Coming or going, trips signal new beginnings

While some people are leaving Shanghai because of the COVID-19 outbreak, others are doing the opposite and journeying to the city.

Leaving or returning, the journey signifies a delayed homecoming for most of the travelers.

After Line 10 of the city's metro resumed operations on May 22, I met and spoke with a number of passengers on the train that connects Pudong, a district east of the Huangpu River, with Puxi, on the west, and also provides easy access to the Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station.

When I asked where they were headed, many simply said, "Home."

For some migrant workers who went unpaid during lockdown, getting back to the support of their families was what they had most wanted when they were unable to leave their homes or dormitories.

"I've lost money. I have to return home," said a 50-something man, who came to Shanghai in February from the southwestern municipality of Chongqing.

He had planned to find work as a bricklayer in Shanghai, but the outbreak saw the construction project suspended.

"I must find a new way to make a living, but before that I want to go home to see my family and make some plans about what to do next," he told me as he prepared to leave the metro station.

On the other side of the platform, a passenger surnamed Xue held a black bag as he waited for a train downtown.

"I'm going home to Pudong," said the 64-year-old, who had traveled to Nanjing, Jiangsu province, for business on Feb 27, but was unable to return home as rail services were affected by the resurgence of the epidemic in Shanghai.

Line 10 took him to Gangcheng Road Station where he transferred to Line 6－which reopened on May 22－to head to Pudong.

He told me that he had made video calls to his family every day in April, when Shanghai was hardest hit by the epidemic.

"I worried about the health of my wife and son, and about food supplies for them," he said. He now plans to retire so he can spend more time with his family.

Wei Meiping arrived in Shanghai on May 23. In early March, the 57-year-old went to Shaoxing, Zhejiang province, to care for her older sister, who was unwell.

While expressing her understanding of those desperate to leave Shanghai, she said that she never hesitated to return.

"This is my home, and the people I love live here," she said.

Although the city has experienced some difficulties and problems over the past two months, "I won't dislike it and abandon it," she said. "Everyone has to go home, don't they?"

She told me that she would clean and tidy her rooms as soon as she got home.

"I believe I will soon be reunited with my other sister's family in the city," she said.