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02:21
It has been more than a month since the last case of COVID-19 was discovered in Beijing. Now more and more people are out and about. How has the night economy recovered in the city?
A Belgian restaurant, De Refter, in the busy Sanlitun area in Beijing, is a full house on a Saturday night. People are dining and socializing, with hardly anyone wearing a mask. But the restaurant owner says business is still not as good as before the pandemic.
"With the new regulations, we can have 25-30 people inside, and 3-4 people sitting at the same table. But things are still not back to as good as before. But I think Beijing has got this under control and that things will pick up in the next two weeks," said Clement Rol, general manager of De Refter.
And with fewer social distancing restrictions, some customers feel less safe than before." Two months ago it was nice, very few bars open, not a lot of people. Now there are a lot more people, I don't feel safe anymore," a customer told CGTN.
The other pub just reopened after closing for more than three months. Being one of the few pubs survived the pandemic, its owner said he doesn't see a quick recovery.
"It's simple, people don't have money anymore. A lot of people have lost their jobs, and many industries are heavily affected, including the movie industries, fashion, and the design industry. Even large companies are heavily hit. So when there is no money, there is no consumption," said Lu Shao, the pub owner.
Spending or not, the enthusiasm of going out and spending time with friends in the evening is definitely high.
"There are a lot more people going out now. There was no seat available when we went to have BBQ today," a customer said.
"I feel like the number of people out in the evenings is similar to before the pandemic. But I think it's important to keep wearing masks and protect yourselves," another customer told CGTN.
Masks are still required in most indoor places in Beijing, and temperature checks are done at all residential and commercial blocks. As people's lives slowly return to normal, the night economy is expected to rebound as well.
