Solidarity, joint efforts
Last year, Galor, the Israeli entrepreneur, was in his home country during Spring Festival. However, he had no time to celebrate the occasion by eating his customary hotpot, because he was busy gathering medical supplies to be sent to hospitals in Hubei.
He was also occupied with something else. "For several days, all I did was confront the media about discriminatory reports aimed at Chinese people because of the virus," he said.
At the time, Galor, who is based in Beijing, felt the need for content to be produced "to make people more aware of the scientific situation, rather than a cultural situation where people are blaming others and being discriminatory".
"We needed more positivity and less hatred and blame," he said.
During these bleak times, Li Jing, an illustrator in Wuhan, was among the locals who contracted the virus and was admitted to a temporary hospital.
"I was transferred to a makeshift hospital, which used to be a gymnasium. Before I arrived there, I thought the place was going to be in a bad state and that they would lack medics. But it was the opposite. It was really great," Li said.
She also recalled how the doctors and nurses took good care of the patients.
As Li recovered, she began to draw pictures of doctors and patients going about their daily routines. She published her work on social media platforms, attracting considerable attention online.
Galor said, "Her artistic skills are amazing, but what impressed me more was her sheer optimism in the face of danger.
"She faced a lot of uncertainty at the height of the outbreak, but despite this, she managed to find hope to make the situation a little more positive," he added.
For Platto, the Italian professor, Spring Festival last year was also a time she will never forget.
"When the lockdown began in Wuhan on Jan 23, it was Matteo's birthday," the mother of one said.
She acted quickly, changing her son's birthday plans due to the lockdown. She ended up buying a cake and staging the party online.
During the lockdown, Platto relied heavily on deliverymen for groceries and other necessities.
"While we stayed safe at home, deliverymen were risking their lives every day to bring food and provisions to hospitals and the rest of the city. They are the heroes of this pandemic," she said.
Just one year later, Platto goes shopping for clothes and groceries with one of the deliverymen, her new friend Peng Zilong.
Last year, Peng, 30, volunteered to take meals and daily essentials to hospitals across Wuhan.
This year, he decided to stay in city for Spring Festival, as due to the workload during the holiday, not everyone could go home. Peng forsook his own happiness to enable his colleagues to reunite with their families.
People were encouraged to spend Spring Festival this year in the towns and cities where they work.
Data from Wuhan Tianhe International Airport show that arrival and departure passenger traffic dropped by more than 60 percent compared with the same period in 2019.
Galor said: "I think Chinese people's willingness to make sacrifices for others is quite obvious－and not just in Wuhan. This year, people still made sacrifices by not going home."
Redefining a city
Having gone through so much during the height of the battle against COVID-19, Wuhan people have risen to the challenge and worked together to overcome tough obstacles.
But what next for these foreigners and locals, and what were their Spring Festival wishes?
As the outbreak waned, Li quit her job as an illustrator to become a full-time artist.
"There was a moment in the makeshift hospital when I suddenly felt reborn. I realized then that I have so many messages I want to communicate, so I hope I can spend more time creating art that will bring a smile and strength to others," she said.
Zhong and Peng, both self-confessed workaholics, want to spend more time with their loved ones.
Both Klein and Sara Platto developed deeper connections to Wuhan during the crisis and now fully embrace the city they call their second home.
Platto said: "My relationship with the city is like a friendship. During the outbreak and the lockdown, I decided to stay here. Therefore, my friend (Wuhan) became family, and that is what I feel about Wuhan now. It's like family."
In July, she published the book Buongiorno, Wuhan, in which she introduces the city to readers by recounting her son's experiences during the outbreak.
"I would like people outside China to see what Wuhan is really like," Platto said.
Klein, echoing her sentiments, said, "I hope that people will remember Wuhan as the city that fought the virus and triumphed against it with solidarity, courage and intelligence."
