Partiers hit the streets of Wuhan, China — the once-epicenter of the Chinese coronavirus, which brought the world to a virtual standstill in 2020 — to ring in the new year as the streets of Times Square remained nearly empty.
Photos and videos show crowds forming in Wuhan with packed streets and balloons as merrymakers flocked to nightclubs and bars to ring in the new year.
According to Metro, “a concert took place by the city’s philharmonic orchestra, while revellers could also attend a cyberpunk electronic festival or watch a light show along the Yangtze River, which runs through the area”:
Once the coronavirus epicenter, thousands pack Wuhan, China and let go of balloons to celebrate the New Year https://t.co/pGCGxRvTOo pic.twitter.com/Uo01IlWMUA
— CBS News (@CBSNews) December 31, 2020
WATCH: A large crowd of people in Wuhan, China, the original epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, released balloons when the clock struck midnight to celebrate the new year. https://t.co/eZISr4Irh5 pic.twitter.com/OFNclrtJxc
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) December 31, 2020
New Year's Eve:
Wuhan Times Square pic.twitter.com/0ulZkLqJD3
— Norbert Elekes (@NorbertElekes) January 1, 2021
One of these photos show how Wuhan, China celebrated New Year’s Eve.
The other shows Times Square New York City.
Can you tell which one is a Communist Country?
(h/t @KelemenCari) pic.twitter.com/9aYpNrkQu9
— Dr. David Samadi, MD (@drdavidsamadi) January 1, 2021
Wuhan, China partied hard on New Year's Eve: https://t.co/iKPXzQmV8z
— OutKick (@Outkick) January 1, 2021
New Year's Eve Countdown, Wuhan China pic.twitter.com/wPPcnqDFNB
— Eva 郑 عائشة (@evazhengll) January 1, 2021
It was a drastically different scene than what gripped the city earlier this year as it shut down in January as the virus rapidly began to spread throughout the city and beyond.
In May, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that there was “enormous evidence” that the virus originated in the Wuhan lab rather than a wet market, which stood as one of the reigning narratives at the time.
“There’s enormous evidence that that’s where this began. We’ve said from the beginning that this was a virus that originated in Wuhan, China. We took a lot of grief for that from the outset. But I think the whole world can see now,” he said during a May appearance on ABC’s This Week.
“Remember, China has a history of infecting the world, and they have a history of running substandard laboratories. These are not the first times that we’ve had a world exposed to viruses as a result of failures in a Chinese lab,” he continued, repeating that there is “a significant amount of evidence that this came from that laboratory in Wuhan.”
Meanwhile, Times Square, which is traditionally packed with revelers on New Year’s Eve, remained virtually empty as officials effectively closed off the plaza to the public. However, Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) was able to dance with his wife in Times Square as the new year rolled in while the rest of the city watched from home:
Happy #NewYear from the greatest city in the world. pic.twitter.com/47CmOAanxD
— NYC Mayor's Office (@NYCMayorsOffice) January 1, 2021
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