Livestream disco drives away lockdown blues as veggie emojis sparkle
The program list of Thursday night's livestreaming disco show.
A livestreaming disco show went viral on WeChat on Thursday night, shortly before Shanghai launched its Phase-II lockdown in Puxi, the west side of the Huangpu River, from 3am on Friday.
More than 5 million people joined the online disco dancing, with the comments section full of district names and emojis of vegetables as "glow sticks."
The live show was hosted by TudiMusic, a music account that focuses on uploading musical shows from the West. It first attracted Shanghai residents' attention on Tuesday, when the account rebroadcast Ultra Music Festival 2022 in Miami, starting from 7:30pm until 7am on Wednesday. The number of viewers soared after midnight, with over 577,000 people, mostly from Shanghai, watching the show.
The spectators were excited by the dynamic rhythm and vigorous dancing, even though they had to experience it online.
On Thursday night, anticipating the lockdown, many enjoyed the strong beat and verve of the music, all the while sharing their district information and emojis in the forms of various vegetables, such as lettuce, broccoli and cucumber.
"Put your hands up with your vegetables!" – one resident demanded.
Shanghai residents left comments with their locations and emojis of vegetables.
In a strange way, many residents expressed their indomitable spirit and optimism in spite of the great challenge confronting the megacity.
During the Phase-I lockdown, which chiefly affected parts of the city east of the Huangpu River, green vegetables were much sought after, so much so that many netizens shared tips on how to obtain them through apps or other channels.
So one of the most frequently asked questions just before the Puxi lockdown was: "Have you got enough vegetables?"
Ironically, the panic buying of vegetables might have further aggravated the shortage of greens, but the situation has since improved considerably.
During the lockdown in Puxi, which is scheduled to be lifted on April 5, all subway lines and other bus lines, taxis and ferry services operating within the area are suspended. About 16 million residents will receive mass COVID-19 screening during the lockdown.
Many residents availed themselves of this light moment on Thursday night to encourage each other by saying "Cheer up, Shanghai!" The online disco dance show also served as a sort of conduit for pent-up emotions.
Another disco show will be livestreamed on Friday at 7:30pm.
The virtual event is also sort of aspirational, as a netizen commented: "Let's enjoy the real show when the pandemic ends."
