One night in Wuhan: COVID-19's original epicentre re-learns how to party

One night in Wuhan: COVID-19's original epicentre re-learns how to party

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In a crowded Wuhan beer hall, Zhang Qiong wipes birthday cake from her face after a food fight with her friends.

. Wuhan, China. Reuters/Aly Song
Qiong wipes birthday cake off her face at a beer hall.

"After experiencing the first wave of epidemic in Wuhan and then the liberation, I feel like I'm living a second life," says Zhang, 29, who works in a textiles shop in the central Chinese city that was the original epicentre of COVID-19.

. Wuhan, China. Reuters/Aly Song
People play with toy guns outside a bar.

Outside, maskless partygoers spill onto the streets, smoking and playing street games with toy machine guns and balloons.

Nightlife in Wuhan is back in full swing almost seven months after the city lifted its stringent lockdown and the city's young partygoers are embracing the catharsis.

. Wuhan, China. Reuters/Aly Song
People dance at a nightclub.

In scenes unimaginable in many cities around the world reeling under a resurgence of the pandemic, young Wuhan residents during a recent night out crowd-surfed, ate street food and packed the city's nightclubs as they looked to make up for lost time.

The revival of the city's hard-hit nightlife economy offers a glimpse into a post-pandemic lifestyle that many hope will become a reality in 2021, after the global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines.

. Wuhan, China. Reuters/Aly Song
People wearing face masks walk out of a ferry as they pass the Yangtze River.

Wuhan hasn't reported a new locally transmitted case of the disease since May 10, after undergoing one of the strictest lockdowns worldwide.

The city of 11 million was shut off from the rest of China in a surprise overnight lockdown beginning Jan 23, with road blocks erected and planes, trains and buses barred from entering the city. Almost 3,900 of China's 4,634 recorded COVID-19 deaths occurred in the industrial city.

. Wuhan, China. Reuters/Aly Song
A girl arrives at a nightclub.

Students, musicians, artists and young workers - the backbone of the city's nightlife scene - told stories of being stuck in their homes for months, many using the opportunity to prepare for a time when the city would recover.

"Some of my new music will definitely be about the pandemic time," said Wang Xinghao, frontman of Wuhan pop rock band Mad Rat, which drew a crowd of over 100 people to a local venue on a recent Wednesday night.

Wang flailed and jumped on stage, pulling crowd-surfing fans on stage, and at one point, tossed his faux leopard skin coat into the screaming audience.

He said one of the new songs was inspired by the three months he spent living in close quarters with his mother.

. Wuhan, China. Reuters/Aly Song
A man is helped by friends to get into a taxi outside a nightclub.

Many said the end of the lockdown has inspired larger turnouts.

"During the epidemic time, Wuhan was really a dead city," said rock music enthusiast Yi Yi after the show. "Now people are all coming out to eat and have fun. I don’t think there were as many people before the epidemic."

. Wuhan, China. Reuters/Aly Song
People celebrate a birthday at a street restaurant at night.

Despite the thriving night scene, Wuhan business and restaurant owners say it could still be some time before the surge in turnover makes up for massive losses during the lockdown.

. Wuhan, China. Reuters/Aly Song
A man drives a car outside a nightclub.

But for patrons now flooding Wuhan's nocturnal hotspots, the message is more straightforward.

“I just really want to cherish this time, because in life you never know when it will end," said Zhang in the Wuhan beer hall. "Make every happy day count."

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Slideshow

A man opens a bottle of beer with his teeth.
. Wuhan, China. Reuters/Aly Song

A man opens a bottle of beer with his teeth.

A woman drinks a bottle of beer at a street restaurant.
. Wuhan, China. Reuters/Aly Song

A woman drinks a bottle of beer at a street restaurant.

A snack vendor sells snacks outside a bar.
. Wuhan, China. Reuters/Aly Song

A snack vendor sells snacks outside a bar.

Old men bask at a street restaurant at night.
. Wuhan, China. Reuters/Aly Song

Old men bask at a street restaurant at night.

A woman eats street food.
. Wuhan, China. Reuters/Aly Song

A woman eats street food.

Empty cups are left on a dining table after a dinner at a street restaurant.
. Wuhan, China. Reuters/Aly Song

Empty cups are left on a dining table after a dinner at a street restaurant.

People dance at a park at night.
. Wuhan, China. Reuters/Aly Song

People dance at a park at night.

A man with an injured foot waits in line as he queues up to enter a bar.
. Wuhan, China. Reuters/Aly Song

A man with an injured foot waits in line as he queues up to enter a bar.

Waitress's stand at the entrance of a nightclub.
. Wuhan, China. Reuters/Aly Song

Waitress's stand at the entrance of a nightclub.

People dance at a nightclub.
. Wuhan, China. Reuters/Aly Song

People dance at a nightclub.

A girl dances at a nightclub.
. Wuhan, China. Reuters/Aly Song

A girl dances at a nightclub.

People put cream from a birthday cake on each other at a beer hall.
. Wuhan, China. Reuters/Aly Song

People put cream from a birthday cake on each other at a beer hall.

A man hugs his girlfriend on a street outside a nightclub.
. Wuhan, China. Reuters/Aly Song

A man hugs his girlfriend on a street outside a nightclub.

A man vomits on a street outside a nightclub.
. Wuhan, China. Reuters/Aly Song

A man vomits on a street outside a nightclub.

A man's phone lies on a pavement next to vomit outside a nightclub.
. Wuhan, China. Reuters/Aly Song

A man's phone lies on a pavement next to vomit outside a nightclub.