My name is Mu Xin and I am a junior from NYU Shanghai. Choosing to study at China’s first Sino-US research university became one of the most important steps in my journey from a local to a global citizen. But my self-development has not been limited to learning to be a local in a global world, but has also included using a global perspective to look back on local issues.

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I was very interested in the issue of the reconstruction of traditional buildings in my hometown before university. At first, I was enthusiastic about modern architecture, but then became more critical that  the new buildings no longer provided a local cultural or atmosphere even if they had local architectural features. My attitude changed again as I came to understand that in order for a city to keep up with world trends,  the cultural characteristics of a city also need to evolve over time. Reconstruction was a reality that I had to accept.

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"It was like the first time, I, with my local identity, was confronted with a diverse community and multicultural ideas. I, myself, adopted external aspects of identity before changing more internally..."

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After going to NYU Shanghai,  living in a diverse community for three years and seeing the complexity of the world, I realized that reconstruction is not a solely good or bad issue when a historical city chooses to join the modernization process. It was like the first time, I, with my local identity, was confronted with a diverse community and multicultural ideas. I, myself, adopted external aspects of identity before changing more internally, and so will the city. The reconstruction of traditional buildings is like me changing my clothing,it is an external manifestation of a new understanding of my identity.

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"Instead, the more global I am, the more I love my country, my city, my culture."

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There is no right or wrong in choosing outfits that helps you join in a new community or for a city to enter into a new time period. But at the same time, reconstruction doesn’t mean giving up local culture, just like changing my way of  dressing doesn’t mean I give up my local identity in a global society. Instead, we can consider local culture as another kind of local identity, which is compatible with the modern global world.

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Local identity becomes the most important distinction between me and other students from all over the world. Without this uniqueness, globalization becomes assimilation. There is no conflict between cosmopolitanism and patriotism. Instead, the more global I am, the more I love my country, my city, my culture. And it is the same for the city.