Take Sunrises and Sunsets Seriously

If your time in a city were running out, how would you spend it? Everyone would have their own answer—eating all their favorite foods one more time, seeing every friend once more, or standing the final watch and laying the final brick with care.

If I had only six months left in a city, how would I spend them? The question came to me while I was idly scrolling through my phone and stopped at a photograph of the Milky Way from that summer. Six and a half years had slipped by since I graduated in Beijing and moved to Hangzhou for work in April 2016. Six years is neither especially long nor especially short. I would be lying if I said I felt no attachment to the city, though it has been difficult to feel that I truly belong here—especially as someone who has never bought a home. It feels a little like looking back on primary school after receiving your university acceptance letter. You can no longer remember every detail, yet the memories still bring fondness and quiet pleasure.

The years from 2016 to 2021 were probably Hangzhou’s fastest period of growth. In 2022, that seemingly unstoppable momentum began to slow, and a chill set in. But sweeping visions and grand narratives are beyond my grasp or control. I would rather begin with myself and the people around me, recording and telling the ordinary yet lasting stories we have lived through.

So, if I had only three months left in Hangzhou, how would I spend that final stretch of time?

1. Get up early whenever I can and watch the sunrise; leave work early whenever I can and watch the sunset.
2. Revisit, in the order I remember them, the places I found hard to leave—the ones that always made me say, “I’ll come back.” See them again and photograph them again.
3. Visit friends and go for walks together.
4. Sort through everything that carries a memory.
5. Give away or sell the things I cannot take with me.
6. Whenever the weather is good, find somewhere beautiful with a gentle breeze, lie down, look at the sky and let my mind drift.
7. Write more, and preserve these moments and memories.

For now, that is about all I can think of that seems worth doing. I will add the things I have yet to plan as they come to me. The next few pieces will probably follow this theme. In the next one, I want to look back on how it felt when I first came to Hangzhou. If that interests you, stay tuned.