Shanghai’s subway and shops reopen and streets fill up after two-month lockdown

theguardian.com:

Shanghai has eased a range of Covid-19 restrictions in a step towards returning to normalafter a two-month lockdown that confined residents of the megacity to their homes and battered China’s economy.

The commercial hub of 25 million people was closed down in sections from late March, when the Omicron virus variant fuelled China’s worst outbreak since Covid first took hold in 2020.

After some rules were gradually relaxed over the past few weeks, authorities on Wednesday began allowing people in areas deemed low-risk to move around the city freely. Factories and businesses were set to restart work after being dormant for weeks.

“This is a moment that we have been looking forward to for a long time,” the Shanghai municipal government said in a statement on social media. “Because of the impact of the epidemic, Shanghai, a megacity, entered an unprecedented period of silence.”

On Wednesday morning, people were seen travelling on Shanghai’s subway and heading to office buildings, while some shops were preparing to open. On the streets, people took photos of themselves out and about.

Shanghai residents spoke of their relief at the relaxation of restrictions. One 20-year-old who declined to give his name said his community let off fireworks at midnight and that it “feels like Chinese New Year”.

Another said she was happy to reconnect with friends offline and had celebrated with a picnic on the Bund. “A few friends and I had a picnic… played music, drank, chatted, watching people coming and going on both sides of the Huangpu River.”

Others expressed relief, tinged with fear that lockdowns could return.

A 27-year-old who only gave her name as