[Malaysia] Tham En Lin, Beijing Institute of Technology
On a sunshine morning in 2009, our family got on the plane bound for my mother’s hometown Hong Kong for a settle-down. A completely different life kicked off. Amid the flavour of the food stalls and the shining street lights, I suddenly realized that this noisy city had its own charm. “The city looks bustling when people gather around streets and lanes. The hardship, solitude and happiness are the other side of real life when they fan out” – the lyrics of a popular song described my feeling vividly. I love this atmosphere of hustle and bustle, haunted by the lights and shuttling through the flow of people. All at once you will have a good mood to embrace this peaceful world.
Four years fleeted away like a short dream. I did write a lot of essays but failed to express myself well. I would like to record every moment in my memory. On those chilly windy afternoons, my friends and I randomly sat on the second floor of a cable car shuttling in the streets of Hong Kong Island. There was no sealed glass to prevent the noise and the smells of the street.
Its slow speed helped us observe the variety of the city. In Hong Kong, a city surrounded by dense skyscrapers, you can see traditional outdoor food stalls in the alleys. At night, people from all over the world with different moods gather here to chat and taste the delicious home-cooked flavour. It’s a place to let go of the stress of the day. Tomorrow may be another busy day, but people are enjoying the present in this secluded corner of the world.
The city runs like a kaleidoscope, through which you can see the unique temperament belonging to different neighbourhoods. Some are charming and shining, some are simple and relaxing with hustle and bustle, and some may be reflecting your imagination of future life. Every time I come to the streets of Victoria Peak in Sheung Wan, I can’t help slowing down and enjoying the scene before me while standing on the middle of the mountain that is above the high buildings. Located in the downtown area of Sheung Wan, the Cantonese style tea house has no exquisite decoration but the bustling aroma at the entry. The old round tables are arranged orderly in the spacious hall, and the smell of dim sum drifts in the air. Drinking morning tea (brunch in southern China) is not only a need of life, but also a special experience. From morning to noon, I had a brunch leisurely in Hong Kong, a busy and gentle city.
I wish the time goes slower. This is a luxury expectation but It was the simple dream in my youth so that I could got more chances to enjoy the beautiful life in the sun. At the junction of summer and autumn, I merrily stepped into this place full of stories, enjoying the romance of Mong Kok, the food stalls in Central, the cable car from my home in Happy Valley to Shau Kei Wan school, the egg pancake (Hong Kong style waffle balls) in the night market, the night view of Victoria Harbour, and Disney Land.
“The beauty of time lies in its inevitable elapse,” said Sanmao, a well-known female writer of China. The flow of time will not stop because of people’s nostalgia. I wrote down the memories of my youth in the notebook. I did not record the exciting stories but the simple ones, such as the rain falling from the clouds, the slightly yellowing lights, and the shadows under them. Although I left Hong Kong and lived in different countries in recent years, I have been traveling to different places of China in every summer and winter vacations. I even was “abducted” by my maternal grandma to her hometown, Shanghai, where I visited the ancestral hall of my mother’s family. In Hainan Province, my maternal grandpa and I were lying on palm wood rattan chairs, basking in the sun, looking at the sea, and hearing the story of great-grandfather who joined the People’s Liberation Army and protected the country. In Jiangmen, I wore the same straw hat as my paternal grandpa did, drying tangerine peel and tasting tea.
More than 10 years later, I was admitted to a university in China, starting my own adventure. There are always some memories deeply buried in my heart. Although time flies, they will not fade their colour and fragrance. Instead, they are becoming brighter under the time washout that warm us like cherished wealth.
In the difficult days when COVID-19 was rampant, I was trapped at home and watched Being Together, the TV series. Not long after the show started, tears streamed down my cheeks as I know some people left forever in the dark night of the cold winter. The good time I enjoyed and the sunny days I have are the past some people sank into, and the future they will never get to. History is a magnificent story for bystanders, but for those who experienced it, it is personal joy and sadness. Perhaps in the next few decades, people will often recall the hard time with signs But they may not know the joy of a narrow escape is beyond words.
When it is impossible to escape the doom, I realize the world becomes appealing. I looked out of the window and observed some magpies flying over my head. They should be reporting good news to the soldiers sleeping in the winter night. At the end of the road are the busy streets. I think this is the sequel of Being Together in reality. When this war without smoke swept over us, we may have been scared, confused and lost, but none of us retreated. We all radiated light and heat from our posts. When everyone becomes a beam of light, this winter night will be illuminated.
The story is from "My Beautiful Encounter with China" Essay Competition organized by the Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchanges (CSCSE).
