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Nostalgia - by Louise Lu

The city I am staying now is right in the centre of China, at the heart of national traffic network. The famous Yangtzi River runs through the city and divides it into three towns.

It is a very big city with a long and glamorous history. The historic buildings in the city include the Former Residence of Chairman Mao, the Yellow Crane Tower which represents a beautiful fairy tale, and Qingchun Pavilion which was first built in ancient times to commemorate the holy person Yu, who took several years to contain the rampant floods. Besides, one of the first grand bridges over the Yangtzi River is also in this city. This bridge came into use in 1957, when new China was quite young, backward in technology and even had difficulty in feeding its people. The bridge has two storeys, the upper storey for trains, the lower one for other vehicles and pedestrians.

In the 1990s, over the Yangtzi River another bridge was built, which adopted the advanced technology at that time. This bridge has brought much convenience to local people. Before its construction, people had to take the ferry to go to another part of the city, which was time-consuming and troublesome. Some more bridges have been completed in recent years, and many buses run across these bridges to connect different parts of the city. Ferries are only the tool for sightseeing nowadays.

This city is so big that even a local person doesn't dare to say he knows all the roads. Every time when I come back, I always have difficulty in finding my way.

The sad thing is this city seems to become more and more ugly. When I spent my four years of undergraduate in this city, it was so attractive that I believed the girls in this city were the most beautiful in the country. Although it enjoys easy access to other parts of the country, its economy is getting worse. Many state-owned factories have collapsed so the city is full of laid-off workers. The environment is deteriorating. I hate to walk in the streets, because there is so much dirt.

Local people are not polite and they like bragging. Talking to one of them, you can't help thinking he is a walking encyclopedia with having his own opinion of everything happening in the world. But indeed he can't get himself a job. However, I still love it. I don't know the reason. One of the activities I enjoy most is to sit in a bus going through the city. If you come from another country, you will think Chinese buses are too noisy to tolerate. Yes, people chat with each other in a loud voice in the bus. They talk about everything, not caring about being heard by other passengers. In the bus you will get to know not only why this girl separated from her boyfriend, but also what this man had for lunch today. You will feel this is real life.

While I sit in the bus, the early summer breeze blowing past me, nostalgia is always lingering on me. When I go across the new Yangtzi River Bridge in the evening in the bus, the lights on, there are many times that tears are in my eyes. How can I forget once I went across this bridge every day in the evening? This city has seen so much of my happiness and sadness. In this city there are persons who I loved, and there are persons I still love.

After finishing undergraduate education, I left the city and every time when I come back, I am always in a rush. The year before last, I went back to my university. I got lost in the campus; so many changes had taken place. Taking out my mobile phone, I gave a phone call to my ex-lover, saying, 'Where have all these years been?' Then I hang up. The yellow leaves were whirling around in the autumn wind.

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