US City Impressions
If Seattle feels like a relaxed coastal town, its life nourished by gentle sea breezes and light rain, surrounded by ivy-covered walls and lush shrubbery, then Boston is like a pristine rose garden basking in sunlight, where every street and building is meticulously arranged. Walking through the campuses of Harvard and MIT, we witness the idealized vision of what a university campus should be. Like something out of a movie, with red brick walls, green lawns, and students rushing between lecture halls, full of youthful energy and the crisp air of academia.
New York, however, held a different anticipation for me. Before I set foot there, I imagined it as an exclusive, luxurious metropolis. But after walking its streets, it revealed itself to me as a chaotic, vibrant city of boundless energy. The subway brought us to iconic sights, past bustling construction sites and turning corners into towering glass skyscrapers. On the Brooklyn Bridge, pedestrians flowed continuously, while street vendors laid out baseball caps and metallic trinkets. Snake charmers paraded their docile snakes, interacting with the kids around them. The sun fragmented across the webbed cables of the bridge, as young people in trendy clothes captured punk-inspired photos with the changing light.
In reality, few places have ever given me the sense of “grandeur” I expected from a metropolis. Even Manhattan, the island said to be a land of precious real estate, didn’t feel much more overwhelming than the city centers of Beijing or Shanghai, or even the new districts in my hometown, Hangzhou, which have blossomed in the past decade. Only from the top of the Empire State Building, once the tallest skyscraper in the world, did I catch a brief glimpse of the city’s economic dominance, with its breathtaking skyline at night. Down below, Times Square offered an even more vivid spectacle—neon lights and giant LED screens flashing in every direction, surrounded by crowds of people dancing and cheering.
At the harbor, the massive Statue of Liberty held her torch high, a symbol of both solemnity and freedom. Visitors gathered beneath her feet, raising their own flame-shaped lemonaide cups in a festive pose. Tourists of every color flowed through exhibition halls, while in a giant interactive photo wall, smiling faces merged to form a colorful heart. The iconic crown of the Statue of Liberty was humorously reimagined in souvenir shops, as “liberty penguins,” “liberty dolphins,” and “liberty ducks.”
This port city, built by waves of immigrants, stands as a testament to the spirit of liberty. The Statue of Liberty greets all ships entering the harbor, welcoming travelers and returning citizens. She and the spirit of freedom she embodies are not reverently worshiped on a pedestal, but instead are casually scattered into the lives of everyday people, just as the word “freedom” suggests.
As my flight took off from New York’s airport, I looked out the window and saw an even more spectacular view than from the Empire State Building. The plane’s wing cut through the sky, and the lights below formed a whip-like arc, stretching across the vast expanse of land. As the city beneath me unfolded, it looked like a single sheet of land, a vast curtain of earth rising into the horizon.
At night, New York feels like a pulsating heart in the darkness. From above, the city’s lights intertwine in golden and silver threads, breathing in and out, like blood vessels pulsing through the night.
I’ve never felt a city so vividly alive.
