The Fancy Library in the Middle of Nowhere
To be honest, I was a bit confused after visiting the newly built contemporary park yesterday.
The library is beautiful—modern glass walls and perfect wooden designs. It looks like it belongs in a big city’s business district. But here, it’s surrounded by factories and farms. It feels out of place, like serving expensive wine in a plastic cup. The quality is great, but the combination is just weird.
Then there’s the “Yoga Hotel.” It costs over 1,000 RMB a night. In an area full of factory workers and farmers, I have to ask: who is the target audience? Is a worker really going to spend half a month’s pay on a room? This is a classic case of “dreaming big” but ignoring the reality of the local residents.
The irony is that this “temple of culture” has become the best place for locals to just hang out and enjoy the air conditioning.
The best example is the vinyl record of The Legend of 1900 on the shelf. In the movie, the pianist never dared to leave the ship because the world on land was too big and scary. This library is the same: it stays inside its “glass bubble” with its fancy books and music, too afraid to actually connect with the messy, dusty world outside.
It plays its elegant music, while the locals walk in and out like curious tourists. They come to take photos and relax, but in their eyes, these books belong to a completely different world.
The contrast is everywhere. You might be reading a serious book, while the person next to you is watching loud, silly videos on their phone. You admire the architecture, while a child is running around making a mess.
In the end, there is no connection here. The government spent a sea of funds to look “high-class,” but the local life is still pretty traditional.
Is it a failure? Not really, since it’s a popular park. But is it worth it? When a huge investment is mostly used as a background for social media, you have to wonder.
As I left, I couldn’t help but think: The suit is expensive, but it just doesn’t fit the person wearing it.