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Sunday, September 11, 2011

A Walk


A few nights ago I rode my bike to a section of the city at about 2 a.m.....sounds weird right? I walked my bike through the streets, strolling around in thought, observing the different side of my city that emerges at night. It's a great experience in a city normally overflowing with people, traffic, and noise.....the streets are nearly empty, and it's remarkably quiet (which is incredibly rare in China).
Taxi drivers are stopped at various street corners, taking advantage of a slower time to wash their cabs. Some sit outside small hole-in-the-wall restaurants, smoking, sipping tea, and conversing animatedly with other taxi drivers.
Some staggering drunks stumble their way through the streets. The train station, normally bustling with activity, stands silently, an imposing tall structure in the dark. The restaurants and convenience stores are locked, their insides dark.
By 6.am., the honking of cars, yelling of street vendors and salesman, and music blaring over various loudspeakers has begun again...but the moment of solitude under a clear night sky are precious moments of stillness in a city of millions, the majority of whom were slumbering.

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