Guest Post: Last Flight to China

Written by Wang Qingsong, who was artist in residence at LRCCS.

The reason why I went to the United States was of course the same as many other Chinese parents whose children are studying at colleges in the United States. They can't come back for the Chinese Spring Festival, so their parents have to visit the United States to spend some time with them. There was no epidemic before I went there on December 22nd, 2019. Soon after my arrival, Wuhan pneumonia broke out in China and spread across the country. In the United States, some websites reported this epidemic widely which made me on alert about the wide-spread complications. As I was from Hubei province though I have lived in Beijing for almost 30 years, Hubei has been my hometown. Naturally I become more concerned about Hubei and Wuhan than ordinary people. Also, because migrant workers have to go back to work in Beijing after the Spring Festival holiday ends, I must think about the escalating outbreak impact in Beijing. My original plan was to return to work right after the Chinese New Year. However, some friends in the United States and China have persuaded me there is no need to return. Domestically the epidemic is so serious that I should stay in the United States and wait until the situation is slightly stable before returning.

我之所以去美国当然就是就跟中国很多家长一样，因为小孩儿在美国读了书上大学。他们春节回不来，应该去美国陪陪孩子过个春节。当然去美国前那时候还没有疫情，到了美国不久结果国内就爆发武汉肺炎，全国出现疫情。在美国很容易看到国外的一些网站报道中国疫情，当然也会从朋友圈里看到很多消息说疫情越来越复杂越严重。而我本人也是一个湖北人，虽然在北京居住已经近30年了，但是湖北对我还算是最亲近的故乡。所以你也可能比普通人更关注湖北、武汉。当然又因为小孩儿开学之后你不得不选择应该要回北京工作，可确定要回来时你又会思前想后，因为朋友圈里面有很多朋友发疫情的讯息，而原计划就是过完年就回来工作的，但是在美国和国内的一些朋友，他们总会劝你说没必要回，现在国内疫情很严重，你应该留在美国，等到疫情稍微平稳一些再回来吧。

However, I found many airlines including British Airways and Lufthansa have started to cancel their flights to China. The United States also began to gradually cancel flights one after another because they were afraid of the spread of the epidemic. These cancellations actually brought me some pressure to return to China, more of a super-alert tension. I started to think about whether to stay or come back soon. Because if it is too late, I may not be able to return. The earliest airlines in the United States that spoke of flight reductions was the United which has  many collaborators with Chinese airlines. I should fly back with Delta Airlines. There is a daily flight from Detroit to Beijing. When I planed to return, Delta started to reduce the flights in half and many non-stop flights began to be cancelled and changed to stopovers at some other places. All of a sudden I became more and more nervous. The atmosphere made me think that I should go back as soon as possible, or I would not make it back to Beijing. So, I decided to return to Beijing as soon as possible. In the end it turned out that I almost took the last flight possible to head back home.

但是我发现英国、德国汉莎包括很多飞往中国航班开始取消，而且美国也开始慢慢陆陆续续的取消航班，就是由于怕疫情传播他们开始取消航班。这种停飞其实反而给我带来了回国的压力，更多的是这种紧张感。我开始考虑应该是留下还是赶快回来？因为再晚的话可能就回不来了。美国最早开始停飞的是美联航，因为美联航跟中国是各个航空公司有很多的交接，所以事先停了。我乘坐的是达美航空公司，它是每天有一个航班从底特律飞往北京，在我要计划回来时候，我发现达美航空公司也开始两班合一班，甚至直飞开始取消，全部开始转机。一下子我就越来越紧张，航空公司停飞的气氛让你觉得你是不是应该尽快的回去，要不然真的回不到北京了，所以我就决定赶快回北京。最后你发现你甚至是坐了最后一班飞机回来。

After the decision was made, I started to pack my luggages. Upon arriving at the Detroit Airport, I had a very complicated mood. There were not many people in the terminal, neither were there any flights. In particular, for international flights, not many planes flew to China which was weird as normally there would be quite a number of airlines waiting for passengers. But this time there were so few people. Passing through the customs kept as smooth as usual, except that the security check became stricter with Chinese nationals. They chatted with me, but I didn't understand them. I assume maybe they just asked me some basic questions. After passing the customs, I rushed to Gate A38 which headed to Beijing. DL189 Gate was almost the closest one after the security check. When I got there, very few people were waiting. In previous years, here would be the most number of people during this time of the year. Many Chinese and foreigners went to Beijing via this airline. But it was so different this time. It had still more than an hour before the plane took off. Not many people showed up and the staff started to work. I did not feel nervous as none of the flight attendants wore a mask and they were quite active and entertaining. They all talked and laughed. Until about half an hour before boarding, they started to broadcast, which was both touching and sad, saying that “This flight will take you to Beijing. China now has the outbreak of Coronavirus. Wish you all a good luck! We prepare you with a piece of gift.” The gift of course was very simple, a red packet enclosed with a piece of chocolate. Hearing these words, I felt very confused and nervous.

决定好之后就是收行李回北京，到了底特律机场之后心情是很复杂的。因为进机场以后你突然发现美国机场的人不多，尤其国际航班这块。并没有那么多飞往北京的飞机，但往常是非常多的，会有很多人，但这次你发现人很少。过关倒是和往常的程序一样很顺利，只不过在安检上面就是对中国人就检查更严一点，会跟你聊两句。我听不懂也不知道他问我什么，可能就是问一些基本的问题吧。过关之后我首先要尽快的赶到飞往北京的这个登机口A38，189这个航班差不多是进入机场后最近的一个登机口。到了这个口突然发现人很少。往年这个口这个段时间人是最多的，很多中国人和国外的人去北京。但今年你会发现人稀稀两两的，离飞机起飞也就是还剩一个多小时，但人非常少，登机口空荡荡的。但是你会感觉到没有那么大的紧张感，为什么呢？因为看到登记口的空乘人员没有一个人戴口罩，然后你觉得他们好像还挺活跃的,都还挺说说笑笑的。直到在大概还有半个小时要登机的时候，他们开始广播，广播中工作人员就说了一句话，让人既感动，但同时也感到有点伤感。说了一句这班飞机将飞往北京，因为北京现在有疫情，祝大家好运。然后说为了祝大家好运我们也给每个人准备了一个礼物。礼物当然很简单，就是一个大吉大利的红包里面放了一块巧克力，希望每个人可以领取。听完就是一种挺复杂的心情吧！

The plane started boarding on time. I found a lot of details when boarding. Although the flight attendants did not wear masks, all passengers wore masks. Of course, when I decided to return to China, I also prepared with some equipment. I needed to buy some masks. At least I would have a mask on the airplane and another one after I landed in Beijing. These masks would not only keep myself safe, but also assure safety to others.  But when I went to buy masks, all the drugstores had sold out. I became very nervous as it was difficult to order online. In the end, I could only secure 3 packages enclosed with one mask at Home Depot where building materials and other home décor were sold, a market equivalent to the Chinese Bai An Ju. I also ordered some extra ones from amazon.com which was planned to arrive earlier but delivered one hour before my departure after I packed all my luggage. At this time, I opened the luggage and reinstalled the masks. In total, I had about thirty N95 respirators. Because I knew that there was a shortage of masks in China. These stock of 30 masks might be enough for me without going out for a while.

飞机是很准点的开始登机，登机的时候我发现有很多的细节。虽然空乘人员还是没有戴口罩，但是所有的乘客都戴了口罩。当然在我决定回国时，我也做好了很多防护准备，因为我想需要买点口罩戴着，至少说我应该在下飞机进入北京时戴好口罩。一个是保证自己的安全，另一个这是对别人负责任的一种方式。但当我去买口罩的时候发现各个药店商店都卖完了，这时候你其实就很紧张了，就是从网上买也很难订到。最终我在一个相当于美国的建材市场，就是卖给装修工人东西的商店柜台里还有卖口罩，就买了三个。当然也从网上预定了一些，预定的原计划是应该是很快的送到的，但其实是在我打完行李在出发当天要准备去机场的前一个小时才送到。这时候又把行李打开重新把口罩装进去，这样大概装了30个N05防护口罩带过来。因为我知道北京这边已经买不到口罩了。我相信这30个口罩对我来说，在不出门的情况下，我一个人可能就够用了。

After getting on the plane with peace of mind, I found only nine crew members including the flight attendants and captain. None of them wore a mask. The number of passengers on the plane should be less than 50 who all wore masks. None of them was foreigners. Although all flight attendants did not wear masks, they all put on disposable medical hygiene gloves. In addition, all the air exhaust vents were opened. The restrooms had sufficient disinfectant hand sanitizer, targeting at prevention of bacterial infection in fear of the spread of virus. In fact, the vibe was very intense. I actually went to the bathroom before boarding. Because I assumed there would be a lot of people using bathroom which might cause cross infection. But after the plane took off smoothly, because of nervousness, I wanted to go to the toilet more and more, so I was the first to rush into the toilet. Normally, I would not go to the bathroom for three or four hours during the long flight. But this time I wanted to go to the bathroom every hour. People on board were nervous and anxious. When I came back, I reflected that flight attendants sprayed disinfectant in the toilet every one or two hours, so this kind of tension was superfluous. The plane flew for 13 hours, so they were constantly disinfecting. There should not have any danger at all.

安心上了飞机后，我发现整个航班空乘加机长总共只有九个人，依然没有戴口罩。而飞机上的乘客人数大概应该是不到50人，这些人包括我都在机内戴着口罩。还有一点，这50人里看不见一个西方人，就是到北京这个航班是没有外国人的。所有空乘人员他们虽然没有戴口罩，但是是他们都戴上了一次性医用卫生手套。而且飞机的所有的空气排风口全部被打开，包括洗手间备足了消毒洗手液，应该是为了防止细菌的流动感染，怕飞行期间的传播。其实气氛还是很紧张，所以说在登机前其实我已经去过了卫生间。因为我觉得卫生间会有很多人使用接触，还是会怕万一就是交叉感染。但在飞机起飞平稳后，因为很紧张反而越想上厕所，所以我是第一个冲进的卫生间。但其实你在平时坐飞机时飞行过程中可能三四个小时都不会去卫生间。但这次突然发现隔一个小时就想上去上洗手间。人就特别紧张很焦虑。其实这种紧张感我回来后想想是多余的，因为后面发现空乘人员会在洗手间每差不多一两个小时喷消毒液消毒清洁。飞机应该要飞13个小时，所以他们是不停地在消毒了，所以应该是一个相对很放心的一个状态。

Another detail is that when they delivered meals, they were wearing medical sanitary gloves. They no longer touched the food given to us. Everything was pushed in front of us to take. Not like in the past, they handed everything to our table in person. This time they prepared bottled mineral water for us, instead of pouring into cups like in the past. All these precautions guaranteed safety and hygiene and avoided contact and transmission.

还有一个细节就是他们送餐的时候，本身他们是戴着医用卫生手套的，但他们不再触摸给你的食物，就是所有的东西推到你面前让你自己拿。不是像过去，他们亲自用手递到你的桌子上。包括饮品也是，他们准备了独立瓶装的矿泉水给你，就不在像过去给你杯子倒进杯子里。保证了安全卫生，以及尽量的避免接触传播。

The plane was very smooth and arrived in Beijing on time. After the plane stopped, all of us were ready to get off the plane in accordance with normal procedures. Suddenly the attendant said that we had to wait for a while before people of Hubei Province got off first, including anyone related to Hubei Province, such as those who would transfer to Wuhan. I guessed that those people would have to be examined first. We had to wait for about half an hour to get off the plane and we filled out a form of health registration in advance. In the past, health registration was turned in after getting off the plane and before the customs. Now we needed to register in advance on the plane so as to go out as soon as possible. All flight attendants had put on masks before getting off the plane and they were aware of the severity of the domestic epidemic requesting them to be protected in public places such as airports. After getting off the plane, each of us intentionally dispersed to keep at a certain distance, and it was no longer a crowd packed forward.

飞机算是很顺利也比较准点的到达了北京。飞机停下了之后，我们所有的人都准备按正常的程序起身下飞机，但突然就是工作人员说要先等一等，先让湖北籍的人先下去。只要跟湖北有关系的人先下，要转机去武汉的所有人都要先下，估计应该是要先检查。让我们继续等，大概等了接近半个小时才开始让我们这些人下飞机，下飞机前开始要登记。这个健康登记是提前发了纸让你写，在过去健康登记都是在下飞机以后在出关前登记。但这次在飞机上让你提前登记。为了能够尽快的出去。下飞机前发现所有的空乘人员这时候都已经戴上了口罩，我想他们也感受到了国内的疫情比较严重了，所以在机场这种公共场所要做好防护。下飞机后，我们每个人的走路的时候也是有意的分散开，每个人都很自觉地保持一定距离的往前走，不再是原来是人挤人的往前走。

Another detail stood out. When checking in at the US airport customs, the officers would check passports for identities before boarding. This time, they did not take up my passport to check. They would ask me to open my passport ID page for them to review with their naked eye. They didn't touch anything. The boarding gate was replaced with a facial recognition system in advance to promise entry. Same thing happened with Beijing Customs. Only one or two entry points were human maneuvered. All the rest were to conduct self-service through scanning passports. After passing the customs, I found there were very few arriving flights throughout the airport and few people were around.

在美国机场时还有一个细节就是登机前检查护照登机的时候，原来他们是要拿护照核对身份再登机，这次他们不会拿你的护照来检查，让你自己打开护照首页他们肉眼看你的护照信息，他们不去触摸你的任何东西。登机口已经提前改成是一个人脸识别系统，让你对着人脸识别系统通过。而进入北京入关的时候也是这样的，只有大概一两个口是人工的，剩下都让你去找这种自助通道拿护照放进去后扫描就可以过关的。过关之后也发现整个机场的到达航班非常少，人也很少。

There was only one baggage claim area running which was my flight. I didn't see foreign faces at a glance. When I walked out, I followed procedures and went through security checks, including all the luggage. But the inspection opened only one portal, not multiple portals for exit as usual. Normally there should be a lot of people at the exit to receive friends or relatives. This time there were fewer than five people waiting outside. I hoped to get home soonest possible after getting off the plane. I originally wanted to take a taxi. Later, I was afraid that it would be unsafe to take a taxi. So, I called my relative to pick me up.

提取行李处也只有我们这一个航班在提取行李。一眼望去也没有见过一个西方的非中国面孔的人。出去的时候还是按正常的程序走，过安检，包括行李都要过。但是检验口变成了一个口，不是多个口出去。在往常出口应该会有很多的接机的人。这次接机的还不到五个人，基本没有人去接机。我也是希望下飞机就很快回家，原来就是想打车，后来怕打出租不安全，就提前通知家里人到机场接。

There were very few people outside the airport. Originally, people would rush out in a hurry and smoke cigarettes. But now none stayed outside in the smoking area. The entire airport had not many people at all. Overall, this trip had been quite intense and nervous.  

出来我们可以看到机场的外边人也很少，在原来人们都会急急忙忙的赶出去，要抽几口烟。但是现在吸烟处都没什么人。整个机场反正人烟稀少吧，回来感觉气氛很紧张疫情还是很严重的。

There were not many cars on the highway. Normally the airport highway was very congested. We drove directly to Caochangdi where my studio was located. This Village was actually closed a few days ago. There should be five entrances. Now three ports were blocked, and two ports were opened in both directions to ensure entry and exit. But ID cards must be registered to get in, especially for those people coming from Hubei. Although my ID showed I was from Hubei, I showed them only my passport as I came back from the United States. Beforehand, I asked our studio assistant to register my identity. When I approached the entrance, many people were being checked. After entering the village, I found that the lively art village has become deserted and no one could be seen on the street.

高速路上车也不多，往常的机场高速回程是非常堵的。开车就直接到草场地村工作室，草场地村呢在几天前其实已经封村了，村里应该是有五个口。现在是封掉了三个口，然后保证两个口，就两个方向，保证能正常进出，但进去也是必须登记身份证，尤其湖北来的。虽然我身份证是湖北的，但是我是从美国回来拿着护照，而且我也提前让工作室的人把我的身份登记了。入口一看很多人去检查确实还是很紧张的，进村后发现往常的热闹的艺术村落也变得冷冷清清，街上看不到人。

Finally, I came back on a long journey, safe and sound. Each one of us must keep ourselves quarantined for some time.  Even if I came back from a safe country like the United States, I still needed to take the epidemic seriously and be responsible to ourselves and others. Before getting on the plane. I looked at my WeChat (social media) and learned about the severity of the development of the epidemic. For me who don’t like to watch online news, I still have watched it quite frequently during this period of time. I am very nervous and very concerned about the development of the epidemic and simply wish it would be gone as soon as possible.

一路都算是安全顺利回来。我想回来我们每个人都需要注意，尽量的去自我隔离一段时间。即便我是从美国一个安全的国家回来，我想我们还是要重视疫情，对自己对他人负责。在上飞机前。我也看了很多朋友圈，了解了疫情的发展的严重性。对于我一个不太喜欢看网络新闻的人，在这段时间还是比较频繁的去看了，心情十分紧张，十分关注疫情的发展，希望疫情能够马上过去。

Before I returned, I decided not to go out at all unless necessary. I would live a  relatively isolated life. I probably won’t go shopping in big supermarkets. Before leaving the United States, I had already bought simple daily food including energy bars, cereals, cashews, nuts and the like which help replenish my energy for some time. I usually returned to China with one suitcase, but this time I came back with two gigantic luggage and one carry-on suitcase filled with food and masks in preparation for a safe life in return. Of course, we also hope that all Chinese people will be able to endure the epidemic safely and restore a safe and normal life 🙏🙏🙏

回来前首先一点我想回来后我要尽量少出门，应该是一个相对隔离的生活状态。可能不会去那种大的超市购物，所以说我在美国的时候就把简单的日常吃的东西都已经购买了。就能量棒、麦片、腰果、坚果之类的，都是能够补充能量的，买了很多。往常我回国一个行李箱就够，结果这次我回来时候因为带口罩和吃的，整整装了两大行李箱，还有一个小手提行李。带这些东西，也是希望能够安全回国平安度过未来的生活。当然也希望我们全中国人民都能安全的度过此次疫情，恢复安全正常的生活状态🙏🙏🙏