In 2022, as the COVID-19 pandemic spread, the government of Shanghai announced a quarantine, requiring all residents to isolate at home for seven days—a confinement that ultimately stretched to 83 days. During this isolation, I had only a low-resolution camera and a large zoom lens of modest optical quality. Throughout this book, the outdoor photographs were taken on the eve of the citywide lockdown and during the three days following the partial reopening of the city. Beyond those days, I found myself almost daily ascending to the rooftop of my apartment building to capture glimpses of the outside world. The rooftop, unrenovated and cluttered with dusty items, was a place where sunlight could pierce through. For those of us confined within the building, the rooftop became the largest space we could find to move freely.