A metropolis with a population of about 11 million Wuhan sits at the crossroads of China. It was here that in the last days of 2019 the first reports of a mysterious new form of pneumonia emerged. Before long an abrupt and unprecedented lockdown was declared - the first of many such responses to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic around the world.

This book tells the dramatic story of the Wuhan lockdown in the voices of the city's own people. Using a vast archive of more than 6000 diaries the sociologist Guobin Yang vividly depicts how the city coped during the crisis. The book features compelling stories of citizens and civic groups in their struggle against COVID-19. These snapshots from the lockdown capture China at a critical moment revealing the intricacies of politics citizenship morality community and digital technology.