Image via Pixabay

石家庄 (Shí jiā zhuāng) is the capital of Hebei province. Although the 庄character (zhuāng, means village) appears in its name, Shijiazhuang is rather a large city. In fact, it’s the largest city of the northern Hebei province. With a total population of about 11 million, Shijiazhuang ranked eleventh in mainland China. You can admire its splendor in this aerial tour:

In the first week of 2021, Shijiazhuang reported more than 200 new confirmed infections of COVID-19 in five days. The epidemic situation in China has been relatively stable lately, and these figures are the highest China has seen in months. Authorities acted fast, and announced a lockdown on Shijiazhuang. About a year after Wuhan, China imposed another lockdown in a provincial capital.

1月2日河北出现1例本土病例，随后开始迅速增多。短短几天内河北省感染新冠人数过200。河北随后宣布全省进入“战时状态”。

1 yuè 2 rì Héběi chū xiàn 1 lì běn tǔ bìng lì, suí hòu kāi shǐ xùn sù zēng duō. Duǎn duǎn jǐ tiān nèi hé běi shěng gǎn rǎn xīn guān rén shù guò 200. Héběi suí hòu xuān bù quán shěng jìn rù “zhàn shí zhuàng tài”.

On January 2, a new infectious case was reported in Hebei. Soon after there was a rapid growth in number. In just a few days, the number of people infected with the coronavirus in Hebei province exceeded 200. Hebei subsequently announced that the province had entered a wartime mode.

The restrictions imposed on Shijiazhuang residents are some of the strictest imposed in China since March 2020, similar to the ones imposed in the epi-center Wuhan at the first outbreak of the pandemic. Locals have been told to stay home; shops are closed; gatherings are banned; all schools have been suspended. No one can leave the city, as major highways are blocked, train and bus stations closed and most flights are canceled.

河北省石家庄市公交车、出租车停运。石家庄地铁也已停止运营。石家庄全市人员、车辆均不得离市，全市高速封闭。石家庄也已经减少人员聚集活动，暂停全市学校活动。

Héběi shěng Shíjiāzhuāng shì gong jiāo chē, chū zū chē tíng yùn. Shíjiāzhuāng dì tiě yě yǐ tíng zhǐ yùn yíng. Shíjiāzhuāng quán shì rén yuán, chē liàng jūn bù dé lí shì, quán shì gāo sù fēng bì. Shíjiāzhuāng yě yǐ jīng jiǎn shǎo rén yuán jù jí huó dòng, zàn tíng quán shì xué xiào huó dòng.

Buses and taxis in Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province were suspended. Shijiazhuang subway has also ceased operations. People and vehicles in Shijiazhuang are not allowed to leave the city, and the city’s highways are closed. Shijiazhuang has also reduced personnel gathering activities and suspended all schools activities in the city.

The city’s deserted streets were filmed:

China is taking aggressive measures to stamp out any clusters of new cases to prevent another outbreak. Shijiazhuang authorities didn’t waste time. Four days after the first infection was reported, the city launched mass citywide nucleic acid testing. The entire population of 11 million was tested in a few days. A second round of mass testing will begin soon. Meanwhile the city will remain locked down.

随着石家庄市新冠感染病例的增加，这个拥有1100万人口的城市已经启动了全城病毒大排查。石家庄全市完成全员核酸检测任务后，石家庄全市居民继续居家7天。

Suí zhe Shíjiāzhuāng shì xīn guān gǎn rǎn bìng lì de zēng jiā, zhè ge yǒng yǒu 1100 wàn rén kǒu de chéng shì yǐ jīng qǐ dòng le quán chéng bìng dú dà pái chá. Shíjiāzhuāng quán shì wán chéng quán yuán hé suān jiǎn cè rèn wù hòu, Shíjiāzhuāng quán shì jū mín jì xù jū jiā 7 tiān.

With the increase in cases of COVID infections in Shijiazhuang, this city with a population of 11 million has launched a city-wide virus examination. After the entire city of Shijiazhuang completed the task of nucleic acid testing for all its people, residents continued to stay at home for 7 days.

好好学习，天天向上！