I was born with a best friend – my older sister. She actually wanted a big sister but got me instead. She didn’t choose me, and I didn’t choose her. Yet we love each other because we are sisters.

When I was little, I would follow her around everywhere and worship her every move, convinced that she could do no wrong. Then I grew up. I stopped playing with her so much, got impatient with everything she did, and began hunting for my own friends.

I was in second grade when I met Lauren at a summer camp in Seattle called Yick, Yack, Yuck. We bonded over a dead squid.

Saying goodbye to my sister at the start of camp, moments before I met Lauren

Lauren named him Mr. Squid. Our assignment was to dissect him. We laughed through his entire ink sack removal surgery, we talked about how to break the news to his family when he died, and we pretended to cry at his “funeral” when we threw him into the trash can.

That’s how we became best friends.

But I live in Beijing, and she lives in Seattle, so we only saw each other over the summer.

Each year, I look forward to seeing Lauren. We like to exchange gifts, eat Molly Moon’s ice cream, and catch up during sleepovers at her house.

A dead squid helped two strangers become best friends

But this year, we could not visit Lauren, or anyone else outside of China.

We began to call each other more and more during the spring, making plans for the summer and hoping the pandemic would be over by then. We looked for other camps to join and locations for a road trip. But the pandemic kept raging, so none of these things were possible. We had to find other ways to spend our summer together.

We alternated from WeChat to Instagram to iMessages, calling each other almost every day. She would wake up when I’m getting ready for bed. With 15 hours apart, there is no ideal time for either of us. We’re both groggy and struggling to stay awake, but we push through to make the most of the short window of time we have together.

Screenshots of us during our video calls, one during the day (left) and one at night (right)

Even though we live half a world away, we still manage to bullet journal together and gossip about our day. This week, I watched live as she chased an ice-cream truck down the street, her sister hurriedly handing her a mask. They bought strawberry shortcake and cookies’n’cream popsicles. It was my first experience with an American ice-cream truck.

But what we spend the most time doing is talking, sometimes for hours. I would teach her short words in Chinese, like, best friend – guī mì, and how to say my last name – Xu, which is not pronounced “shoe”. She would recommend some of her favorite science fiction or fantasy books and let me gush over her adorably wide-eyed and overweight cat Skittles, who was still a kitten the last time I saw him.

Refreshments with Lauren last summer

Friendship really helped me get through the pandemic. It kept me sane. It gave me someone to talk to. And most of all, it helped me escape reality and forget about the deadly virus.

It has always been hard for me to keep friends because my family moves so much. I will always have my sister and Lauren will always have her sister. But we all need to find friends outside the family. I am lucky I found Lauren.

Last summer when my sister and I hung out with Lauren and her sister in Seattle

I realized that the distance between us is not what matters. Since the pandemic, all relationships have become long-distance, but Lauren and I feel closer than ever. We have actually spent more time together virtually than during our short annual visits.

Whether your friend lives next door, or in another country, it’s the effort you put into your relationship that matters most. I hope we stay friends for many years to come, with or without a pandemic.

Feifei Xu is a Chinese-American rising Grade 9 student at Western Academy of Beijing who has a strange obsession with dogs and her best friend Lauren. She loves spending time with her family, although quarantine has been pushing her to her limits. At school, she is either hanging out with friends or hiding in the library alone.

This article originally appeared on Inkblot WAB. To read more from Inkblot WAB, scan the QR code below.

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Photos: Courtesy of Inkblot WAB

Beijing residents have rushed to buy train and plane tickets out of the city after the local government announced on Jul 4 that residents from low-risk Beijing districts are permitted to travel without proof of a negative test. But strict controls remain on people from medium and high-risk areas.

The change in regulations announced makes it easier for people from low-risk areas to leave the city. However, local governments in other provinces get to decide whether or not people arriving from Beijing have to be tested or quarantined, and the rules vary across the country, but for the most part, local rules are based on the risk level of the area that travelers live.

As of Jul 8, Beijing has just one high-risk area, Huaxiang area in Fengtai district. There are 18 medium risk areas, as follows:

Beijing Medium-Risk Areas (By Affected District)

• Fengtai: Fengtai Street, Nanyuan area, Lugouqiao area, Nanyuan Street, Lugouqiao Street, Majiabao Street, Xincun Street
• Daxing: Weishangzhuang Town, Gaomidian Street, Guangyinsi Street, Qingyundian Town, Beizangcun Town, Xingfeng Street, Huangcun Town, Xihongmen Town
• Haidian: Tiancunlu Street, Sijiqing Town
• Changping: Huilongguang Street

In the light of eased restrictions, Shanghai is back on the to-do list for many Beijing travelers

Quarantine and Test Regulations by Province

The list below was obtained from the travel management committee which gathers information from the official government website and media reports of each province in China. For those who are planning to travel from low-risk areas, it is suggested that they call their destination hotel/place of stay to check whether they need proof of negative testing.

Shanghai

• High-risk areas personnel need to undergo centralized quarantine
• Medium-risk areas personnel need to undergo home quarantine
• Medium and high-risk areas personnel need proof of negative test

Guangdong

• High-risk areas personnel need to undergo centralized quarantine
• Medium-risk areas personnel need proof of negative test

Zhejiang

• Medium and high-risk areas personnel need to undergo centralized quarantine
• Medium and high-risk areas personnel need proof of negative test

Jiangsu

• Travelers with Beijing travel history and Beijing residents need to undergo centralized quarantine
• Travelers with Beijing travel history and Beijing residents need to provide a green health code

Tianjin

• People who have been to affected areas need to undergo centralized quarantine
• People who have been in contact with exposed personnel need to undergo home quarantine
• People who have been to affected areas need proof of negative test

Horses graze in the shadow of snow-capped mountains in Xinjiang Provence

 Hubei

• Travelers need to provide a green health code

Hunan

• Medium and high-risk areas personnel need to undergo centralized quarantine
• Medium and high-risk areas personnel need proof of negative test
• Low-risk areas personnel need to provide a green health code

Sichuan

• High-risk areas personnel need to undergo centralized quarantine
• Medium-risk areas personnel need to undergo home quarantine
• High-risk areas personnel need proof of negative test
• Low-risk areas personnel need to provide a green health code

Chongqing

• High-risk areas personnel need to undergo centralized quarantine
• Medium-risk areas personnel need to undergo home quarantine
• Medium and high-risk areas personnel need proof of negative test
• Low-risk areas personnel need to provide a green health code

Henan

• Medium and high-risk areas personnel need to undergo centralized quarantine
• Medium and high-risk areas personnel need proof of negative test
• Low-risk areas personnel need to provide a green health code

Hebei

• High-risk areas personnel need to undergo centralized quarantine
• Medium and high-risk areas personnel need to undergo home quarantine
• Medium and high-risk areas personnel need proof of negative test
• Low-risk areas personnel need to provide a green health code

Fujian

• High-risk areas personnel need to undergo centralized quarantine
• Medium-risk areas personnel need to undergo home quarantine
• Medium and high-risk areas personnel need proof of negative test

Jiangxi

• Travelers with Beijing travel history and Beijing residents need to provide a green health code
• Travelers with Beijing travel history and Beijing residents need proof of negative test

Anhui

• High-risk areas personnel need to undergo centralized quarantine
• Medium-risk areas personnel need to undergo home quarantine
• Medium and high-risk areas personnel need proof of negative test
• Low-risk areas personnel need to provide a green health code

Shandong

• High-risk areas personnel need to undergo centralized quarantine
• Medium-risk areas personnel need to undergo home quarantine
• Travelers with Beijing travel history and Beijing residents need proof of negative test

Shanxi

• High-risk areas personnel need to undergo centralized quarantine
• Medium-risk areas personnel need to undergo home quarantine
• Medium and high-risk areas personnel need proof of negative test

Liaoning

• Key areas personnel need to undergo centralized quarantine
• Key areas personnel need to proof of negative test

Heilongjiang

• Medium and high-risk areas personnel need to undergo centralized quarantine
• Medium and high-risk areas personnel need to undergo home quarantine
• Medium and high-risk areas personnel need proof of negative test

Jilin

• High-risk areas personnel need to undergo centralized quarantine
• Medium and high-risk areas personnel need to undergo home quarantine
• High-risk areas personnel need proof of negative test

Inner Mongolia

• Medium and high-risk areas personnel need to undergo centralized quarantine
• Medium and high-risk areas personnel need to undergo home quarantine
• Medium and high-risk areas personnel need proof of negative test
• Low-risk areas personnel need to provide a green health code

Xiaxi

• High-risk areas personnel need to undergo centralized quarantine
• Medium and high-risk areas personnel need proof of negative test

A man uses traditional cormorant fishing techniques on the Li River, Guangxi Province

Guangxi

• High-risk areas personnel need to undergo centralized quarantine
• Medium-risk areas personnel need to undergo home quarantine
• Travelers with Beijing travel history and Beijing residents need proof of negative test

Hainan

• Medium and high-risk areas personnel need to undergo centralized quarantine
• Medium and high-risk areas personnel need proof of negative test
• Travelers with Beijing travel history and Beijing residents need proof of negative test

Yunnan

• High-risk areas personnel need to undergo centralized quarantine
• Medium-risk areas personnel need to undergo home quarantine
• Low-risk areas personnel need to provide a green health code

Guizhou

• Medium and high-risk areas personnel need to undergo centralized quarantine
• Medium-risk areas personnel need proof of negative test
• Low-risk areas personnel need to provide a green health code

Gansu

• High-risk areas personnel need to undergo centralized quarantine
• Medium-risk areas personnel need to undergo home quarantine
• Travelers with Beijing travel history and Beijing residents need proof of negative test

Ningxia

• Travelers with Beijing travel history and Beijing residents need proof of negative test
• Travelers with Beijing travel history and Beijing residents need to provide a green health code

Qinghai

• Partial personnel need to provide a green health code

Xinjiang

• Travelers with Beijing travel history and Beijing residents need to undergo centralized quarantine
• Travelers with Beijing travel history and Beijing residents need proof of negative test

Xizang

• Medium and high-risk areas personnel need to undergo centralized quarantine

This article originally appeared on our sister site, thebeijinger

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