Shanghai, China’s largest city and the country’s financial hub, is often known as the “City of Magic (魔都 Módū).” But since the recent Covid-19 outbreak has brought empty streets, food shortages, bartering, and unfamiliar silence to the normally bustling metropolis, netizens have instead referred to it as the “Surreal (魔幻 Móhuàn)” city.

Memes have abounded that make fun of the strange happenings in the wake of the Shanghai lockdown, still ongoing now nearly a month later after it was gradually rolled out in late March. One meme shows a caged individual asking others: “What year is it outside (外面是哪一年了 Wàimiàn shì nǎ yì nián le)?” The answer: “The third year of the Covid-19 calendar (新冠历第三年 Xīnguānlì dì sān nián)”—as opposed to the Gregorian or Lunar calendars.

With businesses shut down and some foods hard to come by, numerous “vegetable storing guides (囤菜指南 túncài zhǐnán)” have emerged online, telling people which vegetables are the most filling, stay fresh the longest, or are best for freezing. The guides also often include (somewhat) practical advice for young professionals accustomed to eating out or getting takeout: “Before stockpiling food, don’t forget to buy yourself a pot (囤食物前，别忘了给自己准备一口锅 Tún shíwù qián, bié wàngle gěi zìjǐ zhǔnbèi yì kǒu guō)!”

With food delivery apps constantly crashing, some people have decided to help themselves by growing their own vegetables. As lettuces, onions, and celery appear on Shanghai balconies, one refrain online goes, “Growing vegetables is a natural gift in Chinese people’s genes (种菜是刻在中国人基因里的天赋 Zhòngcài shì kè zài Zhōngguórén jīyīn li de tiānfù).” Netizens say the metropolis has returned to being an agricultural society (农耕社会 nónggēng shèhuì) and a barter economy (以物易物 yǐwù yìwù), as people have turned to trading provisions with their neighbors, especially for non-essential items absent from government supply lists.