Experts assumed China needed seven Winnie the Poohs to reopen safely. New data suggest that may not be the case

Is there any recent Shanghai quarantine information, for international travelers? I guess we can't choose the quarantine hotel.

Where are people being sent, do we get to choose from a selection of prices/options or is standardized? How is the food? If the hotel is a chain can we collect points?

I searched and found a recent family was quarantined at the JW Marriott Shanghai - could I be so lucky?

link: JW Marriott shanghai?

Q hotel in Shanghai is random. You could be that lucky, I actually stayed there too.

If you want to choose your hotel, try entering mainland China through Macau. Policy. Hotels

This thread, itself, is honestly a pretty good resource. I would be even better if we had hundreds of data points, but if you focus on recent reports, you'll get a decent idea of what to expect.
Since I live in Xuhui, I'm somewhat guaranteed one of the ~8 quarantine hotels in Xuhui. People who don't have Shanghai addresses can be sent anywhere. This may or may not be a good thing.

With respect to food, you'll get 2-3 meals per day. These are not really my style, but they would prevent you from starving. I advise you to: 1. make a Costco (or similar) run before your trip and stock up accordingly; 2. download ele.me, meituan waimai, sherpas, city super, etc.; 3. include a knife in your checked baggage (this might seem random, but Times Grocery sent me an enormous fruit package along with my first order last year, and I was unable to eat most of it until they smuggled a box cutter to me the following day.)
After you strip away the lounge, brunch, gym/pool, the JW isn't so different from anywhere else.

ETA: If you're not a member of our WeChat group, you should join it before your trip. Much of our conversation parallels this thread in (semi) real time.

The article below is from Nikkei and refers to the same HKU study but comes to a very different conclusion. It was published a few months later than the article you refer to so they could have the benefit of additional hindsight. In case it is not accessible to everyone I quote a few sections (May 8, 2022):

"DALIAN, China/TOKYO -- China's exports of domestically produced COVID-19 vaccines have plunged due to weaker protection against the highly transmissible omicron variant compared with U.S. and European products, hindering the country's vaccine diplomacy.

Sinopharm, Sinovac Biotech and CanSino Biologics exported a total of 6.78 million doses in April, down 97% from the peak in September 2021, according to UNICEF. This includes vaccines in which some production processes, such as bottling, were conducted overseas.

Meanwhile, 55.69 million doses of the vaccine jointly developed by Pfizer and Germany's BioNTech were exported in April, down 71% from September but more than eight times the Chinese figure. Exports by Moderna of the U.S. fell 57% to 16.49 million.

Even if Chinese vaccines are administered for the first or second shot, their use as a third booster shot has fallen sharply, according to U.K. research company Airfinity. The number of times a Chinese vaccine was used as a booster compared with a first shot plummeted 98% in Pakistan, 93% in Indonesia, 92% in Bangladesh and 74% in Brazil. Beijing-based Bridge Consulting notes that Brazil and Indonesia did not renew contracts that expired last year for Chinese vaccines...."

..."The rapid spread of the omicron variant since autumn has been a major factor, as Chinese health officials acknowledge that Chinese vaccines are not as effective against omicron. In a paper published in March by the University of Hong Kong and others, a study on about 4,300 people who were infected after receiving two shots in Hong Kong found that the number of people with severe symptoms who were vaccinated with the Sinovac vaccine were more than triple those vaccinated with Pfizer's."

China's vaccine diplomacy spoiled by omicron variant - Nikkei Asia

It is hard to say who is right. My staff in China were very concerned about continuing with the domestic vaccines and boosters and I have consistently told them any vaccine or booster is better than none at all.

Bolded the relevant portion. It doesn't come to a different conclusion. It uses the figures from a two-dose regimen rather than three, so is relying on a different set of data. The efficacy numbers don't match up until a person gets three doses of Sinovac, the numbers are clear on that — which is why boosters must continue to be promoted and distributed among the population, especially the elderly.

This.
If the hotel room is half decent, it doesn't really matter exactly how many amenities it has, since you can't make use of them anyway.

I got released this morning after 10 days (exactly 240 hours after plane landed at PVG) from a pretty nice hotel in JinShan (south of Shanghai).
Took the HSR to Beijing and am now in my apartment for ~3 days with a simple security system on the door that monitors how often and for how long the door gets opened.
The so-called 7+3 in my case is really 10+3 (or 4).

WeChat group? I'm interested in joining, Thanks

me too!

I sent a PM to joesk , but anyone who's interested can scan the following QR code to join before the QR code expires on 11/3. If you miss that deadline, just add me as a WeChat contact (I am moondogsh), and I will put you in the group.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...5ccbe5a61c.png

ETA: After you guys (or any others) join the group, I recommend muting notifications because messages come in 24/7 (the volume isn't so intense, though).
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...d8b888d534.png

Re: WeChat Groups

BTW, there are amazingly good and helpful WeChat groups that are quite specific to your requirements.
For instance, there's one called "Americans waiting outside China", for anyone stuck in the USA trying to get back to China; and there are a massive amounts of other sub-groups.
There's a mini-app that lists ALL groups that are available, but I can't link that here.

a glimmer of hope
 

China will start to increase international flights

Bloomberg also reporting this. This winter should see double the number of international flights compared to last year.

This is the crap that China puts out to fool foreign businesses. Flights are about 5% of what they were in 2019. It’s a joke.

I read this year's international flight in the summer were 3% of 2019. So maybe winter will be 6-7%. Still low but, hey, you got start somewhere.

The periodic suspension of flights due to inbound passenger positivity is still going to be an issue, though.

I agree because true demand is almost nonexistent.