Xi Applauds E-commerce

April 20， Shangluo， Shaanxi Province： Chinese President Xi Jinping inspects poverty alleviation efforts in Jinmi Village of Xiaoling Township in Zhashui County.

“E-commerce is an emerging sector with great potential，” declared Xi during the inspection tour. “It can promote sales of agricultural products， help rural residents shake off poverty， and facilitate rural vitalization.”

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic， China is determined to realize the goal of reducing the nations impoverished population to zero this year.

Stay Home

April 18， Giza， Egypt： One of the Giza pyramids is illuminated with words“STAY HOME” on World Heritage Day amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

As of April 27， global confirmed COVID-19 cases have topped 3 million， with the death toll reaching 208，131 according to statistics from U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University. Dozens of countries have declared a state of emergency， and some have taken drastic measures to lock down cities or even the whole country.

Streaming Concerts

April 14， Xian， Shaanxi Province： Musicians of the Xian Symphony Orchestra rehearse for a concert to be livestreamed.

Joining many other performers in finding creative ways to engage with the public amid the COVID-19 outbreak， the Xian Symphony Orchestra launched a series of online streaming concerts featuring visuals of artwork in Xian museums.

Titled When Museums Meets XSO， the online series kicked off with an hour-long concert at 8 p.m. on April 18 broadcast from the Shaanxi History Museum. Over 3 million people watched the concert online through social media platforms.

Leishenshan Hospital Retired

April 15， Wuhan， Hubei Province： A medical worker seals wards after Leishenshan Hospital was thoroughly disinfected.

The provisional hospital closed that day after the coronavirus epidemic had waned. Retirement of the hospital was a landmark development in Wuhans months-long battle against the epidemic， indicating that the citys COVID-19 treatment was “back to normal，” said Jiao Yahui， an official with the National Health Commission of China.

National Mourning for COVID-19 Victims

April 4， Wuhan， Hubei Province： A man bows in silence to mourn lives lost to the coronavirus outbreak.

A national mourning was held to pay tribute to the heroes who sacrificed their lives fighting the outbreak and all those who perished. The 1.4 billion people in China came to a halt for a full three minutes starting from 10 a.m. on April 4.

In Beijing， flags in Tiananmen Square were flown at half-mast， as were those flying above the central leadership organs of the Party， the national legislature， the central government， national political advisory body， military bases， court houses and top procuratorate. Across the nation， air raid sirens blared. Cars， trains， and ships blew their horns. Public recreational activities were suspended for the day. Flags also flew at half-mast at Chinese embassies and consulates around the world.

In Wuhan， the city hit hardest by the epidemic on the Chinese mainland， mourning activities were also held to commemorate those who succumbed to the disease.