Wuxi at Night (Courtney)

One thing is for sure, the city of Wuxi comes to life of a nighttime. I suspect this is true of a lot of cities around China. As soon as the lights come on, Wuxi is transformed. Whilst its underlying core is still there, the place suddenly feels more cosmopolitan, more alive and bustling. It makes me want to be living in amongst it just to watch it all go by. The streets swarm with people, which of course happens during the day as well, but at night it feels as though more people are outdoors just to enjoy themselves. The shops stay open until at least 10pm which adds to the atmosphere and generally the city itself just makes for great people watching.

Like most big cities in China, the juxtaposition between old and new is never far from view. Whilst Wuxi was once a town of importance, most of its grandeur has been lost to make way for industry and the making of money. There are still parts of the city and town which show glimpses of how it must have once looked, with gardens and older pagodas and temples dotted around. Moreso in the city though is the contrast stronger. It doesn't take much wandering to see the big buildings (hey, Wuxi isn't known as "Little Shanghai" for nothing!) and then tucked down an alley the "real" China. The ricketty buildings and mountains of rubble as more progress is made. It's amazing to peer into some of these alleys and think of how people are still living. Everything is public, people just go about their lives - preparing dinner, washing their hair on the pavement...it's all their to see.

But this expression "the real China" bothers me. China is a such a huge place it can't be contained into one description. Who can say what the real China is. Is it the bustling cities? The tranquil gardens? The old men playing checkers? The rural areas where life still carries on as it did decades if not centuries before? And that's only what you can see, not what you hear or feel. There is huge disparity everywhere, and that is what makes China so unique - you never quite know what you are going to see next. For me, I like the differences. The small pockets of old buildings, mixed with the modern young kids strutting their stuff, the food vendors infront of the glossy department stores, the migrant workers bouncing along in the back of a truck next to the shiny new Buicks. Everywhere you look there is something to see and something to think about.

One thing is for certain though - jesus they love their neon!