Stranded in a capsule hotel in Southwest China’s Chongqing for 55 days in 2021 due to Covid-19, photographer Zhang Xinming used his lens to document his fellow guests. Photo: Zhang Xinming, Special Contributor/Caixin

Zhou, who came to the city center to take an exam, is a vocational school teacher from Chongqing’s Yongchuan district. She said she prefers to stay in a capsule hotel when she travels alone as the design of the room makes her feel safe. Photo: Zhang Xinming, Special Contributor/Caixin

Xu traveled by road to Chongqing from Southwest China’s Yunnan province to talk with his ex-girlfriend. Photo: Zhang Xinming, Special Contributor/Caixin

Luo and his girlfriend Xu are both college students. They were staying in the capsule hotel on their way back to Xu’s hometown during a school break. Photo: Zhang Xinming, Special Contributor/Caixin

Liu, born in 1997, watches a film in his room. He graduated from the Sichuan Film and Television Academy with a major in music performance, and has worked as a waiter at a karaoke bar. Photo: Zhang Xinming, Special Contributor/Caixin

Liu has a large suitcase that contains all the supplies he needs to stay in the hotel. Zhang Xinming, Special Contributor/Caixin

Tight-lipped Zhao works as a programmer. He has lived in the capsule hotel for five years with a monthly rent of 800 yuan. Zhao came to stay at the hotel so he could save up enough money to put a down-payment on a house, but house prices keep rising. Photo: Zhang Xinming, Special Contributor/Caixin

Taxi driver Chen, 36, likes to sleep at the hotel when driving shifts from 4 a.m. to 4 p.m. His home is in Chongqing’s Dazu district, about 30 minutes from downtown by high-speed rail. Photo: Zhang Xinming, Special Contributor/Caixin

Guests play with their phones in front of their bed-sized rooms. Photo: Zhang Xinming, Special Contributor/Caixin

Wan (front), born in 1997, studied computer science at a university in East China’s Jiangxi province and now works at a government department, earning more than 4,000 yuan per month. He has lived in the capsule hotel for more than a year. Photo: Zhang Xinming, Special Contributor/Caixin

Wan (right) shares a watermelon with other guests at the activity area of the hotel. Photo: Zhang Xinming, Special Contributor/Caixin

Xu (left) and Wan (right) lie on the sofa in the activity area. Photo: Zhang Xinming, Special Contributor/Caixin

Guests chat in the activity area. Photo: Zhang Xinming, Special Contributor/Caixin

The hotel owner (center) eats a meal that costs guests 15 yuan. Born in 1987, he went into business at 18 and came to Chongqing in 2016. The hotel charges 35 yuan per night per person, which means he doesn’t earn much. Photo: Zhang Xinming, Special Contributor/Caixin

Capsule hotels provide cheap and basic accommodation in many cities across China like Beijing, Shanghai and Xi’an. Photo: Zhang Xinming, Special Contributor/Caixin