The beauty of China at night

From what I have seen so far, China is a very beautiful country. However, its beauty can be hard to appreciate during the day due to the ubiquitous pollution. I did not expect to find Xi'an to be so polluted because it is not one of the major cities on the coast. I have learned that in recent years the government has moved many industries to Xi'an and other western cities. Xi'an's topography is like LA; it is in a basin surrounded by mountains and hills which trap pollution in the city.

The TV tower in the middle of Downtown

The modern downtown is outside of the old city

Siyuan University is in the hilly countryside of Xi'an well beyond the third ring road (outermost beltway/expressway). Even so the pollution here is very heavy. Most mornings I cannot see more than ten feet out my window. In the mornings, trash from the previous day is incinerated in the streets all across the city, making the smog particularly thick in the mornings.

The sun rising above Siyuan. Most days it is safe to look directly at the sun.

A particularly clear day at Siyuan. You can make out the city in the background.

Left: Siyuan's stadium complex as seen from the fifth floor of an academic building

More of Siyuan's campus

The beauty of China, at least in the urban areas where pollution is prevalent, belongs to the night. Colored lights are ubiquitous in China. At night everything is illuminated with strings of multicolored lights. Unfortunately my phone's camera is not optimized for capturing the beauty of colored lights at night, but here are some of my better pictures.

The main academic building at Siyuan. All buildings on campus are lit up in this fashion. The lights cycle different colors--red, orange, yellow, green--every five seconds

The Bell Tower

The South Gate of the old city

Even the things that aren't covered in strings of lights are more beautiful at night. The pollution becomes more damp at night making it feel more like fog and less like smog. It gives everything a glow that is eerily beautiful, like London at night.

Trees outside the Foreign Teacher Complex

Lanterns on the roads at Siyuan

One of the many basketball courts at Siyuan