CITIZENS of the Chinese city of Wuhan are celebrating after lockdown measures were finally lifted after three gruellingly long months.
Residents are now allowed to come and go from the city as they please, and thousands of people and vehicles lined the streets to mark the occasion.
11 million people live in the city, where the coronavirus outbreak began back in December last year.
Airports, railways and bus terminals were clogged as thousands streamed out of the city - many returning to jobs, homes and families outside Wuhan.
A light show on either side of the Yangtze river, which runs through the city, was used to celebrate the news, with animated images of health workers healing patients lighting up skyscrapers and bridges all over the city.
For the time being, schools and most offices are still closed in the city, while temperature checks are carried out as people enter public buildings, but having freedom of movement again comes as a huge sigh of relief for a city which has been shrouded in fear and panic since the turn of the year.
City leaders say that while they aim to restart social and commercial life soon, they want to simultaneously avoid a second wave of infection, especially with movement restrictions now gone.
Most of China's coronavirus cases and deaths came from Wuhan, with a reported 3,300 deaths and over 82,000 cases in the city alone.
But in recent weeks, infections and death rates have been falling, prompting the government to eventually allow residents to go outside again, and leave the city if they wish.
The news will serve as light at the end of the tunnel for other city and nations around the world. Despite the devastation and heartache caused by the pandemic, corners now appear to be being turned.
