(Yicai Global) June 2 -- Shanghai roared back to life yesterday on the first full day of reopening after two months of lockdown to battle an outbreak of Covid-19. Coffee, toys and Western food are all in hot demand as residents make the most of their new-found freedom, according to Chinese takeout giant Meituan.

Coffee orders have tripled week on week and over 60 percent of these need to be sent to office buildings before 10 a.m., said Beijing-based Meituan, which had twice as many deliverymen on the streets on June 1 than it did on May 31. Overall, orders have soared 76 percent from the same time last week.

‘Orders have jumped. It’s just before noon and I have already delivered more meals than I did all day yesterday,” courier Yan Hengwang said.

Lollipops and children’s toys were also selling like hotcakes yesterday, which was World Children’s Day. Sales of Ultraman-themed products surged nearly four-and-a-half times on May 31 from the same period last year on Meituan’s e-commerce site Meituan Shangou, to become the second most popular purchase nationwide. And lollipop sales soared eight-fold yesterday.

Shanghai’s buses, subway system and ferries are also running smoothly again, reconnecting the two halves of the city, Pudong and Puxi, which are divided by the Huangpu River.

“I saw many river-crossing orders in the system yesterday, which makes me feel like demand is picking up and life is returning to normal,” said Yang Qingdong, a courier for takeout firm Ele.em.

The lockdown was hard on deliverymen. Many were unable to go home and had to queue up for Covid-19 testing at nearby hospitals first thing every morning before starting their shift. Deliveryman Li Zhenhua was finally able to return to his home in Pudong yesterday after working in Puxi for the past 65 days.

Editor: Kim Taylor