Thread by @chris__pc

Shanghai Lockdown Stories:

As the city is being opened up and the first residents get to enjoy being outside again eviction day has come for delivery drivers who have been living in tents all over the city.

A Thread.

Over these last few weeks I've been spending time with a small group of these delivery drivers. Unable to return to their locked-down homes they were living in tents.

These could be found under bridges, on basketball courts, in parks and even on sidewalks.

I didn't share most of my footage and images online because whenever their presence became too widely known local police would close down these encampments.

Not in my backyard, China-style.

Today a citywide sweep saw every last tent torn down and the drivers once again chased away. They still can't go home and now they found cops on every corner, preventing them to set up a new temporary camp.

By 5pm my guys, tired and exhausted, were apoplectic.

A common misconception among newly-arriving international tourists used to be that Shanghai had no homeless people.

In reality living on the streets in Shanghai means being hassled to an extend that many just get on a subway far out of the central areas.

My group of delivery drivers spent all evening searching for a new spot to camp.

I sent them two nearby corners I had spotted. "No use. We already got evicted from there a week ago."

These are the same people who fed the city during the worst of the lockdown.

We admire firefighters and paramedics for going to work when we hunker down and close our blinds.

These drivers had fed the city during the hardest days of the previous two months. That they are being treated this harshly now in the name of avoiding blight seems deeply unfair.

My neighbors meanwhile, unaware of the drama playing out on the streets, were overjoyed at being permitted outside without needing gate passes.

A celebratory trip to the Bund was quickly agreed upon.
Having been efficiently cleared out, they never saw the tents.

Roads are still closed to most cars, making the current Shanghai astonishingly peaceful and quiet. Bridges crossing Suzhou Creek are also mostly closed to through-traffic, police having erected barriers at the center.

Upon finding out about the plight of the drivers my neighbors sprung into action. Locations that might be available were shared.

No use.

Whenever the drivers would show up at a new location police quickly followed, aided by the camera dragnet that spans the city.

As I drove around looking for spots I came across other drivers, also evicted. Nobody seemed to know where to go.

Every now and then I'd ask where they had gone.

"Just sitting on the street.
Haven't found a place yet."

Gradually the drivers made their way further North to the far ends of Yangpu District. A location was found.

Relief lasted one hour.

Batteries running low messages became shorter.
"We're driving further away. A day's journey.
We'll find a spot. Don't worry."

I suspected that was exaggeration.
But it'll be a while until I know where they ended up.

This is, of course, not a Chinese issue.
It's a truth revealed over and over in any large city: those with might push out those without.

What you have done for me yesterday all-too often doesn't matter much today.

There are more people on the streets now.

More of the barriers that used to block stores are cracked open a little bit, allowing deliveries and, if nobody is looking, a quick takeaway.

A few supermarkets are open but to get inside a 48h test is necessary. I had my latest this morning but the result hasn't been posted yet to the smartphone app.

Showing that I got tested three days ago won't grant me access, so a longing view from the street is all I got.

Most businesses are sealed with large stickers that vary from district to district. Monday is being held up as the day when everyone now seems to think the city will open.

I'll believe it when I see it.

Meanwhile this is how many streets look today.

Locked-down communities and huge barriers still exist everywhere.

Roadblocks like this one were tough to cross - every tenth street might have a police checkpoint through which one could cross with the right permit.

Now most checkpoints are gone and blocks like these are easily driven around.

A nearby quarantine hotel.

This is where busses would drop off positive cases from our compound. There seems to be no such traffic now.

A merchant is selling vegetables to residents of a compound still under lockdown.

Compounds are released from lockdown 14 days after the last positive test case. If people didn't show up for tests they weren't counted as negative.

I try to cross the Suzhou Creek.
Many bridges are blocked today just like this one.

A modern compound, still blocked off with temporary barricades. I usually see this type of access control at older compounds where residents could otherwise easily sneak out and break lockdown rules.

Finally I make it across the river and reach The Bund.
A few pedestrians and traffic police are all there is to see.

A side entrance to the Peace Hotel.

Usually this street is popular with wedding photographers, who each line up their clients for quick shots as other photographers are already beckoning them to relinquish the space.

Another blocked street in Xuhui District.

A man is peeking over a temporary wall.

I remember how it felt being stuck inside while others were already outside.

I don't have the heart to tell him he isn't missing much.

I spend a few minutes at a People's Square on-ramp to the Yan'an Elevated Road. At 9pm we'd usually be looking at bumper-to-bumper traffic.

A few subway lines have partially restarted.
Lines 10 and 13 at Xintiandi are not among them.

I finally spot two tents that have not been removed.
They might belong to volunteers or security guards.

Fuxing Road in the Former French Concession.
I wouldn't dare stand in the middle of the road here on other days.

A temporary seal blocking access to a bar.

Unable to get another response from the delivery drivers I end this thread and drive back home.

The lockdown has eased.

But that does not mean the city is back to its normal self just yet.