Over the course of the coronavirus lockdown, CGTN Europe facilitated conversations between families and workers based, respectively, in the UK and China. 

From Oxford and Wuhan, Beijing to Brighton, despite being separated by thousands of miles, the participants found as many shared experiences as differences. 

The families

Cheng Xiangli and her husband Zhang Sheng live in the Chinese city of Wuhan, which was at the epicenter of the outbreak. The city was 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, a city famous for its university. 

When they spoke the British family were still in the midst of lockdown, which has since been eased in the UK.

The hairdressers

Hairdressers across the UK have now opened their doors again, much to the relief of people whose roots are showing or those who are covering up do-it-yourself attempts.

Hair salons across China have also returned to working their magic on customers. Despite the geographic distance, stylists in both countries face similar challenges in adapting to the restrictions. 

The hair salon has always been an intimate environment. For many, it is not just a place to go and get a trim but also a therapeutic space that has been greatly missed during this time of social distancing and isolation. That doesn't change no matter which continent you live in. 

Bobby Du is based at Z by David hair studio in Beijing and Scarlet Salmons runs Damage Hair salon in Brighton. Both share their experiences of how the hairstyling industry is coping during the pandemic.

The pub landlords

Bars and pubs worldwide have suffered amid pandemic, but now, as lockdowns gradually ease, even in the worst-hit countries, pubs are ready to reopen (if they respect social distancing and follow safety guidelines).

Gary Murphy has run the 400-year-old London pub Ye Olde Mitre Inne for 12 years. When the lockdown started, he thought he would have to keep it closed for only a few weeks, but the weeks turned into four months. 

On the other side of the world, Anthony Chiu reopened the Shanghai-based Guinness Gatehouse, which he manages, in late June. The pub only opened in December, at what he describes as "the worst possible time to open a pub in the last 100 years," and gathered quite a clientele before being forced to shut down because of the pandemic.

From London to Shanghai, across 5,711 miles and seven time zones, Murphy and Chiu chatted on Zoom about their experience of lockdown in their respective countries and how to approach reopening to serve their thirsty punters.

Home schooling families

About 9,000 miles separate the Su and Armitage families, but both share the common experience of living through a lockdown. Both have faced the challenges of home schooling their children and both have needed to improvise as everyday activities became impossible.

But their discussion, held in May, also highlighted the difference between the situations in Wuhan and London.

The Su family had to scan an app before they could move freely around the Chinese city, as the authorities sought to control the risk of further outbreaks. In the UK's capital, citizens were allowed to move freely without masks to shop or exercise.