Mask-wearing Beijing, Shanghai commuters crowded subway trains

BEIJING: Mask-wearing Beijing and Shanghai commuters crowded subway trains on Monday Dec 26 with China's two biggest cities closer to living with COVID 19, as millions have been infected with the largely unchecked virus across the country.

After three years of strict anti-coronaviruses curbs, President Xi Jinping scrapped the country's zero-COVID policy in the face of protests and a widening outbreak.

Health experts and residents worry that China's statistics showing no new COVID 19 deaths for the six days through Sunday do not reflect the actual number of deaths and that the country's fragile health system is being overwhelmed.

After the initial shocks of the policy U-turn, and a few weeks in which people in Beijing and Shanghai stayed indoors, either dealing with the disease or trying to avoid it, there are signs that life is on course to returning to normal.

Subway trains in Beijing and Shanghai were packed, while some major traffic arteries in the two cities jammed with slow-moving cars on Monday as residents commuted to work.

"I am prepared to live with the Pandemic," said 25-year-old Shanghai resident Lin Zixin. Lockdowns are not a long-term solution.

In an effort to prevent infections from spiralling out of control in the country, the 25 million people in China's commercial hub endured two months of bitter isolation under a strict lockdown that lasted until Jun 1, and endured two months of bitter isolation.

Shanghai's lively streets were a stark contrast to the atmosphere in April and May, when barely anyone could be seen outside.

An annual Christmas market held at the Bund, a commercial area in Shanghai, was crowded over the weekend. Crowds queued up to take rides in Christmas-themed costumes on Sunday at Shanghai Disneyland and Beijing's Universal Studios.

The number of trips to scenic spots in the southern city of Guangzhou increased by 132 per cent from last weekend, according to local newspaper The 21st Century Business Herald.

A 29-year old Beijing resident surnamed Han said that everyone has returned to normal routine now. The tense atmosphere has passed. China is the last major country to treat COVID 19 as endemic. The US $17 trillion economy is at its lowest growth rate in nearly half a century, disrupting global supply chains and trade because of its containment measures.

The second-largest economy is expected to suffer further in the short-term, as the COVID 19 wave spreads towards manufacturing areas and workforces fall ill, before bouncing back next year, analysts say.

On Saturday, Tesla suspended production at its Shanghai plant, bringing a plan to pause most work at the plant in the last week of December. The company didn't give a reason.