Beijing, Jan 4: Quarantined residents of the Chinese city of Xi’an have resorted to bartering their belongings for food amid concerns of food shortages.
Many posts on social media sites show residents swapping supplies and even tech gadgets in exchange for food, reported the BBC.
Around 13 million people have been forced to stay inside their homes in a strict lock down in the Covid-hit city since December 23, they presently cannot leave for buying food.
Social media site Weibo was flooded with posts revealing desperate residents swapping bartering their possessions for food. Videos and photos showed people exchanging cigarettes for cabbage, dish washing liquid for apples, and sanitary pads for a small pile of vegetables.
Residents have shared their experiences of the crisis.
“People are swapping stuff with others in the same building, because they no longer have enough food to eat,” One resident told Radio Free Asia.
“Helpless citizens have arrived at the era of bartering – potatoes are exchanged for cotton swabs,” one social media user said, while another described it as a “return to primitive society”.
According to the BBC report, Xi’an’s Covid outbreak is the worst China has seen in several months.
The strict measures come ahead of the Lunar New Year and the Winter Olympics due to be held in Beijing next month.
