Following are some factual observations about the current situation in Shanghai:
1. I returned here on Thursday night from several weeks in SE Asia
2. Echannel had closed 5 minutes before I reached the counters at PVG so I needed to fill out an arrival form and use one of the normal lines; this was no big deal because there were many open lines with zero people waiting
3. I took the subway all the way home; since there were only 2 other people in my subway car, I removed my mask
4. Upon arrival at my residential compound, the guards asked (i.e. pretty much demanded) that I register for the neighborhood watch group's Wechat official account and mini program
5. The next morning, the neighborhood committee chair lady visited me in person and gave me a thermometer so I can report my temperature in the mini program every morning and evening for 14 days
6. She also encouraged me to refrain from leaving my apartment unless absolutely necessary, but nobody has actually forbidden me from traveling (in or out of China) during the 14 days, and the guards let me come and go as I please; they seem to be a little stricter to Chinese people (e.g. I've watched them fill out "application to leave" forms)
-if I needed to go elsewhere (I don't), I would definitely disable location sharing on Wechat
7. On Thursday night, all real restaurants in Xuhui were ordered to close by 8p. This was an issue for me because I didn't get home until 830p. So, I went to McDonalds. The only way to order and pay for food there was to use their Wechat mini program with location tracking enabled
8. Every place of business I've entered during the past 1.5 days takes my picture and asks for my name/number or requires me to register on their mini programs
9. On Friday, I got semi-serious about identifying restaurants and grocery stores that were open, especially after 8p. In spite of the fact that the list is still rather short, there are viable options as long as you do a bit of planning
Commentary:
1. In spite of the fact that some of the current policies are inconvenient, I can tolerate them now that I have a better understanding of the lay of the land
2. A key objective is keeping people from coming into contact with other people -- a remarkable challenge in a city with ~20 million residents
3. The neighborhood committees are de facto extensions of the government; interestingly, I read about this topic when I was in college, but it didn't sink in until my aforementioned experiences
4. The locals are extremely respectful of the current measures, and there is a strong sense of solidarity to "fight the virus"
5. Apart from professional photographers (who might never live to see China with so little pollution) and those who have extremely compelling reasons, I advise all of you to avoid visiting until the dust settles
In closing, I hope you guys find my account somewhat informative. I'm happy to respond to all questions/comments, but I hope we can continue to spare this thread from political conversation to the best of our abilities (i.e. I realize that there is a fine line between objective and subjective).