by Lieven Walther
I’ve now been living in the megacity of Hangzhou for over a year. Despite how massive it is, I’ve mostly gotten used to the constant hustle and bustle that comes with it. But I think it also depends on where you’re coming from. If, for example, you arrive straight from a small village in Gelderland, it really takes some getting used to. Everything is bigger, brighter, and louder. You get tired more easily because everything hits you more intensely, yet at the same time you want to keep taking it all in because there’s so much going on. Even though I’ve gotten used to it, I still feel the impact of this big, busy city every time I come back from a holiday.
That was the case again after we spent a few weeks in Mongolia. There, we drove across endless plains without a road in sight, let alone traffic lights, streetlamps, or loud noises. We spent hours in the car without seeing another soul; the only things around were goats, yaks, horses, and the occasional isolated yurt.
I thought I might get bored, but in the end, that didn’t happen at all. I enjoyed the views, the impressive emptiness, and the calm. Just like I enjoy watching the chaos around me from the backseat of a taxi in Hangzhou.
And then we returned to Hangzhou. Everything was loud, bright, and fast again. Also the weather had changed: intense heat combined with high humidity. The smells were back too, from the street food stalls around the corner, and I had to readjust to the sounds of beeping scooters and flashing LED ads. Everything hit me again, like it was all brand new.
Hangzhou has over 14 million residents. That’s not something I’m used to in one city, coming from the Netherlands! That doesn’t mean you feel that crowd everywhere, because there are always quiet spots to be found. But still, with such a massive population, you’ll always come across at least one person wherever you go. Truly alone? No, you almost never are. But everyone is living their own life, whether that’s scrolling on their phone, wearing earbuds, or filming a TikTok in the middle of the street. Everyone has their own schedule, which makes everyone, in the end, just ordinary people.
Still, within that crowd, there’s something about how I feel here as a ‘foreigner’ that stands out. I do get noticed – people look, and sometimes someone asks for a photo – but after that, it’s done. At the same time, I often feel surprisingly anonymous. No one really interferes with me. Maybe it’s because we’ll always be seen as ‘different’, or maybe it’s just that everyone’s too busy with their own life. In a city of millions, standing out a little doesn’t actually stand out that much. No one bats an eye at someone walking around in pajamas, or people dancing in the middle of the sidewalk for a TikTok. In the evenings, large groups gather on public squares to move together to music. In the Netherlands, this would be unthinkable – you’d feel self-conscious, people would quickly judge – but here, it feels completely natural. And that’s exactly why, despite all the people and the chaos, I can feel surprisingly at ease here
