Li Xiaoli has been hard at work in recent days at the car dealership she owns in Wuhan, making sure she has enough sanitizer and protective gear for the company's long-awaited reopening.

The 49-year-old's home city was on Wednesday finally set to start lifting the lockdown that has trapped millions for more than two months, after the Chinese industrial powerhouse became the center of a global COVID-19 pandemic.

People will be allowed to leave the city via road, rail and air, and more nonessential businesses will open their doors again, providing the first glimpse of what life could be like after a lockdown.