This archive report was first published on 6 May 2020.
On Wednesday, students in Wuhan, China's ground zero for the coronavirus pandemic, returned to school after a prolonged shutdown that began in January.
Senior school students in 121 institutions were back in class, wearing masks and walking in single file past thermal scanners to ensure their health and safety.
"School is finally reopening!" exclaimed a Weibo user, China's Twitter-like short messaging platform.
Students sat at individual desks, spaced a metre apart, and saw their teachers in the flesh after months of distance learning.
Wednesday's back-to-school was the latest step in a gradual normalising of life in Wuhan and surrounding Hubei province, where the coronavirus is believed to have emerged late last year.
Only the province's oldest students were present, seniors who are due to take the make-or-break university entrance exams.
Return dates have not yet been confirmed for junior and middle school students, who will have to wait a little longer to return to class.
Before reopening, schools in Wuhan had to meet strict health and safety protocols, including virus tests for students and staff, and thorough disinfection and cleaning of campuses.
Thermal scanners greeted everyone walking through school gates, and anyone with a high temperature was not allowed in.
As China continues to recover from the pandemic, schools in major cities are gradually reopening, with Beijing and Shanghai letting some students return last week.
