Living with zero Covid in China: 2 years on with no end in sight
- From traders to professionals and schoolchildren, coronavirus curbs have upended lives across the vast country
- While strict border controls and quarantine have kept the majority safe, zero-Covid strategy suggests restrictions are not likely to be lifted any time soon
It is before 6am on a winter’s day and the snow lies thick outside her window, but Yan Xia is up and about, ready to start live-streaming from her home in China’s northernmost, coldest province.
She will be showing viewers the heavy snow blanketing her hometown of Suifenhe, in Heilongjiang province next to Russia. She will also be talking about the local dishes that Russian visitors liked, and how the busy border town that once swarmed with these day trippers has fallen empty.
The 46-year-old shop owner once had a thriving business, selling everything from electronic watches to plastic slippers.
Now, she just hopes some of her viewers will click on the link to the online shop on her page to buy some local specialities, like wood-ear fungus.
“Early morning, when the influential live streamers are still asleep, is my best time window. I stand no chance when they start broadcasting at prime time. This is the way I make money now,” Yan said.
