Putting Life First: Memorable Moments of China's Three-year Fight against COVID-19

Since COVID-19 struck, China has put the people first and put life first all along, and protected people’s lives and health to the greatest extent. China has raced against time to win the battle against COVID-19 and reduced its impact on economic and social development as much as possible. Standing together through thick and thin, the whole nation has strengthened its confidence to forge ahead. Frontline medical personnel and stay-on-the-job workers from all walks of life have built an unbreakable line of defense with their dedication and diligence. Every ordinary individual in the country has also shown solidarity and support, contributing to consolidating the hard-won achievements in the fight against the epidemic.

At the crossroads, China Pictorial presents photos that preserve memorable moments of the three remarkable years.

Racing against Time to Save Lives

China has arduously raced against the virus to protect its people. Over the past three years, China has effectively suppressed 100 local outbreaks, contained the impact of five COVID-19 waves, and protected the lives and health of more than 1.4 billion people from the epidemic even in its most rampant stage.

A nurse comforts a baby patient infected with COVID-19 at the Children’s Hospital in Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei Province, March 16, 2020. (Photo by Pan Songgang)

Liu Kai, a medical worker who came from Shanghai to aid Wuhan, stops the ward bed to let the 87-year-old patient watch the sunset, March 5, 2020. The senior had stayed in the hospital for nearly one month. (Photo from Xinhua)

Army medical workers arrive to aid Wuhan, February 17, 2020.

A patient who has recovered says goodbye to the medical worker who took care of her as she leaves the hospital, March 4, 2020. (Photo by Xu Xun/China Pictorial)

Medical workers do nucleic acid testing in Chongqing, October 25, 2021. (Photo from VCG)

A citizen in Beijing gets a vaccination shot, January 15, 2021. (Photo by Chen Jian/China Pictorial)

A “mobile emergency intelligent pharmacy of traditional Chinese medicine” in Sanya City, Hainan Province, August 20, 2022. (Photo by Guo Cheng/Xinhua)

A medical worker from the Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University delivers medicines for patients late at night, September 7, 2022. (Photo by Yang Wenbin/Xinhua)

Fighting as One against the Virus

Nobody is alone in the fight against COVID-19. China has led its 1.4-billion heroic people to help each other and stand in solidarity in the battle. China has coordinated epidemic prevention and control with economic and social development, taken the lead in resuming work and production, carried out international anti-epidemic cooperation, contributed to stable global industrial chain and supply chain, and promoted the building of a community of common health for mankind.

At the Wuhan Railway Station, 230 high-speed trains are ready to resume operation the next day after the 76-day lockdown of the city, April 7, 2020. (Photo by Xu Xun/China Pictorial)

Community workers in Xidu Sub-district, Fengian District of Shanghai sort and pack commodities in a supermarket, April 17, 2022.

To decrease the risk of virus transmission, staff from Xianyukou Bianyifang Restaurant deliver meals to local community workers, May 27, 2022. (Photo by Qin Bin/China Pictorial)

In key epidemic control areas, following strict standards, workers move boxes with wastes onto conveyors and transfer them to dump pits, May 2022. (Photo by Chen Jian/China Pictorial)

An official from Chaoyang District, Beijing, guides residents to scan an electronic pass, July 3, 2020.

Courtier Xu Lingzhi just finishes a delivery, February 11, 2021, the Chinese New Year eve. (Photo by Duan Wei/China Pictorial)

A student gives her teacher a high five before entering the exam site of national college entrance examination at the High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China in Beijing, July 2020. (Photo by Xu Xun/China Pictorial)

A worker of a garment factory makes protective clothing on the production line in Shijiazhuang, northern China’s Hebei Province, February 17, 2020. (Photo by Zhai Yujia/CNS)

Workers with facial masks assemble cars on an assembly line of Dongfeng Passenger Vehicle Company in Wuhan Economic and Technological Development Zone in Wuhan, central China’s Hubei Province, March 28, 2020. (Photo by Xu Xun/China Pictorial)

A worker picks tomatoes at a smart greenhouse of a high-tech farm in the north section of an industrial park of the High-tech Industrial Development Zone in Urumqi, Xinjiang Autonomous Region, December 6, 2021.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic (left) greets members of the Chinese medical expert team via elbow contact at the airport in Belgrade, Serbia, March 21, 2020. (Photo by Shi Zhongyu/Xinhua)

Workers pack locally produced and filled COVID-19 vaccines developed by China’s Sinovac in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, October 5, 2021. (Photo by Zhu Wei/Xinhua)

A China-Europe freight train carrying medical supplies bound for Madrid of Spain departs the city of Yiwu, eastern China’s Zhejiang Province, June 5, 2020. (Photo from Xinhua)

Forging Ahead with Determination

Seeking a balance between COVID-19 control and economic development is an arduous task. China has maintained steady economic growth despite the epidemic resurgences in the past three years. These three years will be engraved in the memories of all Chinese people who have supported each other in the fight against the epidemic

The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, October 2022. (Photo by Yue Yuewei/Xinhua)

Ma Huihuang(left), leader of the poverty alleviation team of Shibadong Village, together with villager Shi Linjiao (middle), a college graduate, promote local products via livestreaming at Shibadong Village of Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, central China’s Hunan Province, May 15, 2020. In 2021, China achieved its goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects as scheduled. (Photo by Chen Sihan/Xinhua)

Military aircraft fly over Tian'anmen Square in echelons ahead of a grand gathering celebrating the centenary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in Beijing, capital of China, July 1, 2021. (Photo by Wan Quan/China Pictorial)

A five-star red flag is relayed by role models from all walks of life and representatives of the 56 ethnic groups in China to the flag-raising area during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games at the National Stadium in Beijing, capital of China, February 4, 2022. (Photo by Chen Jian/China Pictorial)

Astronauts of the Shenzhou-15 and Shenzhou-14 spacecraft pose for a group photo in China’s space station, November 30, 2022. (Photo courtesy of China Manned Space Agency)

China’s Mars probe Tianwen-1 is launched on a Long March-5 rocket from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in southern China’s Hainan Province, July 23, 2020. (Photo by Duan Wei/China Pictorial)

Six test planes of the C919, China’s first homemade large passenger aircraft, return to the airport after successfully completing all test flights, July 2022. (Photo by Wan Quan/China Pictorial)

A video screenshot of China’s deep-sea manned submersible “Fendouzhe” (Striver) in Sanya, Hainan Province, December 5, 2021. At 8:12 a.m. on November 10, 2021, “Fendouzhe” set a national record by diving to a depth of 10,909 meters, signaling that China has reached a world-leading level in this field. (Photo from VCG)

The final assembly of the generation units of Baihetan Hydropower Station is completed, May 19, 2022. The Baihetan Hydropower Station is located on the main stream of the Jinsha River at the junction of Sichuan Province and Yunnan Province. With a total installed capacity of 16 million kilowatts, it is a major project of China’s west-to-east power transmission program. (Photo by Hu Chao/Xinhua)

The “Lane Xang” EMU train passes a bridge across the Mekong River in Luang Prabang, Laos, 2021. The inaugural operation of the “Lane Xang” EMU train on December 3, 2021 marked the opening of the entire China-Laos Railway connecting Kunming and Vientiane which adopts the Chinese standards. (Photo courtesy of the Information Office of China State Railway Group)

The busy Qianwan Container Terminal in Qingdao Port, September 12, 2022. (Photo from VCG)

The Equipment section of the 3rd China International Import Expo displays large machine tools and mechanical equipment in Shanghai, November 5, 2020. (Photo by Xu Xun/China Pictorial)

Visitors are attracted by the area displaying China’s achievements on trade in services at the China International Fair for Trade in Services at the National Convention Center in Beijing, September 2, 2022. (Photo by Qin Bin/China Pictorial)

A semi-final game of the Guizhou “Beautiful Countryside” Basketball Tournament is held in Taipan Village, Taijiang County, Qiandongdan Prefecture, August 1, 2022. The game attracted many audiences. (Photo from VCG)

Tourists enjoy the spectacular view of golden light piercing the arches of the Seventeen-Arch Bridge at the Summer Palace in Beijing, January 2, 2023. On the last day of the New Year holiday, tourists enjoyed scenery and had fun on the icy water at the Summer Palace. (Photo by Zhu Xingxin/China Daily)

Tourists watch a performance in the block themed The Longest Day in Chang’an, December 31, 2022. (Photo from Xinhua)

On the first train of the 2023 Spring Festival travel season, passengers and train attendants pose for a group photo in Beijing, January 7, 2023. The total number of passengers during the Spring Festival travel season of 2023 is estimated to reach about 2.1 billion, an increase of 99.5 year-on-year and equal to 70.3 percent of the amount in the same period of 2019. (Photo by Xu Xun/China Pictorial)