According to tradition, hundreds gathered in front of the old Hankow Customs building, one of the most popular New Year’s Eve places in the city. When the old clock of the building arrived at midnight, many people threw balloons in the air, cheered and shouted “Happy New Year”.
“I’m so incredibly happy,” said Yang Wenxuan, a 20-year-old student and tourist. “This is my first time in Wuhan. But (the countdown) has been so spectacular.”
“I hope I can successfully get my bachelor’s degree and I hope I can find a boyfriend,” Yang added.
The festivities came 12 months after the World Health Organization (WHO) said it had first received news of cases of pneumonia of unknown cause in Wuhan, which later became known as the world’s first outbreak of Covid-19.
A team of WHO experts is scheduled to arrive in China in January 2021 to investigate the origins of the pandemic.
Wuhan has been largely virus-free for months, and in recent days has vaccinated certain specific groups of the local population. But a small recent increase in cases in various Chinese cities, including Beijing, has reminded people in Wuhan that the pandemic is not over yet.
“I hope that in 2021 everything will go well in the country and Wuhan will be able to return to normal and I hope that the world will soon be able to overcome the pandemic,” said Anson Yang, a resident of Wuhan.
The 25-year-old, who works in the international trade sector, said that his earnings were severely affected in 2020 and that he knows of many companies in Wuhan that will not yet return to normal trading levels.
Several students wanted an end to the pandemic so that they could continue their studies in person. However, a college student learned some positive lessons from the fight against the pandemic.
“If we look at the measures that people have taken, the things that people have done as part of epidemic control and the like, a human or friendly touch, something we would not normally see, has been felt by everyone, “said 21-year-old Chen Mengfan.