Xiaowen (pseudonym) stares off into the distance using binoculars to see her boyfriend, who lives in Hong Kong, in the Heung Yuen Wai area on the Shenzhen side of the Chinese mainland — Hong Kong border. The border has been closed for nearly two years due to Covid-19, which caused difficulties for long-distance families and couples, forcing people to gather at the border area to unite across fences. Photo: Caixin/Liang Yingfei

A man from Hong Kong holding a bunch of roses sees his girlfriend who is on the other side of the fence in Shenzhen on Monday. Photo: Liang Yingfei/Caixin

Wei Wei (pseudonym) shouts to her boyfriend across the barbed wire. She felt that such a meeting was more realistic than the video. Photo: Liang Yingfei/Caixin

Wei Wei’s (pseudonym) boyfriend makes a hand heart gesture at her from the Hong Kong side of the border on Monday. Photo: Liang Yingfei/Caixin

Two children on the Shenzhen side of the border look at their parents who are working in Hong Kong on Monday. The younger one has only seen his father a few times since he was born. Photo: Liang Yingfei/Caixin

Parents of the two children wave their hands from the Hong Kong side through the fence. Photo: Liang Yingfei/Caixin

A woman from Northeast China’s Jilin province cries when she sees her grandson through the fence. Photo: Liang Yingfei/Caixin

Xiao Qi (pseudonym), who comes from Shunde in South China’s Guangdong province, makes a hand heart gesture at her friend who is in Hong Kong on Monday. Photo: Liang Yingfei/Caixin

People look at their relatives and friends who are in Hong Kong from afar at the border. Photo: Liang Yingfei/Caixin