This was the return of CNN to Wuhan in April 1:10
(CNN) - It was ground zero for the coronavirus pandemic and underwent the world's first, and possibly the strictest, lockdown.
Now, the central Chinese city of Wuhan appears to have overcome the virus, after thousands of partiers gathered at an outdoor water park for an electronic music festival, with no masks or social distancing measures in sight.
Over the weekend, the Wuhan Maya Beach water park was packed with attendees in swimsuits grouped shoulder to shoulder, moving to the beat of the music as they cooled off in the hip-deep water; others relaxed on inflatable rubber tubes that filled the pool to the brim, with little room to float.
The crowded party scene remains unthinkable in many parts of the world still battling the deadly virus. More than 21 million people have been infected worldwide, with tens of thousands of new cases reported each day in the United States, Brazil and India.
But life in Wuhan has gradually returned to normal since the metropolis of 11 million people in Hubei province lifted a strict 76-day lockdown in early April. The city has not reported any new cases since mid-May.
The Wuhan Maya Beach water park reopened in late June, but more than a month of seasonal rain had deterred crowds from turning up. The number of visitors in early August only accounted for half the level in the same period last year, according to Hubei Daily , a provincial Communist Party newspaper, citing a park manager.
Currently, the water park receives an average of 15,000 visitors a day on weekends and offers half-price discounts to some visitors, Hubei Daily reported .
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Original epicenter
The new coronavirus was first detected in Wuhan in December last year. As the original epicenter of the outbreak, infections in the city account for nearly 60% of the more than 84,000 total confirmed cases in China, according to data from the country's National Health Commission and the Hubei Provincial Health Commission.
On January 23, Wuhan was cut off from the outside world in an unprecedented lockdown imposed by the state to contain the rapidly spreading virus. All flights, trains and buses were canceled and road entrances were blocked. Public transportation in the city was suspended and residents were banned from leaving their communities, even to go shopping.
Other cities in Hubei province soon followed suit, adopting similar restrictions.
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The comprehensive measures, which affected more than 60 million Hubei residents, have been hailed in China for helping the country turn a corner in its fight against the outbreak. In a great show of confidence, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Wuhan on March 10, three months after the outbreak was first detected in the city.
But the virus briefly resurfaced in mid-May, when six new cases were discovered in a residential community in the city. City officials launched an ambitious city-wide nucleic acid testing campaign, which saw more than 6.5 million tests performed in just nine days, according to state media.
CNN's Shawn Deng in Beijing contributed to this report.
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