Those confined to their rooms in Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, which went on total lockdown from Jan 23 in a bid to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, are in the thoughts of their compatriots.

The virus situation has been covered comprehensively in the mainstream press, but it's the first-hand information and individual experiences, shared on social media by Wuhan residents, that is also helping the public to understand how things are in the city.

A 25-year-old Wuhan resident, nicknamed Xiaowu, who was infected in the latter part of January, has, thankfully, fully recovered from the virus and recently got his life back on track.

What makes his battle against the disease particularly noteworthy is how his recovery has tugged at the heartstrings of so many. The whole process has given him a deeper appreciation of people-to-people bonds.

On Jan 23, he first announced, on China's major social media platform Sina Weibo, that he had exhibited coronavirus symptoms. He wanted to highlight his plight to get a hospital bed as the city's medical resources were being stretched to the limit.

To his astonishment, his post was shared more than 90,000 times overnight, and, with the help of internet users, Xiaowu was admitted to Wuhan Wuchang Hospital two days later.

From then on, nearly 1.8 million online users began to follow his personal account on Sina Weibo, to keep track of his progress.

"I do feel the strength of the care from strangers online. Their thoughts touched me and inspired me to fight the disease.

"I decided to post useful information I gathered during the treatment, which I thought might be used as a reference by other people," says the young man.

Based on his own experience, Xiaowu shared his hospital diet, use of medicine, medical expenses and other aspects of interest to his followers. He also recorded warm moments shared between patients and medical workers.

After he was discharged, he still insisted on releasing diary-like posts, through which his followers could share the bonds of his close-knit community and the work of those combating the disease in his neighborhood.

"I'm willing to record my day-to-day life to help others get to know the real situation in Wuhan through my observation," he writes in one post with the hashtag "Wuhan Diary".

And Xiaowu is not the only one who came up with the idea to observe and record the city during this extraordinary period.

"With the things shared by medical workers, volunteers, community staff members and infected patients on social media, people who live outside Wuhan could piece together a relatively whole picture of what is happening in the city," comments one internet user.

By now, the hashtag "Wuhan Diary" has been viewed more than 7 billion times on Sina Weibo.

xingwen@chinadaily.com.cn