How Covid protests have panned out

Discontent has brewed for months over ‘zero-covid’ policy, with relentless mass testing, localised lockdowns and travel restrictions pushing many to the brink. Here’s what you need to know

Shanghai frustrations

A gruelling lockdown in Shanghai from late March bought the first visible glimmers of widespread dissent against

Covid restrictions

Henan bank protests

From May to July, hundreds of bank depositors who lost their money when multiple rural banks in Henan province froze deposits gathered in the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to demonstrate

Beijing bridge protest

In October, just days before China was set to open 20th Congress, a protester draped two hand-painted banners with slogans criticising the Communist Party’s policies on a Beijing bridge

Campus protest

In hundreds of students at one campus of the elite Peking University in Beijing protested against strict lockdown measures that allowed more freedom of movement for staff than students

Tibet protest

In October, hundreds in the tightly policed Tibetan regional capital of Lhasa staged a rare demonstration, against a harsh lockdown that persisted for almost three months

Guangzhou clashes

In November, protesters in Guangzhou clashed with police, after lockdowns were extended due to a surge in infections

Violence at Foxconn plant

Violent protests erupted at the world's largest iphone factory, in Zhengzhou, Henan province. More than 200,000 workers had been under lockdown since October after a surge in infections

Urumqi

the Hundreds took to streets of Xinjiang’s in regional capital Urumqi for late November, calling an end to lockdown measures that have for the affected the region past three months