Beijing is a ghost city

Beijing like a Ghost City | NTDTV

Reuters Greater China Chief Producer Mark Chisholm has spent 10 days commuting through a "ghost city" to work amid an extension of the Lunar New Year holidays due to the coronavirus outbreak.

#Beijing like you've never seen it before.

It would usually be bustling with commuters at this time of morning.

But an extension of the Lunar New Year holidays due to the #coronavirus outbreak has cleared the streets of most of its 25 million people.

"See, empty walkways, empty streets with very little cars, bicycles and motorbikes."

That's Reuters' Mark Chisholm talking. He spent 10 days documenting his eerie path to the office.

"This on my left is a silk market, where a lot of foreigners come and do their shopping. It's also been closed. Nobody can enter. I'm now going into the Yong'an Li station, which is on line one, one of the busiest subway stations."

"I will now do a thermo scan."

"Not one single person getting off the train and nobody getting on. Normally this platform is packed with people and hundreds and hundreds of people on the train. As you can see, completely empty."

Coronavirus is believed to have originated in the central Chinese city of #Wuhan.

But its spread to several cities has caused many to stay home, fearing for their safety.

"And as you can see when we get up here most if not every single shop is closed with only one or two places open. This is our commute into the office for the past ten days has been like this. It's almost like we are in a ghost city."

"I can see a guy spraying disinfectant down in the other end of the corridor when I enter our office building. They will check my temperature, and only because I have a registered card and our office is there am I allowed into the building. People that don't have an office card are not allowed in."