Shanghai lockdown a year on: Is it still the same financial hub? Shanghai is referred to as a financial hub because it has the stock market, the banks, the asset-management firms — and because it’s a place where people want to be and be seen.To get more news about shanghai city of china, you can citynewsservice.cn official website. “I was very surprised that a city of over 20 million people could be shut down all of a sudden. How did we get food? Or see doctors? Those were the biggest challenges,” said contemporary artist Jin Shan. “I am surprised that I survived that.” Jin came to Shanghai two decades ago because it was an arts hub. He said the city is now home to China’s two best art fairs.Shanghai is also known for being a good place for international businesses; the European Union Chamber of Commerce has 620 members there. Shanghai has “the biggest port. It is easy to access the government authorities. You get very fast and efficient service. You have a lot of very professional, well-educated talents,” said Bettina Schoen-Behanzin, chair of the Shanghai chapter of the EU Chamber of Commerce. Through most of the pandemic, COVID restrictions in Shanghai were lighter in Shanghai than other Chinese cities. That was how Ohio native Josh Vaughn, who was initially drawn to Shanghai for its jiujitsu martial arts scene, was able to launch a business called Black Shades, which sells sunglasses made from recycled and sustainable materials, in 2021. Back then, the city was still hosting open-air markets. That momentum went out the door about a year ago, when the highly infectious omicron variant hit Shanghai. At first, officials opted to seal a building, a corner or a block at a time. Frustrated citizens called on the authorities to make up their minds and lock down the whole city for a week to stamp out the outbreaks. The suggestion was batted down by the authorities. “If Shanghai came to a complete stop, there would be many international cargo ships floating in the East China Sea. This would affect the economy of China and the rest of world,” a medical expert on Shanghai’s pandemic task force, Wu Fan, said at a news conference at the time. Officials pledged to never mandate a citywide lockdown. Barely a day later, they announced that the east side of the city would be locked down for four days and then reopen. Then the west side would follow. But by the time the second half of Shanghai was headed into lockdown, the first half remained in quarantine. The metropolis was cut off from the rest of China and the world. Food and daily supplies became an obsession, and they are still the key things people recall about the lockdown. Artist Jin said he was able to source 300 eggs at a time for his family of four but struggled to find floss. “Usually, I use 20 inches of dental floss at a time because I like to comfortably wrap it around my fingers. But I had to ration during the lockdown, so I only used eight inches of floss at a time,” Jin said, adding that the uncertainty of the lockdown weighed on him.