"I can't even say how I feel," says Shanghai sociologist Li Pengfei.

"It's just too surreal." For two months, like the rest of the city's 25 million residents, he was locked in his apartment because of China's zero-Covid strategy.

The restrictions in most parts of the city were officially lifted on Wednesday night.

Friederike Böge

Political correspondent for China, North Korea and Mongolia.

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However, the consequences of the lockdown will be with Shanghai for a long time to come.

Above all, day laborers and owners of small shops have suffered serious losses of income.

The number of those who could not be treated medically due to the lockdown will probably not be determined.

For many residents, the experiences of the past few weeks are likely to have shaken their trust in the authorities and their environment.

"I see this city and China through different eyes," says sociologist Li Pengfei over the phone after taking a long walk.

He was shocked by how many of his neighbors had followed the government's contradictory instructions "with zeal or out of fear".

First a corona test

“The first thing I did today was a corona test.

It's a bit frustrating," says a business journalist named Ma.

Only those who can show a PCR test from the past 72 hours are allowed to use buses and trains and enter public buildings.

For this reason, the city has set up 15,000 sites for PCR tests.

“It says opening up, but in reality there are still many restrictions.

Some have to wait in line forever to have these horrible tests,” says a woman named Zheng, who works for a trading company.

Many are happy that they can now go back to work.

The lockdown is still lagging behind others.

"They have lost confidence in the government."

Podcaster Henry Yang, on the other hand, believes that "most people will remember the past two months as a special experience and otherwise quickly forget it."

Yang himself spent a week in a quarantine center and doesn't remember it as badly as in some other reports.

"We had at least three meals a day," he says.

For him it was still a drastic experience.

"I've seen things I've never seen before." Shanghai has always been the most modern, advanced city in China.

And then it all came to a standstill.

Alex, an entrepreneur who deals in medical equipment, says he "hasn't seen that many cars on the road in months."

Fireworks were set off in his neighborhood throughout the night to celebrate the opening.

The bike shop owner, who calls himself David, hopes the lockdown experience will lead some people to focus more on the important things in life.


The Shanghai party leadership and local government claimed in a joint statement on Wednesday, "The whole city was united in its determination to meet this challenge."

An important milestone in the hard-fought defense of Shanghai has now been reached.

From today, Shanghai will enter the phase of restoring normal production and life.”

However, numerous residential areas remain cordoned off due to individual corona cases.

Up to three million residents continue to be affected by restrictions.

Authorities and state-owned companies asked their employees to return to work.

Shops and malls were allowed to open but were instructed to limit the number of their customers.

Pictures from Shanghai's Hongqiao train station showed long queues of passengers trying to leave the city.

Public transport has largely been restored.

Cars are allowed to drive again.

Most temporary quarantine centers have now been closed.