Of Space Stations and Ghost Towers - but who's scruffy-looking?

Luoyang, China

"Scruffy", the Lonely Planet China described the Old Town of Luoyang. The thing about the Planet is - as an American friend in Kaifeng said - they hate China. I found they've often exaggerated a bit when it comes to touristiness or trouble you might run into. They also seem to have the attitude of: "China used to be good but now it's crap. Fortunately, we went to see it when it was still good." Maybe this is the first time I'd agree with the Planet on the choice of words (or am I just biased by reading the Planet first?). Still, this is how the place has evolved. It may not be the prettiest old town in China but it feels alive and organic. I thought that's the kind of authenticity that the Planet looks for. A mixture of historic buildings and more recent, tiled houses (which the Planet loves to hate. Why? They're also China) dotted with little shops.
Sadly the use of words like "scruffy" makes you want to get out of town as fast as you can, which I think is the wrong thing to do. The guide book does not mention that Luoyang is a much more developed city than Kaifeng. The infrastructure is much better. Also, it has a built up, high rise, modern district that the book completely fails to mention right around Wangcheng Square. This is actually the place that I liked a lot more than the old town. There is a stage between an international city like Beijing and a village and this is it. People come out 'til late at night practicing water calligraphy, dancing or just chatting on the square. It feels so alive walking through it on a hot evening like now.
One unique thing about Luoyang was the buildings but I'm not talking about historical ones. When the business district was built someone must have told the designers: "Go wild, make it modern. We're a modern city so take us to the 21st century." Or they were on some sort of controlled substances or just mad. Or all of the above. The result may be a bit too modern even for a 21st century city - wait at least for another 200 years. I swear, parts of the Public Security Bureau with its mirrored glass facade and saucer-like little spires and antennae on the top looked ready to lift off into space, shoot lasers or transform into God-knows-what. Then near Wangcheng Park I spotted another high rise which looked like a cross between something from Star Wars and the Dark Tower from Lord of the Rings. Now, don't let me be misunderstood - I like it here. It has a distinctive feel. It's just that part of this feel is distinctly Star Trek.
On the other hand it is also here that I've realised how much China is developing the eastern cities but may be neglecting the western ones. Luoyang has a cool TV tower, with a spherical platform like the one in Shanghai but tall and sharp, reminiscent of Ostankino in Moscow. I saw it from far away and decided to have a closer look. Maybe I could go up and enjoy the panorama of the city and the Luo River. When I got there, however, it was abandoned. I was expecting expensive restaurants and some sleek decor and it had certainly been there. But no more. A guard told me there had been a Tibetan Barbecue restaurant. Walking around the base of the tower I could see inside. The scene was almost surreal: tables, chairs, the whole kitchen were all still there as if just waiting for customers. But everything was covered in a layer of dust that showed for how long noone had eaten or prepared food here. Over a year, the guard told me. And how about the restaurant at the top - the one with the panoramic view? The same. Noone went up anymore. Customers had just been too few and everything had closed down. It seems this was Luoyang's attempt at creating an upmarket venue but it had failed. Kaifeng, so a driver had told me, was poor. Luoyang was apparently also not as rich as entrepreneurs had expected. Now the tower stood silent and abandoned bearing witness to their miscalculations. Only the lights come on every night hinting at its past glory...
I wish the city well though. It seems on its way to becoming a vibrant modern city. It would be interesting to come back here in a few years and see what has changed. In China, that could be just about anything.