Following two months of frustration, despair and economic loss, Shanghai’s draconian COVID-19 lockdown ended at midnight on Wednesday morning, prompting celebrations tempered with fear that an outbreak could return. Most of Shanghai’s 25 million residents can now freely leave home, return to work, use public transport and drive their cars – a moment that for many in China’s largest and most cosmopolitan city felt like it would never arrive. At midnight, small groups gathered in the city’s former French Concession neighbourhood whistled, shouted “ban lifted” and clinked glasses of champagne. Earlier, streets were lively as residents picnicked on grassy patches and children rode bikes down carless roads. Dancing retirees, a common evening sight in Chinese cities, strutted their stuff for the first time in months in open air plazas and along the Huangpu river. Shanghai Disneyland, which has yet to announce a reopening date, […]