I’ve grown up in Nanchang for most of my childhood. Beyond the flashy skyscrapers and softly-flowing rivers, Nanchang has a unique meaning to me. The principal river that runs through Nanchang is the Gan, a sub-tributary of the great Yangtze River. It splits Nanchang into two areas: the new and the old. On one bank are skyscrapers and one of the largest Ferris wheels in Asia, and on the other, the site of an ancient pavilion that had existed for more than a millennium. I live on the new bank with all the modern buildings and clean wide streets, but since my high school is located on the other side of the river, I have to travel across it every day.

When I was younger, I used to hate having to cross the river to go to the old district. The streets were narrower, the buildings older, and the traffic heavier. As the new district was built, mostly after 2000, I remembered the old anxieties around it. It really felt like going back in time. I didn't understand why people still preferred to live on that bank when the new district was so much prettier. That may have been a thought I had as a child, but I honestly think that as I grew older, my perspective has changed.