Editor's note: The COVID-19 pandemic saw restrictions imposed on travelers entering Beijing. Now, with the situation increasingly being brought under control, many people are returning to their workplaces in the capital. China Daily spoke with four women to learn how the outbreak affected their travel experiences.
(LIANG LUWEN / FOR CHINA DAILY)
Yang Yang: Senior manager
Yang Yang (not her real name), a senior manager at the Beijing offices of Novartis, the Swiss pharmaceuticals giant, lives in Tianjin with her husband and 22-year-old son. She takes a taxi, then a train and finally the subway on her daily commute to work, a journey of about 100 kilometers each way.
The current situation is fine … I haven’t planned for the future, but hopefully one day I won’t have to travel so much
Wen Zhuxin, news researcher who commutes between Beijing and Langfang every week
Although the COVID-19 pandemic added time to her journey as a result of health checks at railway stations, she said the unusual situation did not disrupt her routine too much. That's because there were far fewer passengers on the trains and she also discovered a quicker way to work after trying a new subway route in the capital.
The 49-year-old said the lack of passengers on the intercity bullet train allowed her to use the 30-minute journey to organize her work plans and ideas.
Passenger numbers on the subway have risen as a result of the outbreak being brought under control, but she is sticking with her new route. So when she disembarks from the bullet train at Beijing South Railway Station, she takes Subway Line 14 and then Line 10, which is faster than using lines 4 and 1 as she did previously.
If she doesn't want to take the subway, she heads for a taxi rank on the east side of the station rather than the west side because there is less traffic and the journey is smoother.
Her full commute usually takes one hour and 40 minutes, so she arrives at her office in downtown Beijing at 8 am, an hour before she officially starts work, which gives her time to eat a leisurely breakfast.
"I didn't find my commute during the pandemic difficult, at least not as much as I had imagined. I didn't see long lines or crowds. After a new cluster of cases was discovered at the Xinfadi wholesale market, fewer passengers took the Tianjin-Beijing high-speed rail line," she said.
In 2018, Yang was promoted and was transferred from the Novartis offices in Tianjin to Beijing, but she continues to live in the port city.
"I don't think living in a rented room (in the capital) can be as comfortable as being at home. A lot of people I know on the high-speed train are in the same situation as me. They are in their 30s or 40s and they all choose to live at home," she said.
The busy commute means Yang can no longer wear her beloved high-heeled shoes to work, but she said she doesn't see her journey as a burden because some of her colleagues who live in Beijing's suburbs spend just as long traveling every day as she does.
Wen Zhuxin: News researcher
When they married in 2018, Wen Zhuxin and her husband became a weekend couple.
Her husband, a bank clerk, lives and works in Langfang, Hebei province, while Wen, a news researcher, rents a room near her workplace in Beijing and returns to the family home every Friday.
Twice a week－Monday and Friday－Wen shares a ride with four other Langfang residents. The driver, who is also the car owner, charges each person 18 yuan (US$2.60) each way to cover fuel costs and shuttles them between Langfang and the Fengzhongsi subway stop in Beijing.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Wen's 50-kilometer journey between Langfang and Fengzhongsi took just 50 minutes. Now, it takes nearly two hours because of numerous checks when the car enters or exits the cities.
"The inspectors usually check our ID cards, take everyone's temperature and check the trunk to look for any possible stowaways who may have the virus and want to sneak into the capital," the 29-year-old said.
"We often spend about an hour at checkpoints. I usually nap in the car on the way to Beijing because I have to set off from home at around 5:50 am, much earlier than before the pandemic. I tried commuting daily, but I quit because it was too tiring. The thought of a daily journey is even less appealing now."
In 2017, the Langfang native got a master's in interpretation and translation from the Shanghai International Studies University. She had planned to find work in Langfang, but was disappointed with the jobs on offer.
"Few jobs suited me in my hometown so I decided to pursue a better opportunity in Beijing," she said.
When she started her job, Wen rented an 8-square-meter room near her company for 2,500 yuan a month. She has two roommates: a woman who works for a State-owned enterprise and a male computer programmer.
Since she moved in, Wen has been researching and selecting the best way to travel between the two cities every week.
Initially, she took a high-speed train tailored for Langfang residents who work in Beijing, paying 29.50 yuan for each 21-minute journey.
"The problem was not the train, but the long time it took to enter and exit the railway stations, which were crowded with travelers from all over," Wen said.
She starts work at 8:30 am and it usually took an hour and 50 minutes to travel to the office by car, train and subway. In May, she joined a WeChat group for Langfang residents and started carpooling.
Sometimes Wen's husband visits her in Beijing on a weekday before returning to work the following morning.
"If my husband tried my commute long term, I think he might feel sorry for me. For most people, Friday means a break and a fun weekend. For me, it's like a business trip because I need to carry a lot of things like skin care items and food I bought at the supermarket during the week," she said.
"My husband and I don't want to force each other to change jobs, and the current situation is fine because we don't have a baby yet. I haven't planned for the future, but hopefully one day I won't have to travel so much."
Pang Ying: Financial industry employee
In May, after the COVID-19 outbreak had effectively been contained in Beijing, Pang Ying returned to work in the capital, traveling from her home in Tianjin.
However, in June a new cluster of infections appeared at the Xinfadi wholesale market near her workplace in Fengtai district, so she decided to stay in the capital.
Before the pandemic, the 32-year-old financial industry worker shuttled between home and work, but now she lives in a rented house in Beijing and only returns home at weekends.
"I considered returning home and telecommuting, but I was worried about contracting the virus during the journey and infecting my parents," she said.
Huangcun in Daxing district, where Pang lives, was elevated from "medium" to "high risk" on June 21, according to the local government.
"At first, I didn't go grocery shopping because the food in nearby supermarkets was purchased from Xinfadi. I ate food stored in my refrigerator and when that ran out I survived on packaged food such as biscuits and instant noodles," she said.
She added that she boosted her immune system by including an egg and a bottle of milk in her daily diet.
"I didn't hang out with friends. When I had to go out, I would check low-risk places online and wash my hands and clothes carefully after getting home," she said.
In addition to work, Pang is studying for a master's in business administration at Tianjin University.
She used to return to the coastal city every Friday for two-day classes from 8:30 am to 7 pm on weekends, but now her course is available online.
Although her family and university were both in Tianjin, about 100 kilometers from Beijing, she decided to work in the capital when she left college.
"I majored in business and finance for my bachelor's degree so my dream cities were Beijing and Shanghai. I chose Beijing because it's near my home city.
"Most parents I know in Tianjin don't like their children to leave their hometown, but the kids don't listen because the city's slow economic growth can't meet their career expectations," she said.
"I am one of those kids. I don't want to set boundaries for myself－instead I want to choose what I like, broaden my outlook and explore a career outside."
During her solitary life in Beijing, she worked from home and experienced "a revelation" when she discovered that the pandemic provided more gain than pain.
"During the outbreak, I got into healthier eating habits. I started to care much more about my parents' feelings and had video chats with them regularly. I needed to console them sometimes. I found that the way to conquer fears is to search for the facts online and follow the correct advice," she said.
"Sometimes we have to go through these enlightening experiences in life."
Gao Guoxiu: Administrator for an education company
Gao Guoxiu's daily 50-kilometer drive between Langfang, Hebei province, and Beijing used to take about 60 minutes.
However, the relaxation of travel restrictions means there are more motorists on the roads and all drivers are subject to health checks, which has led to long traffic jams.
Now, the return journey usually takes about three hours.
Her worst experience came on June 29, when she was stuck in traffic at the Beijing-Hebei border for eight hours, as officers checked to ensure that all drivers showed the results of nucleic acid tests to prove they did not have COVID-19.
The measure was abandoned about a week later.
"That day, a young policeman who was not skilled at directing traffic worsened the jam caused by the checks. Cars could only move about 3 meters an hour," the 45-year-old said.
Drivers stood outside their cars smoking and chatting, while a number of nearby vendors sold bottles of water at the side of the road.
"There was no sign that cars were able to move and I was worried about the battery on my cellphone as I had to use the device to show my test result to the inspectors," she said, adding that the delay meant she didn't arrive home until about 11 pm.
She recalled that during the pandemic's early phase in February, commuters needed to display test results to enter Beijing. However, after a new cluster of cases was discovered in the capital in June, drivers also needed to show test results to leave the city.
After July 4, nucleic acid test certificates were no longer required for people traveling outside Beijing from low-risk areas of the capital.
During the pandemic, early morning high-speed rail services provided specifically for commuters between the two cities were suspended, meaning the highway became jammed with vehicles.
"The problem isn't just the traffic jam, but also drivers who don't observe the rules of the road, which makes it much harder to get through the checkpoints to enter or exit Beijing," she said.
"It was really annoying that sometimes I could hardly move forward at entry points to the capital. Some drivers don't know how to be polite and I was usually stuck for two hours."
After several taxing journeys, Gao decided to set out at 5 am every morning, which saw her arrive at work about an hour later. She works for a natural sciences education company in Beijing and starts work at 9 am, so she usually naps in her car after arriving.
"To be honest, commuting like this makes me so tired, especially when it's common to be stuck in traffic for hours on the way home."
She used to work in the company's Langfang branch, but it was closed in 2016 and she was transferred to the headquarters in Beijing.
At first, she rented a room in an apartment near her company for about 4,000 yuan a month, but it was too expensive.
"Rents are too high in Beijing and the room was far less comfortable than my home in Langfang. After renting for a year, I decided to commute every day," she said.
"Now, I am weary of commuting so I am planning to take early retirement when I am about 50 and look forward to my son's wedding and having a grandchild."
