Being seconded to Netmarks Shanghai under the COVID-19 crisis <Column 3rd of 3>

I was seconded from Uniadex, Ltd. to Netmarks Shanghai in August, 2021. As I had to travel to China under the COVID-19 situation, I am sharing my experience in the preparation and after arrival of the transit. There will be a total of three articles on this & this is my third article. (Click here to read the 1st article or the 2nd article)

I finally completed the long quarantine days at the hotel in end of August.

On that day, I packed everything early in the morning and waited. But it was not until around noon when I finally got a call from the front desk telling me I was approved to leave the site. At the front desk, I received a certification for the stay and the PCR test results. When I stepped outside, I felt like I finally made it to the land of Shanghai for the first time.

Unfortunately, this however is not the end of the quarantine.

As the infections were increasing in China, I needed to follow another week of self-quarantine period. From the hotel, I moved to a service apartment the local staff prepared for me. Service apartment has furniture, household appliances (fridge and washing machine), a mini kitchen, dishes and utensils. The room cleaning and bed making with new linens were also included in the service.

During a self-quarantine period, I was not allowed to go outside except for buying food. There were convenience stores and a small shopping mall near the apartment, so I had no trouble obtaining something to eat.

Since the hotel did not provide any fresh vegetables at all, the first sandwich I ate after the hotel stay was a memorable moment.

To enter any large shopping malls or medical buildings, one has to have a health code（健康碼）on a smartphone. The registration is possible from WeChat or Alipay. After the registration, there is a chance you will be asked to enter daily body temperature.

During the 1 week of self-quarantine period, I had to take my body temperature myself and take 2 PCR tests at a hospital I was assigned to. I had to keep up as the results had to be reported to the service apartment I was staying at. The PCR test results were conveniently available at a vending machine located outside of the hospital & it was ready within a same day by the evening.

A free man at last after a week of self-quarantine.

Shanghai is easy to get around & the view on a sunny day is splendid.

This is the end of 3 articles on my experience of traveling to China.