david culver, who was in shanghai under lockdown himself, has details. reporter: the calm before the storm. beijing residents are stocking up, bracing themselves for a potential onslaught of covid cases. beijing officials calling the matter urgent and grim. cnn is in the capital city. and it doesn t seem to affect daily life. these office workers take a quick test at lunchtime and back to work. they seem calm and prepared. reporter: but beijing s preparation is in part due to horror stories from the financial hub, a shock to many across china. officials in the capital determined to avoid the embarrassment of botching president xi jinping s zero covid strategy, especially in the city where he lives. you are seeing at least on the surface a more orderly, kind of organized kind of effort. and we ve been overstocking supermarkets, which are still