Russian poet makes most of epidemic

As a Chinese culture and poetry lover, the Russian poet Podareva Anastasia spent her time at home writing poetry during the current epidemic situation in Shanghai.

"I look forward to having a busy life again/ on the subway, some boys will miss the train again/ some people will be in the cafe but their hats are forgotten," wrote the post-1995 poet. She described her feelings and her experience with the epidemic through poetry, expressing her hope for life after the epidemic.

Anastasia's Chinese name is Tang Xilan, which was given to her by her professor while she was studying Chinese language and literature at Zhejiang Sci-Tech University in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, at the age of 18. Before moving to Shanghai, she studied for a master's degree in art theory at the same college.

While she is obsessed with Chinese culture and poetry, she has written over 200 pieces of poetry in Russian, English and Chinese and published three collections of personal works.

In addition to expressing her emotions with poetry, Anastasia hobbies also include painting, cooking and reading Chinese poetry. She also made videos of her artwork and daily life and posted them on video platforms such as Bilibili, on which she has over 30,000 followers.

"For me, I will use the time at home to master some new skills. I also learned several decent Chinese dishes from Douyin videos recently, such as sour and spicy shredded potatoes," Anastasia said.

"I also work out for two hours every day," she added.