Lu Xinran can feel a gluttonous craving for coke, chips, beer, and coffee—the so-called “luxury” foods and beverages that were scarcest in supply during Shanghai’s lockdown in the past two months—even though it has been over two weeks since he left the city.
The freelance curator in his 20s, who originally hailed from Shenzhen, is one of thousands of people whom the media has reported leaving Shanghai since mid-May, as travel restrictions slowly relaxed and the city’s recent outbreak of Covid-19 came under control. Many people from out of town, especially, have been eager to return to their hometowns after two months or longer in lockdown.
But even those who’ve navigated the labyrinthine steps of buying tickets, getting transportation to the train stations, obtaining required tests, and completing quarantines on arrival have nursed emotional scars from the past two months, which have greatly altered their lifestyles and plans for the future.
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