Wuhan slowly returns to normal life. (Photo: Xinhua)
WUHAN, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Wuhan, once hit hard by COVID-19, has seen its urban life gradually return to normal since its lockdown was lifted one month ago.
Taking a subway early in the morning to a breakfast store about 7 km from home, Yang Jing gobbled a bowl of noodles with sliced beef and took away five fried stuffed buns.
"Life returns with my favorite breakfast," said the man in his 20s.
The 100-meter-long street Yang just visited was filled with breakfast vendors peddling all kinds of food with different flavors -- a typical sight in Wuhan, a city fussy about food.
Hubu Alley, a famous snack street that tourists usually mark on their itinerary, reopened for business from May. The aroma of sesame sauce emitted from Wuhan's signature hot dry noodles filled the alley again after over 100 days.
According to Liu Guoliang, president of the Wuhan Dining Industry Association, among the over 50,000 restaurants in the city, 13.3 percent have resumed eat-in service and 45.6 percent restarted takeout service. The daily number of food delivery orders has exceeded 100,000 in the city.
Meanwhile, traffic flow in the city returned to the same level as that before the epidemic, and all subways and buses have resumed operation.
Convenient public transportation has whetted citizens' willingness to go out. Setting up four tents, Zeng Lingling and her family enjoyed a picnic by the lakeside.
"After a long time at home, this is our first family trip. The blue sky, clear water, flowers and beautiful scenery remain the same, but our mentality has changed," said Zeng.
About 57,800 students in their final year from 121 high and vocational schools returned to campus on Wednesday in Wuhan.
At 7:30 a.m., Zong Zheng carried a box of books while walking into Wuhan No. 17 High School.
"I gained some weight at home, so I'm worried that my classmates might not be able to recognize me. I'll have my first exam of the semester on Friday, hopefully my grades won't drop too harshly," said Zong.
Chen Shufei, a senior student at Hubei Wuchang Experimental High School, changed the number of days left in the countdown to the national college entrance examination at the front of the classroom from 138 to 62.
When Chen began her winter holiday on Jan. 20, the 18-year-old did not expect it would be for so long.
"I'm both excited and nervous to be back on campus, and I hope I can re-adjust as soon as possible and enter my dream university," said Chen. She aspires to study at Wuhan University.
On May 20, another 73,000 students in their final year of junior high school in Wuhan will also return to campus to start their postponed new semester.