Rear Window: views from a locked-down room
In the past month, I have lived with my father in an old compound in Huangpu District, taking care of him during the citywide lockdown.
Like most residents, I get up early to order groceries online, cook for my family and take nucleic acids tests repeatedly, day after day.
Although confined indoors, as a photographer, I still try to take photos through my window to record the life in my compound. It reminds me of the signature view in Alfred Hitchcock's famous movie "Rear Window."
"Hurry up! Go downstairs to do the nucleic acid test! Today is cold, Keep yourself warm!" It is not the alarm clock that wakes me every day, but the volunteers' loudspeakers.
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A medical staffer from another province takes test samples from residents in our compound. The residents have taken nearly 20 PCR tests in the past month and most of them are quite cooperative.
Jiang Xiaowei / SHINE -
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A boy is interested in the label on his test tube. As Huangpu District is one of the most severely affected areas, residents in our compound usually get single-tube tests.
A medical staffer from Jiangsu Province puts on a mask for a disabled elderly man.
Residents line up with a social distance of two meters for a PCR test.
A stray cat seeks shelter between the legs of a resident who is lining up for a PCR test.
A resident donned a raincoat to protect against the virus
An elderly woman takes a rare chance to get active in the sunshine after a PCR test.
A woman expresses her surprise at learning a neighbor has tested positive.
A security guard in a protective suit wrapped himself in a quilt against the cold at two o'clock in the morning. A resident tested positive in the building opposite my window two weeks ago. Since then, Dabai stayed on duty day and night to make sure residents in the building wouldn't go out.
A Dabai disinfects himself after delivering packages for residents living in the lockdown area.
A Dabai endures the heat in early May.
A volunteer delivers the fourth batch of government supplies to residents. The packages include toilet paper and disinfectant.
A man in a protective suit disinfects the environment of our compound. The city launched an ongoing disinfection campaign in early May, covering all the 13,000-odd residential complexes.
A Dabai posts a "Controlled Area" sign on the building opposite my window. After 14 days with no new cases, the locked-down building was downgraded to a controlled area, allowing residents to go downstairs for a walk in the compound.
