East Nanjing Road, Shanghai During the Epidemic, February 2020

11 Feb 2020

At the beginning of the pandemic, when so many were outside of the city visiting family for Chinese New Year, Shanghai's bustling city life came to a halt. The empty roads and sidewalks were eerily silent, as residents stayed safe inside. It was like a scene from a sci-film where the city becomes empty overnight, with no explanation as to why it happened, or when it would end.

Let's go to one of the city's most crowded and renowned shopping streets - East Nanjing Road. Usually bustling with cars, shoppers, tourists and residents, East Nanjing Road appears to be asleep, trapped in a never ending dream.

Grand hotel entrances remain tightly shut, among row after row of closed metal doors, as if they were trying to protect themselves to whatever emptied their streets.

Sidewalks, which hadn't been clear enough to feel the warmth of the sun for a long time, suddenly glowed in the sunshine.

Lights turned red and green for no one, except the strange, brave souls who emerged from their homes to catch a bit of life, if only for a moment.