April 20, 2020
After two and a half months, the city of Wuhan, where the COVID-19 virus first emerged, ended its lockdown on April 8, 2020. Wuhan native Sheng Zijie, Quantitative Finance graduate student from the NYU Shanghai community was in his hometown when Chinese authorities, in a bid to prevent the further spread of the virus, announced at the end of January that no one would be able to enter or leave the city. He and his family experienced the highs and lows of nearly three months in China’s epicenter throughout the lockdown. Here is his story.
Sheng Zijie, Quantitative Finance graduate student, from Wuhan
I have been interning in a venture capital firm called Panda Capital since the fall semester. My boss allowed our team to work from home several days before the scheduled Chinese New Year holiday, so I got a chance to return to Wuhan before the lockdown.
I didn’t feel anxiety or panic from people around me until the lockdown was officially announced. There was a little chaos in the first several days as we were worried about the many uncertainties lying ahead. People were buying up all the food in the supermarkets and it was hard to get a mask, either from online or offline stores. My aunt was trying to buy some masks from a pharmacy but was stopped by the staff because she didn’t wear a mask. But if she didn’t go into the pharmacy, she couldn’t get a mask to wear, which was an endless loop.
My family’s anxiety peaked when a friend of ours was confirmed to have the virus. It made me feel that the virus was very close to me. But that friend shared his situation every day in the WeChat group and eventually recovered. He told us that the virus was not as scary as we thought it was and we didn’t need to overreact, which relieved our panic.
The initial chaos didn’t last long and everything got back on track quickly. Then I found the new problem waiting for me was to get along with my parents during the quarantine. My dad really enjoys outdoor exercise, and when he was locked inside, he became a bit fretful. It was easier to get into disputes with him at that time. To mitigate this anxiety, I introduced to my mom and dad some of the sports livestream platforms I had been doing investment evaluations for at work. I didn’t expect my internship experience to help me in this way!
The view from Sheng’s window during the quarantine.
My classmates were also offering me great help. Chen Yijin and Cai Yunyi mailed me a box of masks and an oximeter, and helped me “scramble” for food on apps. Because of the Chinese New Year vacation and the virus, many delivery workers were either locked out of Wuhan or being quarantined at home, so that on some popular shopping apps, it became nearly impossible to book a delivery. My classmates tried to help increase my chances of breaking through by signing on at the same time. Once, we were too successful - accidentally placing the same order of fruits and vegetables three times. I had to eat them all up.
As I was taking courses and doing an internship at the same time, my schedule was always tight after the semester re-started. I worked efficiently to manage the workload from both sides. To some extent, the quarantine helped me because it saved commuting time. I didn’t spend much time browsing social media, either. I felt that hard data made more sense to me compared to a flood of social posts where I could not tell authentic from fake.
I scheduled my flight back to Shanghai as soon as I heard news of the reopening. Instead of feeling emotional, I was calm when sitting in my seat. The protective measures at the airport were so thorough that we needed to report our situation before leaving. The flight was very empty, which also made me feel secure.
The lounge of Wuhan Tianhe International Airport was empty on the first day of reopening. People were all wearing masks and the signs on the seats reminded people to avoid sitting next to each other.
I finished my 14-day quarantine in Shanghai and resumed my internship this Wednesday. My colleagues even prepared a cake to celebrate my safe and healthy return from Wuhan. It feels warm to be cared for by others, and I believe as long as we protect ourselves properly, there won’t be big problems.
The cake Sheng received from his colleagues to celebrate his return