Image source, Getty Images

Unlike other countries, which have accepted they will have to live with the disease to a certain extent, China is following a policy it calls "dynamic zero" - taking dynamic action wherever Covid-19 flares up in order to eradicate it.

China's government argues that this policy saves lives, because uncontrolled outbreaks would put many vulnerable people at risk, such as the elderly.

Strict lockdowns mean China's death toll has stayed low ever since the start of the pandemic - the official figure is now just over 5,200.

This reported figure equates to three Covid deaths in every million in China, compared with 3,000 per million in the US and 2,400 per million in the UK.

Read more from BBC's Reality Check here

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Professor Ho-fung Ho, a sociologist based at Johns Hopkins university in the US, says the unrest that has unfolded in China in recent days is "a dire situation" for President Xi Jinping.

Speaking to the BBC, he says that while the widespread protests are not surprising in China, they represent "the first serious test of [President Xi's] absolute autocratic rule" - after some protesters explicitly called for China's leader to step down.

He says Mr Xi "backed himself into a corner" over the last two years by implementing his strict zero-Covid policy, with still no end in sight.

He says the policy has worn down the patience of young people, the middle classes, workers and even the country's elite.

As a result, he says the recent protests at a Foxconn factory in Zhengzhou and an apartment block fire in Urumqi have caused a spark that seems to have set off protests further afield, fuelled by widespread discontent.

China uses two main vaccines - Sinovac and Sinopharm - but there are doubts over whether they are really effective.

Both use inactivated virus to prompt an immune response and studies suggest they provide little protection against infection by the Omicron variant, even after two doses.

In any case, take up is low. Only about half of people in China aged 80 and above have received their primary vaccinations, with fewer than 20% of them having had a booster.

Fewer than 60% of the 60-69 age group is fully vaccinated.

China has been urging the elderly to get vaccinated , externalas people in older age groups are the most likely to die from Covid-19.

The US and other Western nations have offered China mRNA vaccines, which might be more effective - but they have not been widely used in mainland China.

Image source, .

Read more from BBC's Reality Check here

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China has just recorded its highest number of daily Covid cases since the pandemic began, despite stringent measures designed to eliminate the virus.

Several major cities including the capital Beijing and southern trade hub Guangzhou are experiencing outbreaks.

Wednesday saw 31,527 cases recorded compared with an April peak of 28,000.

The numbers are still tiny for a country of 1.4 billion people and officially just over 5,200 have died since the pandemic began.

While China's zero-Covid policy has clearly saved lives, it has also dealt a punishing blow to the economy and ordinary people's lives.

Read more here

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Several hours ago, a BBC journalist covering the protest in Shanghai was arrested and detained by Chinese authorities.

The BBC has said it is extremely concerned about his treatment.

Ed Lawrence was beaten and kicked during his arrest, the BBC said. He was then handcuffed and held for several hours before being released.

A spokesperson said the attack on Lawrence while carrying out his duties as an accredited journalist was very worrying.

They said the Chinese authorities had given no credible explanation or apology for his detention.

Tessa Wong
BBC News, Singapore

The latest protests were sparked by the deaths of 10 people, killed when a block of flats in the north-western city of Urumqi caught fire on Thursday.

The Urumqi fire was a nightmare scenario for many Chinese who have come under widespread restrictions in recent months - locked in one's apartment with no way to escape, according to some accounts.

Authorities have disputed this, but it has not stopped public outrage and anxiety from spreading.

It has become the latest tipping point in mounting frustration. Millions are weary of three years of movement restrictions and daily Covid tests.

The anger has spread to all corners of China, from major cities to far-flung regions like Xinjiang and Tibet, and galvanised every part of society including young university students, factory workers, and ordinary citizens.

As this anger grows, protests against Covid measures have become an increasingly common sight.

But even this weekend's demonstrations are unusual in this new normal, both in their numbers and directness of their criticism of the government and President Xi Jinping.

Image source, Reuters

It's nearing 5:30 in the morning in China's capital city. Last night, protests were seen going on late into the night.

Videos posted on social media showed large crowds on one of the main ring roads in the city.

People were filmed chanting slogans decrying China's strict Covid policies and calling for freedom. Cars passing by honked their horns.

Other videos showed some protesters standing in a row on a flyover holding blank sheets of paper - an acknowledgement of the censorship in the country.

The was a large police presence that seemed to stand largely calmly as demonstrators chanted.

But a few hours later, videos showed reinforcements being brought in to disperse the crowd.

Image source, Kerry Alexandra/BBC

Protests in solidarity with people in China are also taking place elsewhere this evening.

In London, where it's late in the evening, several hundred people are protesting outside the Chinese embassy.

Some laid flowers and lit candles in memory of the victims who died in an apartment block fire in the western city of Urumqi earlier this week.

Many in China have blamed strict Covid rules for their deaths, though Chinese authorities have denied this.

Image source, Kerry Alexandra/BBC

Image source, Getty Images/ China News Service

China is no longer imposing a national lockdown and has relaxed a number of previous measures.

However, the central government is telling local authorities to impose strict lockdowns in their areas when they detect a Covid-19 outbreak - even if only a handful of cases are found.

Here's what happens when cases are reported:

• Mass testing is carried out
• People found to have Covid-19 are isolated at home or placed under quarantine at a government-supervised facility
• Businesses and schools are closed, and so are all shops except for those selling food.

It is one of the toughest anti-Covid regimes in the world and lockdowns last until no new infections are reported.

Tens of millions of people have been living under some kind of lockdown since the latest wave of Covid-19.

Guangzhou, a southern city of nearly 19 million people, recently ordered a five-day lockdown for Baiyun, its most populous district.

Read more from BBC's Reality Check here

As we've told you, the current spate of protests began in response to a fire that killed 10 in Urumqi.

Here's what's been happening in Shanghai and Nanjing.

Image source, Reuters

We have seen many protesters holding up blank banners during protests in China over the weekend.

In cities including Beijing and Shanghai, protesters held up white pieces of paper and blank banners in order to express their discontent.

Blank banners are also a symbol of the censorship in the country.

Chinese society is highly censored and criticism of the government and its leaders can lead to heavy penalties.

Stephen McDonell
China correspondent, Beijing

Acts of dissent are not unusual in China.

Over the years, sudden, local explosions of defiance have been triggered by a range of issues - from toxic pollution to illegal land grabs, or the mistreatment of a community member at the hands of the police.

But this time it's different.

There is one subject at the forefront of Chinese people's minds, and many are increasingly fed up with it - prompting widespread pushback against the government's zero-Covid restrictions.

This has come in the form of residents smashing down barriers designed to enforce social distancing, and now large street protests in cities and university campuses across the country.

In a way, it is hard to explain just how shocking it is to hear a crowd in Shanghai calling for China's leader Xi Jinping to resign.

It is extremely dangerous here to publicly criticise the Communist Party's general secretary. You risk being put in prison.

Read the full article from Stephen McDonell here

Tensions have been simmering in China for some time now, with swathes of the country fed up of President Xi Jinping's zero-Covid approach to handling outbreaks of coronavirus.

But these fresh protests were sparked by something more specific - the deaths of 10 people, killed when a block of flats in the city of Urumqi, capital of the western Xinjiang region, caught fire on Thursday.

The incident enraged people online, with many commenting on the fact Urumqi had been under strict Covid restrictions since early August.

One resident told the BBC that people living in the compound had largely been prevented from leaving their homes.

Authorities have now promised to phase out Covid restrictions, but deny that they stopped people escaping the fire.

• Urumqi rocked by Covid lockdown protests after deadly fire

Image source, Reuters

As we've been reporting, protests continued into the night in the capital Beijing and also China's biggest city, the financial hub Shanghai.

Protests have also taken place during the day in the south-western city of Chengdu and central cities of Xi'an and also Wuhan - where the Covid outbreak originated nearly three years ago.

Videos posted on social media appear to show hundreds of Wuhan residents taking to the streets, with some protesters pictured knocking down barricades and smashing metal gates.

It was during Saturday night's protest in Shanghai that people were heard openly shouting slogans such as "Xi Jinping, step down" and "Communist party, step down".

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of protests against strict lockdown measures in China – an unusually open defiance that has spread into the country's biggest cities.

Demonstrations have continued into the night in the capital Beijing and China's biggest city, Shanghai – where some have called for President Xi Jinping to resign.

Protesters blame Xi's zero-Covid approach, centring on mass testing, quarantines and snap lockdowns.

Stick with us as we cover the latest.