LOVE IN THE TIME OF CORONA: AT THE TABLES OF NEW YEAR’S

The Chinese New Year’s Eve dinner is the most important meal of the year for Chinese people. Families gather around to enjoy a luscious feast, wishing for the coming new year to be a good one. This year however, the outbreak of the COVID-19 Coronavirus in the city of Wuhan made the festivities bittersweet at best. With millions living under quarantine and uncertainties in the air throughout the country, the situation hung over a lot of dinner tables in many families.

Yunting is the author of Table Stories: from The Farewell to Eat Drink Man Woman. She is from Pixian in the province of Sichuan, just like the famous spicy bean paste. She and her family had a spicy dinner, followed by lighting some fireworks with their masks on.

Leo drove home from Shanghai to An’hui with his high school friends and his girlfriend’s two cats. He was hoping to meet up with his childhood friends there, but everyone decided to stay at home. He had a very early New Year’s dinner with his grandparents, finishing at 5 PM. Instead of watching the Chinese New Year Gala on TV in a hotel room with his friends, like every year before, he stayed at home and played video games all night.

H went home to An’hui with his new wife. Knowing that she had travelled to Wuhan for her father’s sixtieth birthday in late December, it caused a small panic in the family. Still, they managed to have a nice dinner together — hoping that, at least for one evening, these delicious dishes could distract them from the worries.

Fangran is from Dandong in Liaoning. This northern province is famous for its hearty flavours and rich dishes. She celebrated the new year with her two grandmothers — and there was meat in every dish they ate.

Xiaolv was visiting her family in Beijing before she came back to New York to spend New Year’s Eve with her husband Timothy. Worrying about the situation in China, they found it difficult to find the mood for any kind of celebration. Keeping things small, they decided to stay in together and make Jiaozi.

Kyle was visiting his parents in Hangzhou for a few days during the outbreak of the virus; he was very worried because he had left his two beloved cats in his Shanghai home. His family’s take on the cuisine of Zhejiang province could comfort him a little, and he managed to get on the earliest train back to be reunited with his cats.

J was in Wuhan visiting her parents as news of the virus started to spread. She flew back to her husband in Beijing with her one year old daughter, only to find out that Wuhan would be under quarantine the next day. Her mother in law cooked some simple dishes for the young family in shock, hoping there will soon be a time that they can enjoy a peaceful New Year’s celebration again.

Vin and his boyfriend were stuck in Beijing due to the prompt spread of the virus. They ordered some spicy dishes at home and watched reality TV on their iPad.

Lin and Yuguang tried to celebrate New Year’s under the most bizarre circumstances of their lives: under quarantine in Wuhan. It was difficult for them to find the required lightness in a city paralysed by fear and the unknown. Nonetheless, they cheered themselves up and cooked a simple but celebratory dinner for two.

Jiancui and Linda are a creative couple living in Shanghai. Among other things, Jiancui is the host of a popular podcast. Although Shanghai is not officially under quarantine, people still try to stay at home as much as possible during this time meant for visiting friends and family, to reduce the chances of getting infected and infecting others. They used this time of hardship to make three podcast episodes together, encouraging people to cook more at home and sending out a beacon of hope. They have also been posting about what they cooked on social media throughout this period.

Listen to their podcast episodes about cooking at home under quarantine here.

To find out more about Chinese table culture, read: TABLE STORIES: FROM THE FAREWELL TO EAT DRINK MAN WOMAN

Text: Shanshan Cao, Junshen Wu
Photos: Yunting, Fangran, Xiaolv, Leo, Kyle, H, J, Vin, Lin, Jiancui