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.
They are chatting about the virus outbreak, but the mood is still calm: everyone is busy dealing with a more immediate concern: making dinner for a large family. So far, only Wuhan has taken city-wide preventive measures, but we are now discussing our own. To some relief, my grandparents announce they are cancelling our usual visits to relatives.
Traditionally, the eve and first day of the New Year holiday are reserved for immediate family: parents, children, grandparents. Then, on the subsequent days of the week-long break, the elders stay at home while the younger generations visit more distant relatives.