Cheng Xiangli and her husband Zhang Sheng live in the Chinese city of Wuhan, which was at the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak late last year.

They were among the first in the world to experience stringent lockdown measures, imposed in their city on 23 January to stop the viral spread.

Seventy-six days later on 8 April, the 'largest lockdown in human history', which severely restricted the movement of Wuhan's 11 million residents and brought the city to a standstill for months, slowly began lifting.

On the other side of the world in the United Kingdom, Zoe Broughton lives with her husband Hugh Warwick and children, Matilda and Pip, in the city of Oxford.

For them, lockdown measures were implemented much later, on 23 March, and are still ongoing. With 'stay at home' orders issued across the country, they are among millions of Brits only allowed out to shop for basic necessities, exercise once daily, for a medical need, to provide care or to travel to work where absolutely necessary.

But what is life in lockdown really like for both families, and how different is it?

The two families spoke to one another via video call to compare their lockdown experiences for CGTN Europe.

"Now life is coming back to normal, almost. We can go out, the neighborhood where we live has become a no-risk community," says Cheng Xiangli, an associate professor at Wuhan University.

"The residents can go out to buy things, but most of the stores are kept closed, and there aren't many shoppers nowadays, because we prefer to stay at home," she explained. 

Meanwhile in Oxford, "all of the supermarkets now have very strict protocols," explains author and ecologist Hugh Warwick. "You have to stay apart from everybody inside and it's only when one person comes out that another person can go in.  

"So it's very controlled as to what you can do – you can end up standing outside for 40 minutes before you can get in – but the food is mostly still there," he added.

 

 

Billions of people around the world have been told to stay in their homes, only going out when necessary, to minimize the chances of the virus spreading. For both families in Wuhan and Oxford, this looks very different.

"There are many people in England who don't have access to a garden, who are living in flats," says Warwick. "But because we have a small garden, it means we've got the capacity to sit outside in our own space, which makes life much, much easier. I've always really felt it must be very hard if you're doing this, but stuck inside a flat."

"We really envy you for having a garden," Cheng replies. "We live in an apartment, it's spacious, we have two bedrooms and a study, so we don't feel like we are shut up in a small space. But we live in this tall building on the 25th floor, so we have to go downstairs, and there's a public area, just like your garden."

School's out

As schools are closed during lockdown in both Wuhan and Oxford, both families have had to change their work and school routines. 

"I've been teaching online," says Cheng, who works at Wuhan University's School of Foreign Languages and Literature. "I started from 17 February, so I've been quite busy during the past 10 weeks."

With her children at home, Zoe Broughton, like many parents in the UK, has had to oversee their learning at home.  

"They're teenagers and they're quite independent learners," Broughton says, explaining that the school has helped out remotely. "They've been sending in work from the different teachers," she said about her son Pip's schoolwork. "Not so much Zoom classes: it's assignments for him to do that day and then to send back in."

 

 

Travel restrictions implemented around the world, including countries closing their borders to foreign travelers, have meant that popular tourist destinations are now empty of visitors. 

This includes the city of Oxford, which houses the world-renowned Oxford University and usually attracts visitors all year around.

Cheng visited the city last year during a work trip to the UK. "My son was an exchange student at Oxford [university] at that time, so I had a chance to meet him there and I found it was really crowded with tourists," she tells the British family. "I don't know what is happening now, are there any tourists now in Oxford?"

"Oxford is wonderfully empty," Warwick replies. "We're allowed to go out for a cycle ride or a walk for exercise each day, and I've cycled into Oxford – and the streets, which are normally absolutely heaving with people, are empty," he added. 

"One of the most gorgeous things has been the change of noise. I don't know what it's been like in Wuhan, whether it's quieter?" Warwick asks. 

"Yes, it was quieter at the beginning of the lockdown, but now, after people are getting back to work, it's more noisy outside, you can hear cars outside my window," Cheng replies.  

Community clamour

But in the UK, one exception to the usual quiet and calm is Thursday evenings. "Here, it's really noisy because at eight o'clock everybody goes out and they hit pans and they clap and applaud the NHS, which is our health service, and all the essential workers that are still going to work, potentially at risk," Zoe Broughton explains. "It feels really emotional when everyone's out there clapping."

Although the world is living through unprecedented times, the coronavirus pandemic has brought out the good in people, as acts of kindness have been seen in many countries.

Zhang Sheng, who works as an engineer for a regional grid company, says the community in Wuhan has come together since the pandemic began.

"Some volunteers in my community organized group purchases, that means organizing with other neighbors to order the same products, and if the quantity of the order is enough, the supplier can deliver the products directly to our community," Zhang explains. "So we can buy the products without leaving the community or home."
 

 

One experience that is possibly the most shared, wherever people are in the world, is finding something to do while at home to stay entertained during the lockdown. From posting daily exercise videos online for people to follow at home, to making online courses and classes free, many initiatives that have been launched to help keep people busy.

In the UK, Zoe Broughton and her family have picked up hobbies to stay entertained. "I've been doing whittling – making weaponry out of sticks," says 14-year-old Pip. "And playing in the garden and sometimes doing a bit of computer time, just relaxing."

"I've been doing some baking," says his sister Matilda. "And I like to practice darts in our cabin, and I've been catching up on lots of TV as well."

Adapting hobbies

"We have a park behind our garden, so we go and have a go at basketball or kick a football around there once a day," says their mum, adding: "I've also started a sourdough mix, so I'm going to start making some sourdough bread, and the gardening as well has been nice."

"I've been taking photographs of nature, which has been the most wonderful bit of it," says Warwick, before asking Cheng and Zhang: "What are the new entertainments in Wuhan?"

"I'm always a quiet person, so this is not much change for me – I just stay indoors as I usually do," replies Cheng. "For entertainment, I like to watch videos online, like some documentaries."

Meanwhile, Zhang has been keeping busy in the kitchen. "I like cooking usually, so during the lockdown, I can spend more time cooking," he says. "The ingredients are limited, but if you cook in different ways, the food has a different taste, so I follow the video guide rather than the menu. And I also do more exercise."
 

 

But being in isolation has meant people are missing many aspects of life before the coronavirus pandemic.

For both families in Oxford and Wuhan, this meant missing social interaction, such as going to school and seeing friends, or being able to see and hug family members that they haven't seen for months.

Continuing new habits

However, the lockdown has also meant that many are picking up habits they would like to continue even after the pandemic.

"I'd like to keep doing more exercise," says Broughton. For Warwick, "The most important change I'd take forward is – because we've got a restriction on what we can do, you have to lower your expectations as to what you are going to get done in the day. So I'm going to lower my expectations and try and get less done in the future, because it's nicer like that."

Cheng agrees, saying she has appreciated the change of pace. "I like this kind of simple life without too many distractions: I can just concentrate on doing what I really like best. I know that I love teaching, and I would of course continue doing this."

As for Zhang, he'd like to see the health precautions continue. "During the lockdown, we have to wear masks and keep social distance, which we've never done before," he explains. "I think they're good habits, so after the lockdown, I will keep them."

Both families also agreed that what they appreciated the most was the bravery and work of healthcare workers and other key workers on the frontline of the fight against the coronavirus.
 

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