Artist Zeng Fanzhi depicts 'zero-COVID' after a lifetime of service to the Chinese state

A year after protests pushed Beijing to end its strict “zero-COVID” controls, a retired architect is on the road displaying stark portraits of life under the policy. But Zeng Fanzhi has a different perspective from the protesters, one shaped by the tumult of China’s recent past and a lifetime of service to the Chinese state. Zeng sees China’s adherence three years of “zero-COVID” protocols as necessary and considers the paintings he created as a tribute to the heroism of ordinary people. During that time, millions of people were tested, locked in apartments, or carried off to quarantine centers as China worked to eliminate the coronavirus.