chengdu, I LOVE YOU.

Chengdu, with more than 2300 years old, builds a strong culture affecting every generation. We live and enjoy like people did before. I want to show you an image with history, people, nature and development.

At front of image, you can see the vendors peddling their homemade cookies, vegetables and elegant pendants on the sides of narrow roads, with the rickshaw pullers carefully rush around; you can see the people with different ages sitting beside the river, enjoying some tea, and shaking the fans softly.  You can see tea, mahjong and hotpot everywhere. People see tranquility in tea culture, happiness and excitement in mahjong, and comfort in hotpot to adjust the mild weather in Chengdu. Still, You don’t want to miss hundreds of condiments made from various chilies and flower pepper in the market. They are so hot, red and exciting. Also, you can see the adorable pandas sitting in their house and enjoying “delicious” bamboo. You can see the history here. This image has a city which invented the first paper money in world, owned the residence of the poet Dufu from Tang dynasty, got the earliest water conservancy program in the world.

Moreover, you can see development in this image. Chengdu is changing, ranked as the first of “world’s fastest-growing city”. On the back of the image is a modern world with efficiency and dream, the buildings with businessmen and women, with contracts and trades. You can see millions of workers walking besides the production line for Intel, Toyota and Foxconn.  You can see the proud face on people, as they know half of Ipad is produced in this city and half of the chips for the PC come from Chengdu. However, at the same time, you can see the image is too full to have all the things. We need to choose and wipe out something. The people in this city destined to lose a lot in order to lead better life. In this crowded image, many old streets full of people’s memory are removed due to the demolition. Some antiques are swamped into the factories, business center and skyscrapers. You can see people’s confuse when they come back to a place where they used to live, study or work. For instance, once I passed my kindergarten, I was shocked. I couldn’t believe all the empty area around which used to be the paradise for me to play and run turned to tons of high buildings. I felt lost at that time; I became sentimental whenever thinking about the world that only survives in my memory.  Sometimes, the city becomes the most familiar Stanger.

Luckily, everything changes except people- who definitely gives the soul to this city. Chengdu is still relaxing and slow. With the high-speed development, people still keep a slow pace.  Chengdu is still the most relaxed city, still a heaven for people to live. You can still see the citizens playing chess in the park, boasting their racing pigeon on the hill，and playing Tai chi beside the path. People still feel comfortable and enjoyable in this city. The idyllic lifestyle and atmosphere from thousands years ago still exist nowadays. Maybe it’s human beings build this city, but it is this city that inherit people generations to generations. It’s a carrier of people’s development and history. So, I think that’s the reason why people always ask, “where are you from”. It’s not only about one person, but about a history.  People are labeled by their cities.

People change this city, and this city modifies the people. I think it’s not only a place for me to live, sleep and eat, but also a friend grows as I grow. I become happy when it gets the glory; I feel heartbreaking when it faces the Earthquake and disasters and I know we are always together. I love my city. No matter where I go, I know I never leave. It’s my root where I can rely on. This city shapes and makes me; this city gives me a sense of belonging and sometimes I wonder maybe this city is myself.