Haunting photos show the deserted streets of Xi'an, a city of 13 million that's been under strict lockdown for a week

The city of Xi'an in China's Shaanxi province entered its seventh day of lockdown on Wednesday, as the government imposed some of the country's strictest pandemic curbs since the initial COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan. With the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics just weeks away, China has doubled down on its COVID-zero policy of shutting down entire cities to snuff out even a single coronavirus case.

Xi'an, a city with 13 million residents, has reported 960 locally transmitted cases so far since December 9. That may seem minuscule compared to the daily infections seen in Europe or the US, but Xi'an's outbreak is one of China's worst in its pandemic history.

On December 23, the city announced it would confine its residents at home. As the lockdown continues, many say they are running out of food and pleading for help on social media. Insider noted that a number of Weibo posts were deleted or removed from trending searches, though it's unclear who took them down.

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