Wuhan Pool Parties Bring Post-Coronavirus Relief in China

Thousands gather for pool party in Wuhan, China. (Getty Images)
Thousands gather for pool party in Wuhan, China. (Getty Images)
TT
20

Wuhan Pool Parties Bring Post-Coronavirus Relief in China

Thousands gather for pool party in Wuhan, China. (Getty Images)
Thousands gather for pool party in Wuhan, China. (Getty Images)

For more than two months, the 11 million residents of Wuhan endured a strict lockdown as coronavirus raced around the city in central China.

Now, some are letting loose en masse at rocking nighttime pool parties at a popular amusement park chain. The Wuhan Maya Beach Water Park reopened in late June, and the crowds have picked up this month.

Wuhan was the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in China and saw the most deaths. The city and most of the surrounding province was locked down from late January to early April. People couldn’t leave or enter the city and were mostly restricted to their homes.

The spread of the disease has been all but eradicated in China, though isolated outbreaks pop up sporadically.

Outdoor attractions and tourist sites have gradually reopened across the country with restrictions.

In order to enter the Wuhan water park, party-goers need to reserve tickets online in advance with their national ID number. On the day, they need to present their ID and a green health code generated from mobile apps that track people’s movements and whether they are subject to virus quarantine.

The Maya Beach chain is holding similar parties at other water parks including those in Shanghai and Chongqing.



Iceland Volcano Erupts for 9th Time Since 2023

Lava emerges through a fissure following a volcano eruption near Grindavik, Reykjanes, Iceland July 16, 2025. Hordur Kristleifsson via Civil Protection Of Iceland/Handout via REUTERS
Lava emerges through a fissure following a volcano eruption near Grindavik, Reykjanes, Iceland July 16, 2025. Hordur Kristleifsson via Civil Protection Of Iceland/Handout via REUTERS
TT
20

Iceland Volcano Erupts for 9th Time Since 2023

Lava emerges through a fissure following a volcano eruption near Grindavik, Reykjanes, Iceland July 16, 2025. Hordur Kristleifsson via Civil Protection Of Iceland/Handout via REUTERS
Lava emerges through a fissure following a volcano eruption near Grindavik, Reykjanes, Iceland July 16, 2025. Hordur Kristleifsson via Civil Protection Of Iceland/Handout via REUTERS

A volcano erupted on Wednesday in Iceland's Reykjanes peninsula in the southwest, weather authorities said, the ninth eruption to hit the region since the end of 2023.

Live video feeds showed lava spewing out of a fissure in the ground, with the Icelandic Met Office saying that it began just before 4:00 am (0400 GMT).

Broadcaster RUV reported that the nearby fishing village Grindavik had been evacuated, as had the Blue Lagoon, Iceland's famed tourist spot.

The previous eruption to hit the area was in April.

When the first volcanic eruption first hit the area in late 2023, most of Grindavik's 4,000 residents were evacuated, AFP reported.

Since then, almost all of the houses have been sold to the state, and most of the residents have left.

Volcanoes on the Reykjanes peninsula had not erupted for eight centuries when in March 2021 a period of heightened seismic activity began.