanterns were hanging tree branches across the city, illuminating the dark sky during the night. 

Everyone I met during the Spring Festival holidays appeared to be relaxed and happy. Many of them have already been infected around mid- and late-December, 2022. Although they had some antibodies against the virus, they remained cautious by wearing masks all the time during mass gatherings and keeping social distancing. 

Some told me they had tragically lost mothers, uncles and aunts during the epidemic, which seemed to be one of the outcomes that can't be avoided after lifting the strict anti-epidemic measures. But they understand that this is also a part of the life that people should accept and take it in a correct way. After three years of battling against the virus, many people have more rational understanding about the virus. At least, they have less fear about it. 

Both my cousin and aunt work at local hospitals in Yichang, a stressful and high pressure position since the beginning of the epidemic outbreak. But this year, they were finally able to take some days off and spend time with their family members.  

As some Western media outlets continuously play up China's sudden U-turn on its national COVID response, leaving many medics unprepared, I know it's not true. Many frontline medical staff members like my cousin and my aunt have been accumulating experiences in dealing with COVID infections during the past three years, mentality, technically and physically. Now, they are confronting it with more confidence and calmness.

When I finally returned home during this year's Spring Festival, I visited a local cemetery to offer flowers to my grandfather, who passed away due to cancer in 2021. I missed his funeral due to quarantine measures. At the cemetery, there were much more people than I expected, lining up for paying respects and burning incense to remember those who have passed away. I did not know whether some of them were died of COVID-19, but I knew that it's not easy for many elderly people, especially those with underlying diseases, to get through the latest COVID waves this winter. 

It's also true that local residents have decided to move on with their lives, as they understand that it's more important to cherish the present and live the moment.

Yichang, like other Chinese cities, is walking out the shadow of the epidemic. Some local residents wish that the Year of Rabbit to bring luck and happiness, hoping that the virus would disappear for good. But some also understand that they need to learn to live with it. 

As the first province that reported the large-scale outbreak in China, Hubei is embracing a new beginning today. And it's indeed a special and unforgettable Chinese New Year.