"People are swapping stuff with others in the same building, because they no longer have enough food to eat," a resident surnamed
Wang told Radio Free Asia. The news outlet also reported that another man had wanted to trade a smartphone and tablet for rice.
"Helpless citizens have arrived at the era of bartering - potatoes are exchanged for cotton swabs," one Weibo user said, while another described it as a "return to primitive society".
Some were more optimistic though, and commented on how "touched" they were by their neighbours' kindness of sharing their supplies with them.