Guillaume is impatiently waiting to get on the plane that will take him back to France with his two children."Until we have boarded, I will not breathe easy. They have been weeks of great tension with the children locked up at home and without knowing what was going to happen," explains this forty-two-year-old French executive.He is one of many thousands of foreigners who are rushing to leave the country as best they can during these days.The strict confinement of the 26 million inhabitants of Shanghai has caused many expats to pack their bags and say goodbye to one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world.Although the financial capital has returned to normal, as if these days of confinement had been a bad dream, they are not willing to end up prisoners in their homes or send them to an isolation center if they test positive if it occurs another lockdown.Guillaume's case is not an exception, but rather the rule.As Jörg Wuttke, president of the EU Chamber of Commerce in China, pointed out a few months ago, about 50% of all European expatriates have left the country since the start of the pandemic.Now, a survey carried out by That's Shanghai, a very popular digital medium in English, shows even more dramatic figures: about 85% of foreigners living in the financial city have already left or are planning to leave in the coming weeks.The survey has been censored and has disappeared from the networks.In the middle of a spooky airport, Guillaume continues to tell his story via mobile: "The straw that broke the camel's back was when the authorities tried to seal the door of our apartment to make sure we couldn't get out. Imagine there's a fire or something's wrong, it's inhumane. Even if they let everyone out now, I'm afraid history will repeat itself."This father of a family had already been considering whether or not to continue in the country for some time, despite receiving a salary that exceeds 10,000 euros per month."We haven't seen our family for more than two years. The covid-zero policy, which implies the closure of borders, has prevented us from returning to Europe in all this time. We have not left China until now because it is very difficult to return. In addition Of the three mandatory weeks of confinement in a hotel, we would have to pay five thousand euros for a plane ticket per person," explains this executive.In the end, confinement has resolved his doubts.Like Guillaume, hundreds of foreigners are facing what has become an odyssey to leave the country.In the 'Leaving China' or how to leave China groups of the WeChat mobile application - the equivalent of WhatsApp - the messages spread like wildfire.The advice of those who have already managed to leave are carefully read by the hundreds of people who make up these groups.In the chats, travelers are reminded not to forget their PCR with less than 48 hours and it is recommended to bring a sleeping bag and food if possible to survive in the ghostly airport in case the flight is canceled or some other unforeseen event arises. .According to those who have already managed to leave, several people have been forced to live in the airport like Tom Hanks in the Terminal movie.Since the pandemic began two and a half years ago, animosity towards everything that comes from outside, which is often perceived as a threat, has been growing.A feeling that has permeated many foreigners, who have stopped feeling comfortable in a country where it is already difficult to be part of it, firstly because of cultural differences and secondly because of the lack of rights despite living for years or decades.While that fear has taken hold in society, so has a fervent patriotism through government propaganda.Many Chinese citizens who have tried to get information on Baidu - the Chinese Google - about the exodus of foreigners in China have found the most curious explanations.One of the reasons given in some of these videos is that the pace of the Asian giant is too fast for Europeans and they leave in search of a more peaceful life.In the case of African foreigners, he explains, it is much more comfortable because if someone is hungry they only have to eat the abundant fruit that falls from the trees.The closing of the borders or the authoritarian turn that the country is experiencing, of course, is not mentioned in this narration that seems like a children's story.The flight of international talent since the start of the pandemic is another of the effects of the closure of the borders in China, a trend that has worsened during these weeks of confinement.This situation is bringing serious difficulties to companies to find qualified personnel who can cover essential jobs.Patrick, a partner in an IT company in Shanghai, explains."Entrepreneurship in China has endless difficulties: from the language barrier to the bureaucratic one, but now we must also add the impossibility of finding international professionals. If you find them, the prices are exorbitant given the little competition that exists in the market" explains this French entrepreneur with more than ten years of experience in the Asian giant.The situation has only gotten worse since March 2020, when China launched a near-total ban on foreigners from entering the country.After two and a half years, work and tourist visas are still suspended for non-Chinese nationals who want to travel to the Asian giant.One of the sectors that is suffering the most from the exodus of foreigners is international education, with schools and colleges running out of teachers.According to the British Chamber of Commerce, international schools are on track to lose 40% of their employees in the coming school year."Our school is having serious difficulties finding teaching staff for the new academic year. I have colleagues who have decided to go to Singapore or Dubai, where there are no restrictions like the ones here. For those of us who stay, I think we will have more negotiating capacity about our salaries. We have become a rare commodity," says Mariana, a teacher who lives in Shanghai with her husband and son.Since China opened up to the world a little over 20 years ago, the government's attitude towards foreigners has been changing: it has gone from welcoming anyone who wanted to work here with open arms to being increasingly selective."It is not a secret that China wants to replace the senior foreign officials who have held these positions for years with citizens of Chinese nationality. With this closure of borders, it is screening," says an executive who prefers to keep his name anonymous.Despite the sacrifice of not being able to travel and see families again for years, there are foreigners who are clear about it.Matías, event organizer, says: "You have to be patient until the storm passes. Living in China has many advantages, here I can make more money than I could imagine in the United Kingdom."The megalopolis of 26 million inhabitants is a place to reinvent itself as many times as you want and to dream as high as its skyscrapers, which is why it will not stop attracting new foreigners in search of adventure.Those who arrive in the future will find a Shanghai different from the one they have experienced in recent years: increasingly isolated and with a president, Xi Jinping, who is becoming Putinized with him, it will be his third term when he renews it in the fall.Guillaume is impatiently waiting to get on the plane that will take him back to France with his two children."Until we have boarded, I will not breathe easy. They have been weeks of great tension with the children locked up at home and without knowing what was going to happen," explains this forty-two-year-old French executive.He is one of many thousands of foreigners who are rushing to leave the country as best they can during these days.