China has locked down the city of Xi'an in Shaanxi province with its strictest curfews since the initial outbreak in Wuhan,VCG via Getty Images
- China is doubling down on its COVID-zero policy in advance of the Beijing Olympics.
- The 13 million residents of Xi'an have been ordered to stay at home for the last seven days, and many are complaining they have no food left.
The city of Xi'an in China's Shaanxi province entered its seventh day of lockdown on Wednesday, as the government imposed some of the country's strictest pandemic curbs since the initial COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan.
With the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics just weeks away, China has doubled down on its COVID-zero policy of shutting down entire cities to snuff out even a single coronavirus case.
Xi'an, a city with 13 million residents, has reported 960 locally transmitted cases so far since December 9. That may seem minuscule compared to the daily infections seen in Europe or the US, but Xi'an's outbreak is one of China's worst in its pandemic history.
On December 23, the city announced it would confine its residents at home. As the lockdown continues, many say they are running out of food and pleading for help on social media. Insider noted that a number of Weibo posts were deleted or removed from trending searches, though it's unclear who took them down.
These ten photos show life in Xi'an and its now-deserted streets, as the city wages its biggest battle yet against COVID-19.