Zhang Yihui packed up his stuff immediately on hearing that four Metro lines and more than 270 bus routes in Shanghai would resume, following a further easing of the long COVID-19 lockdown in the city.

Shanghai reopened a small part of the world's longest subway system on Sunday after some lines had been closed for almost two months. Trains will run 20 minutes apart for limited hours.

Hailing from Suqian in neighboring Jiangsu Province, Zhang had been staying in a Shanghai hotel for nearly two months and all he wanted, more than anything else, was to return home.