I was born in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, southeast China, and hadn’t go out of the province until I was going to college. Anywhere, except Zhejiang, I thought, when I was choosing my university. At last I came to Kunming, Yunnan province, southwest China, whose blue sky and bright sun can seldom be seen in north or east China. I remember that one of the reasons for coming to Yunnan is that I can’t tolerate the city any longer. I remember the desire to escape the city was so intense; I dreamed Kunming as a less developed city with less noise, pollution and more human touch.

Yes, I don’t like big cities. When walking in it, I always feel like going through a dessert and the more I get involved in it, the more depressed I become. Cars race besides me, one after another, emitting vehicle exhaust that makes me hold my breath every time and run away as quickly as possible. It seems that every person is heading for his own life, streets being their bridges to somewhere only. There is no life in the streets. Life, yes, is exactly what’s lost in big cities.

In our ancient China, we used to see smoke curling upwards from chimneys and smell fragrance of cooking dishes in the neighborhood whether at noon or at dusk. And it is a common sight that elderly people sitting in front of their doorway, looking at the passers-by and talking to each other. Laughter can be heard now and then. Children chased around, shouting and screaming restlessly. It’s more like real life itself, isn’t it?

Compared to Hangzhou, Kunming is a smaller city, with smaller streets, slower traffic flow, more relaxed people, most importantly, deeper sense of being in a life.

Shaded small streets.

Bougainvillea glabra is a special and widespread scenery in Yunnan.

Some eldery people are playing saxophone besides a lake.

A small square. Boys on the left were playing skateboarding; on the right, some people were surrounding an old man who was always flying a kate.(I also saw him fly a kate last year.)

Some teenagers are dancing, a radio playing music alongside.

Tall old trees. People relax under the trees.

The more I get to know the small city, the more I like it. Walking briskly, my mind is free to roam.

Maybe that is where happiness lies, a more relaxed and culture-cultivatied lifestyle.

To live is to find a real feeling of living.