On Chongqing

The first keyword I would use for Chongqing is “8D City”. People call it that because the city feels far beyond normal three-dimensional space. Chongqing is famous for its mountainous landscape and multilayered transportation system.

Roads run above, below, and through buildings. Sometimes you can take a taxi on what feels like the rooftop of another street, while climbing 22 floors at the same time.

On hometown

What most people know about Sichuan are chili peppers, pandas, and Chengdu. However, Sichuan is truly a large province in western China. I want to tell you something that many people may not know.

In Sichuan, especially in my hometown Anyue, women are deeply respected by their husbands and children.A mother usually takes care of almost everything in the family. I still remember that my mom used to organize my clothes — and my father’s too.

I left Anyue and went to Chongqing University when I was 18. Since then, I have studied and worked in Chongqing for more than ten years. My family lives in Chongqing now as well.

As time passes, both the familiar and unfamiliar parts of my little hometown seem to drift farther away from me.

I realize that people often have to make choices between familiar things and unfamiliar ones.

On travelling

Sometimes I realize that my Chinese way of organizing thoughts becomes a kind of “edge” when I try to express myself in English. I need to pay more attention to crossing that edge.

Maybe everyone has their own edges in life.

I truly love traveling. My first trip abroad was in 2009. In Singapore, India, Japan, and South Korea, I took different buses, met different people, entered different buildings, and saw very different cities. But during those short trips, I rarely talked with people. I remember sitting on buses and listening to conversations I could not join. I realized that even after traveling thousands of miles, some edges still remained.

Now I spend most of my time working in Chongqing. I was actually born in a small town called Anyue in Sichuan Province. Chinese has gradually become the only language I use in daily work.

That is why I want to write more and make more friends beyond my own “edges”.