Illustrations: Luo Xuan/GT

Until a few months ago, people living in the same community, or even the same building, were more often than not strangers. Due to the ongoing pandemic, however, they are quickly getting to know each other. Most of Chinese people have been staying at home for up to two months since the COVID-19 outbreak and a growing number of WeChat groups have been established among neighbors. They share the latest notifications from their communities, news updates and rumors alerts. They also recommend where to buy groceries from online stores. They borrow stuff from each other and pick up deliveries which now only get as far as their community's front gate. Some are even posting photos, videos and recipes for the meal they made. There's also the inevitable WeChat gossip mill as neighbors pinpoint whose baby is crying or whose meal got burnt two buildings away. At the early stage of the epidemic, people whined about the inconvenience of having to stay home but quite a few now find their community life much more alive.