Wuhan City, Hubei Province, central China - Recent (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Street scene
2. Barbecue shop sign
3. Various of Cheng Xingyu, shop owner, grilling kebab
4. Various of Cheng keeping accounts, processing kebab
5. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Cheng Xingyu, shop owner (ending with shot 6):
"I feel sometimes I'm not just for money. I reckon maybe business opportunities come with the crisis. If I've ensured the quality of my products, and won customers' hearts, and warm their hearts, then one day when everything is back to normal, they will probably give preference to my shop."
6. Aerial shot of bridge
7. Aerial shot of buildings
8. Various of Cheng's family photos
9. Various of Cheng at work
10. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Cheng Xingyu, shop owner:
"You have to do it. This is doing business. You open the shop and you have to keep doing it. Our shop opens all year round. In 2019, I never took a day off."
11. Various of shops
12. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Cheng Xingyu, shop owner (partially overlaid with shot 13):
"I feel we should support each other and we cheered each other up. Sometimes you may feel exhausted and weak, but if you stick to it and hold on, you will get over it."
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13. Reporter
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14. Various of Cheng cooking
15. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Cheng Xingyu, shop owner (partially overlaid with shot 16):
"The Wuhan people are very brave. They stayed at home for such a long period during the lockdown. I think there is always an exit for the predicament and I always have the confidence in myself and I'm confident that the epidemic will come to an end."
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16. Various of reporter
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17. People receiving check at entrance of community
18. Check point
19. Various of traffic, police officer
20. Aerial shots of city view

A barbecue shop in Wuhan has been struggling to keep its business for over two months after the city was hit by the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Wuhan was shut down on Jan. 23 in order to contain the spread of the disease, which has so far claimed over 3,300 lives and infected more than 83,000 people across China.

The COVID-19 epidemic began to attack Wuhan in December 2019, and many people were caught off guard. Cheng Xingyu, the barbecue shop owner, did not expect the situation and purchased in advance many raw meat materials for the upcoming Chinese New Year festival.

The rent for the barbecue shop is 8,000 yuan (about 1,128 U.S. dollars) per month. Although the epidemic was serious, Cheng chose to open the shop in order to survive.

"I feel sometimes I'm not just for money. I reckon maybe business opportunities come with the crisis. If I've ensured the quality of my products, and won customers' hearts, and warm their hearts, then one day when everything is back to normal, they will probably give preference to my shop," said Cheng.

Cheng used to be a room supervisor at a hotel and her husband ran the barbecue shop. In 2011, Cheng resigned from her job to run the shop in place of her husband after he fell ill. Since then, she has never taken a day off from work.

"You have to do it. This is doing business. You open the shop and you have to keep doing it. Our shop opens all year round. In 2019, I never took a day off," said Cheng.

Cheng also persuaded the owners of the vegetable and fruit shops next to her shop to stay open during the outbreak. She said this helps her a lot.

"I feel we should support each other and we cheered each other up. Sometimes you may feel exhausted and weak, but if you stick to it and hold on, you will get over it," said Cheng.

Hubei Province will lift the months-long lockdown in Wuhan on April 8. Preparations for the re-opening of the city's railway system are underway. Government measures such as cost rebates and rent reductions are in the pipeline to help revive businesses.

Cheng said going through a difficult period is like going through a tunnel. There is always an exit and there is always hope.

"The Wuhan people are very brave. They stayed at home for such a long period during the lockdown. I think there is always an exit for the predicament and I always have the confidence in myself and I'm confident that the epidemic will come to an end," said Cheng.