Nihao from Chengdu
When people ask what cities you know in China, most of them would probably answer Beijing or Shanghai, but I would like to introduce the most beautiful city in Southwest China, the city where I have lived for more than 20 years, my hometown — Chengdu. In China, Chengdu is usually considered to be the city that you come to and never want to leave. There are countless reasons why you don’t want to leave here. It’s a gastronomic city for food lovers. The food is famous worldwide. You may not have heard of the city, but if you have ever had Chinese food, you must have heard of Kung Pao Chicken, one of the most iconic Chinese dishes in the United States, which comes from Chengdu. It’s a mecca for animal lovers. No one in China is unaware that giant pandas are almost all born in the area around Chengdu. It is also a paradise for shoppers. New Century Global Center, located in southern Chengdu, is the biggest mall in the world (and it is the world largest building in terms of floor area!). Taikoo Li Chengdu and Chengdu International Financial Square, two shopping malls located in the heart of the city and next to each other, generate about $2.8 billion in sales last year for Chengdu.
After experiencing the community service of water drop twice, I got to know more about the community of skid row. Unlike the community I live in, I have no contact with the people in the skid row before. I used to think they were a bunch of addicts who didn’t want to get a job. But now I found out that I was completely wrong, most of them are very friendly and they know how to appreciate all the people who offer them help. Instead of being disappointed to their lives, they are grateful and hopeful for the community. Not only did we bring them water, but we also brought food and clothes, as well as a drug for overdose called Narcan. Skid row communities help each other, and some of them ask for Narcan not for themselves, but to help their neighbors, because they know that this drug can save a person’s life in a critical moment. One thing I can do to better understand the community is to treat them with honesty. I must change my mind instead of treating them with the same misconceptions as before. The second is to use online resources to understand the community, such as Instagram of waterdropla and catch21_skidrow or some articles about the history of skid row in Southern California.
