A Conversation Between “Copper Pot Hot Pot” and “Mandarin Duck Pot”

In spring 2022, the pandemic split Shanghai along the Huangpu River, placing Pudong and Puxi under separate management – a situation people dubbed the “Shanghai-style mandarin duck lockdown.” A month later, Beijing earned the nickname “Beijing-style copper pot lockdown,” as the eastern and western districts of the city centre found themselves ringed by surrounding areas that also required lockdown controls.

In this episode, two Beijing-based Foodthink members invited two friends from Shanghai to chat online about what the past two months of pandemic isolation at home have really been like: what they eat each day, how to steady the recurring waves of anxiety, stockpiling advice for friends in Beijing and elsewhere, and more. Meanwhile, the two Foodthink colleagues in Beijing – currently living under control measures and bracing for the possibility of a full lockdown – also shared how Shanghai’s lockdown has affected them, as well as their own daily routines and mental shifts since coming under restrictions.

By the end of the conversation, while all four young people had experienced anger, frustration, anxiety, and helplessness, the time in isolation at home had also sharpened their sense of what truly counts as a life essential. Over the course of two weeks to more than two months, they had picked up new skills and acquired new, better habits.

As the pandemic in both Beijing and Shanghai has reached a turning point and the first light of an end to lockdown seems within reach, looking back on this stretch of life has not only deepened our appreciation for the importance of freedom, but also made us treasure the small beauties of everyday life all the more.

Beijing and Shanghai lockdown dining tables: worlds apart. Can you guess which one belongs to a Beijinger and which to a Shanghainese? You’ll know once you’ve listened to the episode! Feel free to leave a comment – we’ll send a gift to the top three commenters (by likes) who get it right.

This Episode’s Guests

Shen Biren / Wayne

Former ad professional, now a full-time street loiterer, and during the pandemic, a homebound Robinson Crusoe.

Er Diao Meng Tata

A freelance ad professional living in Pudong, Shanghai, who has a cat called “Fugui”.

This Episode’s Hosts

Xiaojing

A Foodthink member from northern China who has been fed dumplings at every solar term since childhood.

Xiaochao

Foodthink project officer. Making winding progress along the road between decluttering and stockpiling, and in the process developing cooking skills that are, let’s say, hit or miss.

Timeline

03:03 What people under lockdown eat: supply of goods with no rhythm – managing frozen meat, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and the occasional fresh vegetables as if running a project.

06:32 Life under lockdown in Beijing: you may have seen it, heard about it, and mentally prepared yourself, but when isolation actually hits, the anxiety is still very real.

09:56 Can you buy vegetables from farms on the city’s outskirts during the pandemic? Selling vegetables in the suburbs requires an essential-supply permit and a travel pass, while people in the urban centre have no idea how to get farm information to buy vegetables.

13:21 Never expected cooking at home to go through oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar so fast: the turnip we were issued was too big, so I wanted to pickle some, and found that salt and vinegar were the real luxuries.

14:58 A major shift in tastes at home: from “light eating” to “red-braised” cooking, from the occasional treat to something that actually works off the blues.

16:43 Isolation triggers a burst of new skills: homemade popcorn and sourdough bread, but without anyone to share a meal, it just doesn’t taste quite the same.

18:55 The pandemic has also given Shanghai people – who once shopped at refined fresh-food markets – brand-new essential skills: the knack for killing fish and chickens, and masterful pig butchery in the manner of Cook Ding.

24:54 “You can tear up that book, Decluttering! I’ve had enough!” – a live Shanghai-dialect delivery. Will this make us the new generation of hoarders? Our Shanghai friends say actually no! But since they now know what counts as a life essential, they plan to sell off all their expensive clothes once the lockdown lifts.

28:27 Fitness during the pandemic: losing muscle and gaining fat, plus a scholarly explanation of “why not to be anxious – just be easy on yourself.”

30:46 The special life during the pandemic has actually partly cured my procrastination, anxiety, and depression.

37:20 Current situation and expectations: some are waiting to collect their exit permits, some are getting hit with stricter controls, and Beijing colleagues are taking turns being placed under restrictions.