Short film about Wuhan haunts millions of viewers.

Immediately after being uploaded online, the short documentary, only 4 and a half minutes long, titled "Wuhan: The Long Night," instantly attracted millions of views.

These are video clips capturing visual images of the city of Wuhan after the Covid-19 pandemic spread.

The streets were deserted. The buildings stood silently.

The brief descriptions of location and time evoke images of a post-apocalyptic cityscape, but these are actually real scenes from Wuhan – a once vibrant city with over 11 million inhabitants now almost deserted during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The film "Wuhan Night" is causing a sensation on Chinese social media.

Reportedly, the main authors are a film crew who have been stranded in downtown Wuhan since January 23rd. After being trapped in the epicenter of the outbreak and unable to continue their work, they decided to use their camera to create a documentary about these historic moments.

"All the members are in Wuhan… They want to do something meaningful," shared Lan Bo, the film crew's director. "They want to document what's happening."

Lan Bo also said that he and the entire team had to postpone their project due to the epidemic. That's when Xie Dan, the crew's cameraman, started filming his surroundings with his phone. Then the team named the film "Wuhan's Long Night" and shared it online.

The truly haunting images of Wuhan attracted millions of views on China's Weibo social media platform. The film was shared at a breakneck pace, prompting director Lan to want to develop it into a longer documentary.

The song "Motherland and I" plays in the film.

"Since Wuhan was locked down, there hasn't been a single video that comprehensively captured life here. I feel these images will be valuable for historical reference and for other documentaries," director Lan said.

With this special film, Lan and her team will focus on telling the stories of ordinary people whose lives have been disrupted by the pandemic. These include healthcare workers, volunteers, and people working in other professions.

"I hope people will tell the truth, and that they can face the camera honestly. I hope my camera won't lie," the director shared.

The film crew is developing the short documentary into a more complete and comprehensive film.

Covid-19 has now killed more than 1,700 people in China and infected over 70,000 worldwide. Last week, authorities revealed that the disease had infected 1,716 healthcare workers, resulting in 6 deaths. In Wuhan alone, more than 1,102 healthcare workers have been infected.

Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, many professional and freelance journalists stranded in Wuhan documented the reality from the epicenter of the outbreak. Meanwhile, those on the periphery were working tirelessly to support Wuhan, protect the community, and contain the spread of the disease.