Wuhan Diary

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From one of China's most acclaimed writers comes a powerful first-person account of life in Wuhan during the COVID-19 outbreak. On January 25, 2020, after the central government imposed a lockdown, Fang Fang began publishing an online diary. Her nightly postings captured the fears, frustrations, anger, and hope of millions, reflecting on the psychological impact of forced isolation and the dual role of the internet as a community lifeline and a source of misinformation. This eyewitness account reveals the challenges of daily life and the shifting emotions of quarantine amid unreliable information. Fang Fang finds solace in small comforts and draws inspiration from the courage of friends, health professionals, and volunteers, as well as the resilience of Wuhan's nine million residents. However, she also addresses social injustices and abuses of power that hindered the epidemic response, leading to online controversies. As she documents the onset of the global health crisis, we see patterns and mistakes echoed in many countries' responses to the pandemic. Fang Fang emphasizes that the plight of Wuhan's citizens reflects that of people everywhere, reminding us that the virus is a common enemy of humanity, requiring collective action to overcome. Blending the intimate and the epic, this account serves as a remarkable record of an extraordinary time.