The coronavirus outbreak is all but grinding this economic juggernaut to a halt.
Tianjin, an industrial port city of 15 million people, is the latest metropolis to announce that all non-essential business should stop. Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing are lifeless when compared to their normal selves.
There is a feeling that the entire country is being placed in isolation, with international airlines halting mainland China connections and other countries declaring that Chinese passport holders will be denied entry for the time being.
Yet, in some respects, these governments are following China's lead after it locked down the entire province of Hubei, where the virus emergency started.
Most people seem to welcome the decisive action from the government, given the circumstances. But officials in Wuhan are being slammed for their slow response in the early stages. Some even worked to prevent the news getting out.
And as if to illustrate how quickly this virus can spread, a doctor who was one of a group of whistleblowers who tried to sound the alarm in December says he now has the virus himself.
Li Wenliang was initially hauled over the coals by local police for "spreading rumours" and "disrupting social order" after he posted a message on his alumni chat group that said his hospital had isolated patients who had contracted Sars.
It turned out to be the new virus, but China's Supreme Court has criticised Wuhan police for reprimanding him and the other whistleblowers.
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