The first man set out from Xi’an, China, on foot and walked eight days and seven nights across snowy mountains, pacing around to warm himself amid the bitter winds and sleeping only when the sun came out—until suspicious villagers tipped off the police. The second hopped on a shared bike, cycling for more than 10 hours overnight. But the police got him as well. The third opted for a water route, jumping into the freezing river in the hopes of swimming away, only to end up stranded for more than six hours. Compelled by harsh COVID-19 measures in China, some ordinary citizens such as the trio have resorted to desperate measures to flee Xi’an, the city where a severe lockdown policy has barred 13 million residents from leaving their homes. Best known as the home to the 2,000-year-old Terracotta Warriors, the north-central Chinese city is reporting the country’s worst COVID-19 …