In 2020, it will be challenging for overseas Chinese to travel to China. The “Five Ones” and the “Double Negative “Millions of people have had to cut off their thoughts of going home for a while. Even so, there are still those who embark on the journey, and what is waiting for them? One person who was there recorded the following.
In February 2020, due to the first wave of the epidemic in Europe and the ensuing freeze on international flights, I applied for a refund of my plane ticket to return home in March, returned my field research grant, and switched my scheduled work to a remote location, waiting for the road home to restart. Little did I know at the time that nine months later, the difficulties of returning home would return, and that in 2020, because of the epidemic, every “returnee” would have a special trip! Memories.
Tickets: a roller coaster of excitement
In May, as the epidemic in Europe improved, international flights began to resume gradually and hope for a return to China began to appear. However, the CAAC’s five-one policy (one flight per week per airline, per country, per destination) has limited the number of flights and created a serious imbalance between supply and demand, resulting in a number of sky-high prices and ghost flights. Faced with tens of thousands of dollars in airline tickets, some netizens have joked that every breath taken by passengers on flights is worth a lot. Beginning in June, with some public outcry and pressure from some countries to “reciprocate” air rights, the five-one policy was slowly ripped apart and domestic airlines began to increase the number of flights. Return routes and frequencies, several foreign airlines started to return and airfares started to come down.
By the time I purchased my ticket in September, there were already a number of inexpensive connecting flights available, so I finally chose the November 26th Finnair flight home from Dusseldorf, with a connecting flight to Shanghai Pudong via Helsinki. At that time, I was happy that I could buy a return ticket for 600 Euros (about 4,800 RMB), but little did I know that my journey home was going to be full of trials and tribulations.
Soon after, I received an email from Finnair informing me of the flight adjustments. First, the departure time of the flight was changed from afternoon to evening. Then, the previous flight was cancelled and Finnair directly helped me to rebook the previous day’s flight. In the end, my flight went from taking only 14 hours to requiring an overnight stay in Helsinki and a 20-hour connection time alone. Every time the Finnair alert popped up in my mailbox, it was a bit of a shock and a roller coaster ride for me. But at least the ticket was not cancelled, and with an extended connection time of 20 hours, I was able to meet the CAA’s requirement of providing proof of nucleic acid testing within 3 days.
The biggest surprise came at 11:00 pm on October 30, when the Chinese embassies in several countries issued an emergency notice that persons traveling to China must provide proof of a double negative nucleic acid test and serum antibody (IgM) test within 48 hours, and a second test is also required in the country of transit. With less than a month to go before my return flight, I needed to find a new solution. Later that evening, considering that there would be many others like me who would not be able to get a connecting flight home, I made a quick decision and went looking for a direct flight home. Eventually, I purchased a ticket on an Eastern Airlines flight departing in late November for around 10,000 RMB, and went to sleep. When I woke up the next morning, I went back to check on the flight and found that the price of the ticket had gone up by 2,000 RMB.
Scenario: No Best, Only Most Expensive
The next challenge was to develop a testing protocol to get a double-negative certificate within a specified period of time, and then apply for a health code, the so-called green code, from the local Chinese embassy or consulate.
What started as a WeChat group to share information about nucleic acid testing in China quickly grew from 200 people to a maximum of 500, with calls for a new group. Within minutes, the group accumulated hundreds of messages from passengers anxiously asking for information on where they could get both tests while their flights were in effect. A document with the title “Serum Testing Facility” or a simple tweet could be spread around like a lifeline.
Since most of the flights departed from Frankfurt Airport, the group first contacted the Frankfurt Airport Medical Center, which offered a rapid serum test for 110 euros (about 880 yuan), with advance reservations required. Despite the high price, the November testing opportunity was booked up in a short time. Seemingly aware of China’s new policy and feeling the enthusiasm of the army returning to China, the medical center immediately launched the “China Testing Package” to meet the needs of different groups of people. “, dubbed a luxury gift package by group members. Another group member found out about a facility in downtown Frankfurt that offers rapid serum testing and shared the information with the group. After a few hours, the group was reminded that due to the overwhelming number of inquiries, they were told that they did not want to receive any more incoming calls and asked those in need to email directly to make an appointment.
The newly purchased direct flight was to leave on Tuesday, and as I live in Bonn, nearly two hours from Frankfurt, the best course of action was to complete the testing near Bonn on Sunday and then head to the airport. After calling several facilities, I was told that they were either unable to schedule weekend testing or that they could not continue to guarantee results within 48 hours due to the high volume of nucleic acid tests. After learning that a passenger from the same city had lost his nucleic acid test sample to the lab and could not get a replacement test at Frankfurt airport because the Embassy’s audit system did not support inter-consular testing (Bonn and Frankfurt are in two different consular districts), I changed my mindset: convenience, cost, and time are not worth the effort. Most important. So, I decided to stay in Frankfurt on Saturday and go to two local facilities offering weekend services on Sunday, so that if the test results came back overtime, I would still have a chance to take the test in the same area on Monday.
After deciding on the test, I packed my bags and processed the paperwork to leave Germany, returning my cell phone number, accommodation and insurance. Some of my friends asked me if I had a plan in case I couldn’t go back. I threw this question back into the group, and there were a few people who had returned home as completely as I had, but no one had an answer.
Testing: what went well and what didn’t
On Saturday afternoon, my best friend and I boarded a train to Frankfurt. The German railroads, “late when they don’t agree”, did not let us down this time. First of all, the train was 35 minutes late. Shortly after boarding the train, the staff gave the passengers an application form for compensation for the late departure. According to the rules of German Railways, no compensation can be claimed for a delay of 60 minutes, over 60 minutes 25% of the fare, over 120 minutes 50% of the fare, while the announcement was being made: your train will be 57 minutes late.
As the train was approaching its destination, the announcement sounded again: “Sorry, the train cannot stop at the Frankfurt train station, please get off at the Frankfurt airport station if your destination is the train station. So my friend and I, with our bags in tow, were “kicked” off the train. Fortunately, there were other trains that could take us into the city. My best friend and I laughed at this series of German surprises and joked that we had to go to the airport for tests the next day anyway, so maybe we could just sleep on the floor.
Sunday morning at 8:00 a.m., it was off to the Frankfurt airport for the nucleic acid test. The airport is very thoughtfully marked for passengers, so just follow the blue sign on the ground to find the Centogene testing center. On arrival, the testing center was already crowded with people in line, and spontaneous testers were distinguished from passengers who had landed. After a few minutes of waiting in line and checking information, I was led to a cubicle by a staff member. The nurse taking the samples gently dabbed mucus from my mouth and throat with a cotton swab, and when I tended to dry up, she reassured me that it was normal and that I would be fine soon. The nucleic acid test took about half an hour, and after a short break, I headed to the center of Frankfurt for the serum test.
When I arrived at the serology center, seven or eight Chinese were already sitting in the room. After 20 minutes of checking information and waiting in the lounge, I was called into the lab, had my fingertip blood taken, and then had the blood dripped into the test wells on the test strip. As I waited for the results, I felt as if I were on trial by fate, dreading the words “tut mir leid” from the staff. (German for I’m sorry). The girl with me was also waiting for a heart attack. Finally, 20 minutes later, I heard the staff call my name and she told me that the test result was negative. I was so relieved that I was as happy as if I had won a lottery, and happily paid the 125 Euros (about 1000 RMB) for the test. The day after I returned to Shanghai, the embassy issued an urgent notice that my fingertip blood serum test would no longer be accepted and I would have to have my blood collected from a vein.
Soon after, I also received a negative nucleic acid test in the mail, which took 4 hours. I took screenshots of both tests, as required by the embassy, and received my approved health code at 3:00 p.m. The group shared the good news that I had received my green code.
The Return Trip: Tight Chinese Control
I arrived at the airport four hours before my flight’s departure time of 1:30 p.m., as suggested by the group. A long line stretched conspicuously across the lobby of the large, empty airport: the check-in counter for China Eastern’s MU220. The so-called social distance could not be achieved, and the line made a detour under the guidance of airport staff so as not to interfere with the passage of other passengers. There were mostly young faces among the passengers, many of whom were international students in Germany. After more than an hour of waiting in line, checking my luggage, checking my temperature, and checking the green code, I was checked in and received my boarding pass.
Compared with the bustling check-in window, the quietness of the security checkpoint was more in line with my imagination of the airport in this epidemic. Only a few stores were open in the waiting area, and the chairs in the lounge area were separated by a green barrier to ensure a safe distance. The boarding announcements began to remind passengers to board the plane, and the rigorous vaccination process began: China Eastern Airlines staff wore blue and white protective clothing to guide passengers on board, while most of the staff at other gates only wore masks. After checking passports, body temperature is taken, and hands are disinfected again when passengers reach the cabin door. As you enter the cabin, all flight attendants are fully equipped with protective clothing, masks, and gloves. There were two meals with two bottles of water and some dry food at each seat in the cabin.
Once seated, I observed the ticketing situation on the flight, which was estimated to have a 75% occupancy rate, with about 150 passengers, and was virtually empty except for a few rows of seats that might have been reserved for passengers with symptoms. According to the flight attendant, the cabin was ventilated every 2 to 3 minutes and the toilets were disinfected every hour. In addition to the health code, all passengers were asked to fill out a customs entry form, which included a history of medication, fever, etc. Those who had these experiences would be asked to leave the plane early when they landed.
Unlike the nucleic acid test done in Germany, the nasal swab test is used at Shanghai Pudong Airport.
Finally, in the drizzling rain, my flight landed in Shanghai at 7:30 pm Beijing time on November 25. After getting off the plane in batches, I followed the instructions, showing the customs entry codes filled out on the plane to different staff, reporting my final destination, receiving the informed consent form and sampling vials, and finally arriving at a small house where the nucleic acid test was performed. Unlike the nucleic acid tests done in Germany, the nasal swab test used at Shanghai Pudong Airport is a “soul-searching” test, which involves taking a cotton swab and poking it deep into the nose and leaving it there for a few seconds. This experience makes many of us call it “painful”.
After the nucleic acid test is completed, it is the normal process of going through customs and picking up checked luggage. Depending on the destination, the passengers were divided into different areas after baggage collection, waiting to be assigned to different centralized isolation points.
Quarantine: The Joy of Unpacking Blind Boxes
Since September, Shanghai has implemented the “3+11” quarantine transit measures for those who arrive in the three provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui, i.e., after the 3-day quarantine period in Shanghai, the nucleic acid test will be conducted. Those who were negative were transported in a closed loop to a centralized quarantine point set up in the provinces of Suzhou, Zhejiang and Shanghai, and then quarantined for 11 days. After another round of form filling and nearly an hour’s wait, I and a dozen other passengers with the same destination in Zhejiang were sent by bus to the hotel in Songjiang, Shanghai for quarantine.
As soon as the bus arrived, staff in protective suits were already waiting at the hotel entrance. They took down all the luggage before arranging for the passengers to get off the bus and check in, with special care for the elderly and children. After they leave, the area they pass through is also fully decontaminated. After confirming the information with the hotel staff, I received disinfection tablets, thermometers, and other supplies, paid the quarantine fee of 1500 for three days, and finally arrived at the room where lunch was already placed. By this time, five hours had passed since the plane landed.
During the quarantine period, temperature measurements were taken twice a day, and three meals a day were ordered on a stool outside the room door. Take-out and delivery policies varied from hotel to hotel, but deli food and alcohol and tobacco were generally not allowed. My fellow hotel guests set up a WeChat group with me, which was initially named “concentration camp at Bonjour”. “I expressed my disagreement and changed the name of the group to something more in line with the group chat: what to eat at the Hyatt today.
While waiting at the airport, no one knew which hotel they would be taken to; while staying at the hotel, no one knew what kind of meals would be delivered the next day. In the hotel quarantine group, some people cheered because they finally ate fresh fish after years of staying in Germany, some complained about the lack of breakfast, and some found bugs in the vegetables. According to the hotel staff, the quarantined meals are purchased by the government, and halfway through the quarantine schedule, I have yet to find two meals with the same side dishes.
With the quarantine coming to an end, no word yet on the diagnosis of the passengers on the flight I was on, and no request from my address for continued home quarantine, it seemed that in a few days I would be able to return to my normal life. From Germany to China, the contradictions of the times were evident in every twist and turn of the journey, and as a “returnee,” I will treasure this particular part of my travel memory.
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