New China Archive

China in the 2020s

Scenes from Wuhan in 2021

During the long three years of covid-zero lockdowns, I spent a good deal of time walking around Wuhan taking photos of the things I saw during the seemingly random periods when the restrictions would be temporarily lifted. These photos were all taken in 2021.

This is a photo of a woman selling Spring Festival items on a street blanket in Wuhan in 2021.
A woman sells Spring Festival “red envelopes” and decorations on the street in the Guanggu area of Wuhan (winter of 2021).
This is a photo of an abandoned van in Wuhan. The van is covered in advertisements. 2021.
An abandoned van plastered with advertisements.
This is a photo of a sunset in Wuhan, and in the foreground is a line of apartment towers. 2021.
A row of apartment towers at sunset near Wenhua College in Wuhan.
This is a photo of apartment towers in Wuhan in 2021. It also includes some shops.
An empty shopping center under an apartment tower near Hongshan, Wuhan.
This is a photo of construction worker "dormitories" on the site of a future apartment complex. The workers have to spend years living in these makeshift buildings while they build. Photo from 2021.
Construction worker dorms at the site of a future apartment tower in Wuhan. The workers live in such dorms, often for years, while working on the project.
This is a photo of a Chinese woman dressed in bunny rabbit pajamas walking in Wuhan in 2021.
A woman dressed in rabbit pajamas walks down the sidewalk with her family in Wuhan.
This is a photo of a half-abandoned residential building in Wuhan, it still has some people living in it and some shops operating at the bottom. 2021.
A half abandoned residential building in Guanggu, Wuhan.
This is a photo of a residential tower in Wuhan, China in 2021.
Some apartment towers and business buildings across the street from Guanggu’s “French Street” in eastern Wuhan.