This will be the third year when Serena Fei and her husband celebrate Spring Festival in Shanghai since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in January 2020.

The two will stay in the city and spend the Spring Festival with Fei's parents until the second day of the Chinese New Year, when they will consider taking a trip within China.

Fei is a Shanghai native who fell in love with her Mr Right, Thibaut Raeis, after they met each other in 2019. The Frenchman now lives and works in Shanghai.

Monday was a lovely day for them as they finished their three-week quarantine (two weeks in a designated hotel and one at home) after a Christmas trip to France.

"I want to see my parents after I get out of my place," Fei said.

The loving couple got married last year. Last Christmas was Fei's first time seeing her French family in a beautiful valley called Munster, which is located in the Vosges mountains in northeastern France, about 15 kilometers from the town of Colmar.

Serena Fei, a Shanghai native, and her French husband Thibaut Raeis enjoy their Christmas holiday skiing in France.

The town of Colmar near the couple's home in France

Their trip to France wasn't without challenges; the couple lost their two large suitcases when they changed flight in Paris.

"When we arrived in the Basel airport, we found that our suitcases were missing and learned from the local staff that they were still in Paris," Fei said. "Fortunately, two days later, Air France helped us deliver them home."

Despite the difficult journey, her French family greeted her with kindness and love, making her feel warm.

"There was a Chinese national flag outside the house to welcome me," Fei recalled.

During her stay, her parents-in-law tried their best to make her feel at home and introduced her to local culture and customs.

Fei's in-laws put a Chinese national flag outside their house to welcome her.

Serena Fei receives many Christmas gifts from her French family.

They went to the Christmas market together to drink hot wine and decorated the house to prepare for Christmas.

"Mom and dad made a lot of delicious food for us," Fei said. "When we left, they saw us off at the station. All of us were tearful because we had no idea when the next reunion will be."

The high infection rate in France and totally different epidemic control policies sometimes made the couple tense, especially when they were in Paris.

"When we were waiting for the New Year countdown on Champs Élysées in Paris, there were many people in the street and some did not wear masks," Fei said. "There were many people queuing up outside pharmacies for nucleic acid tests. Many of them tested positive so we felt very nervous."

Many local people didn't wear facial masks when visiting Champs-Élysées in Paris on the New Year's Day.

Things were different in Colmar, which is well known as a Christmas town in Europe.

"I found that most of the people wore masks when they visited the town," Fei said.

The tight pandemic control measures back in Shanghai, including the quarantine, stood in contrast to their "easy" life in France.

"I have taken 18 nucleic acid tests during the whole journey, including quarantine," Fei said. "We're staying in the Jianguo Hotel, a four-star hotel downtown with comfortable living conditions. We can order food online and have our food delivered to our front door."

They also found a way to make "broccoli tea" by using the electric kettle in their room.

The quarantine room in four-star Jianguo Hotel.

They used an electric kettle to boil broccoli during quarantine.

The couple also discovered fun things to kill the boring quarantine time.

"There was a chat group of quarantined foreigners, and they talked about what they ate every day, which is very interesting," Fei said.

"It seems like everyone's life in quarantine was rich as they set their own schedule, such as when and how much exercise to do, when to play the guitar, when to cook and when to read. Someone even practiced opera. We all ended up losing weight while in quarantine."

She got her last nasal and oral nucleic acid test last Sunday.

The two are looking forward to the end of the pandemic.

"My husband owes me a wedding that I would like to take place after COVID-19 clears up," she said. "At that time, we will drink and dance to celebrate."