Lockdown leaves couple stranded in forest park

The latest COVID-19 outbreak in Shanghai has confined most people to their homes, but for a couple who happened to be on a trip to Chongming Island before the lockdown, the confinement has been one amid nature.

It has been nearly two months since a man surnamed Lin and his wife, surnamed Tian, drove a recreational vehicle to the Dongping National Forest Park in Chongming district on March 25.The park is a popular short-trip destination for many Shanghai residents. The couple's original plan was to spend the weekend there before returning to the city on the morning of March 28, a Monday. But the phased lockdown of Shanghai starting on the eve of their return, and it changed everything.

The staff at the park reported the couple's situation to the local administration, and the district police told them to stay put because the bridge tunnel connecting the island to the city was already blocked. With the help of the staff members, the couple managed to move their RV to a designated camping site in the park.

"At first, the notice said the lockdown would be for four days, so we were fine," says Lin. "But after four days, the control measures were not lifted, and we started to get upset."