Discontent had grown since the beginning of the pandemic towards the policy, which confined many people to their homes without work and left some unable to purchase or receive daily necessities.

[12][13] The demonstrations had been preceded by the Beijing Sitong Bridge protest on 13 October, wherein pro-democracy banners were displayed by an unnamed individual and later seized by local authorities.

[7] The subjects in protest evolved throughout the course of the unrest, ranging from discontent with the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its general secretary Xi Jinping,[7][16] to inhumane working conditions brought on by the lockdowns, and human rights abuses against ethnic Uyghurs in Xinjiang.

[22] Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China, the Chinese government has made extensive use of lockdowns to manage outbreaks, in an effort to implement a zero-COVID policy.

[29][30] On 13 October 2022, on the eve of the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, a man hung two anti-lockdown and pro-democracy banners on the parapet of the Sitong Bridge [zh] in Beijing.

[31][32] On 2 November, the death of a 3-year-old boy to a gas leak in Lanzhou, reportedly after a delay in receiving treatment due to movement restrictions, had triggered a wave of public anger.

Videos on social media showed residents taking to the streets demanding answers from authorities and buses containing SWAT teams arriving at the scene.

In videos spread online, residents also criticized hour-long queues for COVID testing, an inability to purchase fresh and affordable produce, and a lack of local government support.

[4] Workers articulated their demands in videos spread across Chinese social media, claiming that Foxconn had failed to provide promised bonuses and salary packages.

During this time, videos and images circulated on Chinese social media showed people unable to purchase basic necessities such as food and medicine.

[12] People accused the lockdown measures around the building for preventing firefighters from being able to reach the site in time, while others expressed anger at the government's response, which appeared to victim blame those who managed to escape the fire.

[44][45] On 25 November, a protest started in the Han-dominant Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps 104th Regiment [zh] as residents took to the streets in direct response to a public beating committed by disease control personnel.

[57] Earlier in November, a case in Lanzhou had circulated on social media where a 3-year-old boy died before he could be taken to the hospital in time due to lockdown measures, sparking backlash and anger online.

[9] The largest protest on 26 November appeared in Shanghai, as young people gathered on Ürümqi Middle Road (乌鲁木齐中路, officially "Wulumuqi Rd (M)"), in reference to the city where the fire took place.

"[16][19][58] Videos circulating on social media also showed the crowd facing police, chanting slogans such as "serve the people", "we want freedom", and "we don't want the Health Code".

"[56][50] A mobile-lit vigil was also held at the Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts [zh], which attracted hundreds of demonstrators, according to posts circulated on social media.

On 27 November, at the University of Hong Kong, two students from the mainland distributed leaflets relating to the Ürümqi fire, prompting campus security to call in the police for assistance, but ultimately, no arrests were made.

[85] The Guardian reported that six protesters were called by police that night asking for information about their actions, including one whose home was visited after refusing to answer the phone.

[86] University administrations responded to the rallies held the previous days by telling students that they could leave early for winter break, offering free rail and air travel to take them home.

[93] Video footage obtained by Reuters showed protesters struggling against police and barricades in the Lixia District of Jinan, the capital city of Shandong province.

[92][95] Hundreds of government vans, SUVs, and armoured vehicles were parked along city streets; police and paramilitary forces continued to randomly check citizens' IDs and mobile phones, looking for foreign apps, photos of the protests, or other evidence that people had taken part.

[97] On 4 December, renewed protests broke out at Wuhan University, with students asking to be allowed to freely return home due to lockdown hardships which included frequent virus testing, reduced access to food, and insufficient hot water supply in some dormitory buildings.

[54] On Twitter, where authorities lacked the ability to censor protest imagery for those who had circumvented the Great Firewall, Chinese-language hashtags for cities with active demonstrations became flooded with spam from both new and long-dormant accounts suspected to be Chinese government-run.

[122] Pro-government social media commentators portrayed protesters as unwitting pawns of "Western agents", and as followers of the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement.

Protesters were also condemned for "using their worst malice to agitate members of the public who don't understand their true nature — especially university students and intellectuals whose heads are stuffed with Western ideas — to join in".

[129] Publishing house editor Cao Zhixin was released on 19 April 2023, alongside three of her friends who had also participated in the protests, after four months of police custody following her December 2022 detention.

[133] On 1 December, Xi commented to European Council president Charles Michel that he believes students frustrated by the prolonged strict COVID measures were behind the protests.

[22] Within the first ten days of 2023, protests had already been held targeting a diverse array of citizen concerns, from a province-wide ban on fireworks in Henan, to workers' rights at a COVID-19 test factory in Chongqing, and consumer protections at Tesla showrooms and distribution centers throughout China.

Most of the demonstrators were elderly citizens who opposed recent changes to the local healthcare insurance system, claiming that the reforms would make medical care more costly and reduce their access to it.

[164] In June 2023, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that a Uyghur university student, Kamile Wayit, was sentenced to prison for sharing videos of the protests on WeChat under the crime of "advocating extremism.