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Inhabitants Wuhan went to the lively flower market this Saturday to prepare lunar new year, three years after a mysterious virus plunged a Chinese city into horrifying lockdown.
While some people chose the color and type of flowers to celebrate spring partyothers came for a darker reason: the death of a loved one due to a recent surge COVID-19.
“I have friends and relatives who passed away during this time,” Zhang, 54, told AFP as he clutched a bouquet of chrysanthemums, which in Chinese culture symbolize grief.
Visiting the homes of the recently deceased to offer them flowers is part of New Year’s Eve customs in Wuhan’s Hubei province, said Zhang, who declined to give his full name.
People buy flowers at a flower market in Wuhan, in central China’s Hubei province, January 21, 2023, ahead of the Lunar New Year, which marks the beginning of the Year of the Rabbit on January 22. | Font: AFP | Photographer: HECTOR RETAMAL
December, Beijing canceled the draconian “zero covid” strategy imposed by the authorities, a policy that slowed down the Asian giant’s economy and sparked mass demonstrations. Since then, the country has recorded an impressive rise in infections.
Wuhanmetropolis on the banks of the river Yangtzereported the first cases COVID-19 worldwide at the end of 2019
Residents still remember that to stop the contagion, the authorities imposed a strict lockdown two days before the Year of the Rat, in January 2020.
deprived of a holiday New Year, 11 million inhabitants of this city were cut off from the world for 76 days. The city then became the epicenter of an epidemic that became global.
“I love Wuhan”
On Saturday, the city seemed to bounce back and prepare to celebrate one of the most important holidays of the year in China.
Colorful lanterns and lanterns decorated the Jianghan shopping area, and on one wall, a large banner with a heart and the phrase, “I love Wuhan” [Amo a Wuhan, en inglés].
An elderly man on a bicycle struggled to pedal while loading boxes of food onto the bike. Not far from shopping, a couple with a small child were huddled on a scooter.
“Now, since everyone has already recovered from covid, we can have a good time. Chinese New Year as it should. This makes us very happy,” Zhu told AFP while buying flowers at the market.
The lifting of restrictions has also given new impetus to florists.
“At the beginning of the year, we had no business due to covid,” said Liu, a shop owner in her 60s. “Now that we are reopening, we have a little more,” he explained.
“During covid, very few people bought flowers, but during these years, many people died from covid, so sales of chrysanthemums have increased significantly,” added Tao, another seller.
“During the quarantine, we did not sell any of the flowers that we had. We threw them all away,” she recalls, adding the finishing touches to the flower arrangement.
(According to AFP)
Source: RPP
I’m a passionate and motivated journalist with a focus on world news. My experience spans across various media outlets, including Buna Times where I serve as an author. Over the years, I have become well-versed in researching and reporting on global topics, ranging from international politics to current events.