Travel Resumes as Wuhan Lockdown Ends

Passengers wait to enter Wuhan Railway Station in Wuhan on the morning of April 8, 2020. [Photo by Ke Hao/for chinadaily.com.cn]

Cars queued up at expressway toll gates and passengers prepared to board trains and planes to leave Wuhan, Hubei province at midnight. The city, the hardest-hit area by the COVID-19 outbreak on the Chinese mainland, reopened on Wednesday after a 76-day lockdown.

At Fuhe toll gate in nothern Wuhan, cars honked horns and passed through after barricades were removed at midnight.

The first inter-city train left Wuhan at 6:25 am for Jingzhou city in Hubei province. The high-speed train G431 departed for Nanning, capital of South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, at 7:06 am. It was the first high-speed train to depart from Wuhan since the city's lockdown was lifted.

A total of 276 trains will depart from Wuhan on Wednesday to cities including Shanghai, Shenzhen in South China's Guangdong province and Chengdu in Southwest China's Sichuan province, carrying more than 55,000 passengers.

Passengers wait to enter Wuhan Railway Station in Wuhan on the morning of April 8, 2020. [Photo by Ke Hao/for chinadaily.com.cn]

The railway authorities are requiring passengers to scan health codes and have their temperatures checked when entering the stations, and the wearing of masks is mandatory to reduce risk of infection.

At 7:25, the flight MU2527 bound for Sanya, Hainan province, took off from Wuhan Tianhe International Airport, signaling the resumption of air traffic in Wuhan.

The airport is expected to see more than 200 inbound and outbound domestic flights on the day, according to the airport authority.

Big data from Wuhan traffic police forecasted expressways would see a peak of outbound vehicles on Wednesday.

On Jan 23, Wuhan declared unprecedented traffic restrictions, including suspending the city's public transport and all outbound flights and trains, in an attempt to contain the epidemic.

On the morning of April 8, passengers at Wuhan Railway Station enter the station after their temperature is taken. [Photo by Ke Hao/for chinadaily.com.cn]

A view of railway staff in masks in Wuhan Railway Station in Wuhan on the morning of April 8, 2020. [Photo by Ke Hao/for chinadaily.com.cn]

An aerial photo shows vehicles waiting to leave Wuhan on April 8, 2020. [Photo by Ke Hao/for chinadaily.com.cn]

An aerial photo shows vehicles lined up to leave Wuhan on April 8, 2020. [Photo by Ke Hao/for chinadaily.com.cn]

A photo shows a view of Wuhan West Toll Station before midnight on April 8, 2020. [Photo by Li Ziyun/for chinadaily.com.cn]

A smiling passenger waves from a car leaving Wuhan on April 8, 2020. [Photo by Ke Hao/for chinadaily.com.cn]

Passengers at Wuchang Railway Station enter the station in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei province, on April 8, 2020. [Photo by Zhang Zheng/for chinadaily.com.cn]

Passengers wait to enter Wuchang Railway Station in Wuhan on the morning of April 8, 2020. [Photo by Zhang Zheng/for chinadaily.com.cn]

A railway police officer guides passengers to enter Wuchang Railway Station in Wuhan on the morning of April 8, 2020. [Photo by Zhang Zheng/for chinadaily.com.cn]

Passengers wait in an orderly fashion to board a train at Wuchang Railway Station in Wuhan on the morning of April 8, 2020. [Photo by Zhang Zheng/for chinadaily.com.cn]

Passengers are seen on the K81 train at Wuchang Railway Station in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei province, on April 8, 2020. [Photo by Cheng Ying/for chinadaily.com.cn]