On the eve of Chinese New Year, I set off from Beijing for my grandparents’ home in northern China. It is the day after the city of Wuhan has in effect been placed under quarantine. I am headed some 600km from Wuhan, but this New Year holiday is very different: almost everyone on the train from Beijing is wearing a face mask. I take mine off when I arrive at my grandparents’ crowded flat, where they, along with a total of seven aunts, uncles and cousins, are already folding dumplings for the pot.
在除夕這一天,我從北京出發前往我在中國北方的祖父母家。這是武漢市事實上「封城」後的第二天。我去的地方距離武漢大約600公里,但是這個春節假期非常不同:從北京發出的火車上幾乎人人戴著口罩。當我到達祖父母擁擠的家時,我摘下了自己的口罩。他們和我的7位嬸嬸、叔叔和堂兄弟姐妹已經在包餃子了。