Reporter’s Notebook: Covid-19 roadblocks turn Beijing’s sleeper town commuters into zombies

Name: Chinese city Yuzhou of over 1 million forced into lockdown with just 3 coronavirus cases recorded
Uploaded: 2022-01-13T01:00:26.000Z
Duration: 1 min 13 s
Description: Chinese city Yuzhou of over 1 million forced into lockdown with just 3 coronavirus cases recorded

People travelling into the capital leave for work at 5am to reduce the time spent stuck in traffic at checkpoints – if a bus driver is willing to take them

The South China Morning Post joins them to experience a daily routine reshaped by the pandemic

3-MIN READ3-MIN

Echo Xie

Published: 9:00am, 13 Jan 2022Updated: 4:58pm, 13 Jan 2022

In Yanjiao, on the eastern outskirts of Beijing, commuters have learned from experience to get up early if they want to avoid spending hours on the road.

A sleeper town 35km (22 miles) from Tiananmen Square, in the heart of the capital, Yanjiao has a population of close to a million. Many people have moved there, or to the neighbouring cities of Dachang and Xianghe, for cheaper homes.

About 100,000 people a day commute to Beijing from these three areas, according to local media, most by bus or their own vehicle – the rail service is more sporadic. They were already accustomed to spending four or more hours a day doing so, but the coronavirus has lengthened their journey further.

At 5.30am on Tuesday in the Yanjiao terminal, people in thick down jackets and caps were lining up for the bus to central Beijing, some having already travelled by motorcycle to get there. It was -10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit) and my feet were frozen after a few minutes of it.

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Chinese city Yuzhou of over 1 million forced into lockdown with just 3 coronavirus cases recorded

When the bus arrived, we were given a QR code to scan, to show our Covid-19 status – the system China has been using for the past two years to detect and contain the spread of infections. We all scanned and boarded.