The Wuhan Lockdown

Guobin Yang paints a vivid and deeply moving portrait of ordinary people who suddenly find themselves at the epicenter of a frightening new disease. Based on dozens of online 'lockdown diaries' written by Wuhan residents, this book offers a revealing and humanizing perspective on one of the most controversial and consequential events of our time. -- Elizabeth J. Perry, Henry Rosovsky Professor of Government, Harvard University
This brilliant book offers two expertly intertwined accounts. In the first, local diarists narrate the terror, boredom, and creativity of Wuhan residents as they lived through an emerging catastrophe. In the second, Yang shows how the Party, social media, health workers, patients, and citizen activists shaped people’s understandings of what was happening to their community. -- Gail Hershatter, University of California, Santa Cruz
The Wuhan Lockdown documents ordinary people’s lives, sentiments, and activities during the pandemic in such an engaging and immersive fashion that when reading the manuscript, I felt like I was watching a documentary. This book allowed me to relive what people in Wuhan have gone through the pandemic. It is truly incredible how timely it is. -- Rongbin Han, author of Contesting Cyberspace in China: Online Expression and Authoritarian Resilience
He presents a far more detailed and nuanced view than the US media ever did, allowing those of us would limited knowledge about China and the Chinese lockdown to have a greater and clearer understanding of what happened. * Fish Shelf *
A thorough account of the events leading to the Covid-19 lockdown in Wuhan, China, in early 2020, drawing from dozens of personal accounts ('lockdown diaries'). * Kirkus Reviews (starred review) *
A uniquely valuable contribution to the growing literature on COVID-19 as well as that on contemporary China. * Los Angeles Review of Books *
Enriched by Yang's expert understanding of Chinese culture and politics, this is a valuable record of the early stages of the pandemic. * Publishers Weekly *
Yang has crafted a fascinating portrait of modern China, capturing subtleties and sensitivities that mainstream European and North American media are typically content to ignore. * Lancet *
[An] immaculate page-turner. * Lancet Infectious Disease *
A forceful and timely reminder of the profound impact that COVID continues to have on ordinary people's lives. * China Review *
Absolutely fabulous! The book can be read by everyone and I highly recommend it. * AI Femminile *
Anyone interested in epidemiology or the history of global pandemics will find this a riveting account of the most recent such crisis due to COVID-19 and its socioeconomic, political—but especially human—ramifications in China and beyond. * Choice *
This book would be useful not only for social psychology and medical sociology courses, but also for the general reader hoping to gain perspective from the Chinese people on the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. * H-Sci-Med-Tech *
In his study of the Covid experience in Wuhan and beyond, Yang encompasses the positive and negative aspects of how the Chinese people coped with the dangers, threats and tragedies of the emergency. * Asian Affairs *
A vivid and highly readable account. * China Quarterly *
An exemplary study of the possibilities of online research methodologies as well as an empirically and theoretically rich account of the starting months of the pandemic. * Global Media and China *
A sophisticated glimpse into Chinese society and politics during Xi Jinping’s rule through the lens of COVID-19 in Wuhan. * American Journal of Sociology *