Blame and backlash, contempt and resentment: my hometown Wuhan has faced it all. But has this city truly been deserving of hatred from all around the world?
If you had mentioned the Chinese city ‘Wuhan’ to someone prior to the Coronavirus outbreak in 2020, chances are that they would never have heard of it. However, when the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the world and people discovered that its first case was found in Wuhan, suddenly my hometown became famous worldwide - in the most notorious way.
Whilst dealing with its own cases of COVID when the pandemic was at its peak in China, the people living in Wuhan received enormous amounts of backlash and hatred from across the globe (and within China itself) for supposedly starting the pandemic. Criticised beyond measure by notable politicians, the virus was famously known by want as the ‘China virus’ or ‘Wuhan Virus’. This prompted the number of hate crimes targeting East Asians to rise rapidly during 2020, as people took out the anger on innocent passers by who just so happened to look a certain way.
I feel as though humanity showed its true colours when I remember the appalling hate my hometown and country faced during a time when its citizens were the most vulnerable, and when my family and friends were the first of many to be quarantined inside their homes. However, just because the first case of the virus was discovered there, just because there was no one else to blame, just because people were angry, there was no excuse to blame an entire nation for the causation of a deadly global pandemic.
However, the unfortunate reputation which Wuhan now has is merely a façade for the city’s true beauty and culture. A wicked, evil villain who inflicted a virus upon the world is nothing like the Wuhan I know.
The Wuhan that I know is a radiant city filled with the most welcoming, humble and friendly people. They work hard and are happy with what they have. Enormous modern shopping malls are frequented everyday by bustling crowds, warm and delicious smells of traditional food can be smelt on every street, yellow rental bicycles litter every corner. During my recent visit to Wuhan, a cab driver talked to us passionately about how much he loved this city, while another described how Wuhan welcomed him and his wife when they needed it the most as migrant workers.
Not only does the famous Yangtze river flow through the city, it is also home to the ancient historical sites such as beautiful Yellow Crane Tower and Guiyan temple. Breathtaking cherry blossoms bloom famously every spring at Wuhan University. There are trucks filled to the brim with mandarins, old ladies bargaining in Wuhanese at wet markets, students buying themselves hot dry noodles before a long day of school. Save for the odd cautious mask-wearer here and there, things are slowly getting back into the routine of the pre-covid times.
Around the world, we have also been returning back to the normality which we remember from before the pandemic. This return to normality however also means that we must reflect on the COVID years and question the fairness of blaming it all on one city, as I can guarantee you that no Wuhanese citizen would have wanted the coronavirus pandemic to ever have happened.
Although now tainted with a scarring reputation which will no doubt always stick to the city, we must remember that beneath it all, Wuhan city is truly beautiful; and filled with the most wonderful people.
