Traffic, loud conversations on the street and even dog walkers once irritated Dongdong. But in the three months that she spent in lockdown in Wuhan, the 27-year-old marketing executive longed for the noises of everyday life.
“I used to find those sounds annoying but I’ve been missing their vibrancy and cheerfulness,” said Dongdong, who asked to use a pseudonym.
Dongdong travelled from Wuhan, where the coronavirus pandemic originated, back to work in Beijing, where she completed her mandatory two-week quarantine in time for the May Day break, the longest national holiday since restrictions were eased. On her first meal out in three months, she was thrilled to hear the familiar hubbub of her neighbourhood.