At dusk, many people walk by the river. The river, from east to west, flows into the sea and divides the city into north and south. Locals call the north the Right Bank and the south the left bank. The earliest extent of the city was just a sandbar in the middle of a river. In the Middle Ages, people came to the sandbar for refuge and built castles around the sandbar. The castle is surrounded by water, forming a natural moat. It is not easy for the enemy to invade, and it is convenient for the inhabitants to get unlimited water, drinking or irrigating their fields and feeding their livestock. A sandy beach in the middle of the river has the conditions for human settlement. As the population grew larger, the beach was given a name, Cite, which literally means "city." When life is settled, the people are glad that the suffering is over.

They thank God for blessing, peace and prosperity, and pray that they will be free from disease and war from now on... In 1163, the city's residents decided to build a church dedicated to the Virgin in the middle of the beach, hoping that the divine grace, like a mother's great love, would stay and care for the city for a long time. Notre Dame Cathedral, built a thousand years ago, has two tall bell towers. The bell tower faces west. After dusk, the slanting golden sunset illuminates the facade of the church. Because of the latitude, the summer dusk lasts a long time. Beginning at five or six o 'clock in the afternoon, the three pointed arches of the lower church were illuminated by the setting sun, which at about eight o 'clock moved to the rose Windows above the arches. After nine o 'clock, the last rays of the sun shone on the top of the bell tower, and slowly faded, and the night bell rang out over the city. Usually at this time, I'm beginning one of my usual nightly walks. I was walking in front of the church square when I saw a brass zero embedded in the ground. This was the zero of the city. The city begins here, the time of the city begins here, and the space begins here. This "0" seems to be the center of the tree ring, from which the city expands outward year by year. By the fourteenth century, this stretch of sand in the middle of the river was already a thriving city. The island, once isolated in the middle of the river, was built with several wooden Bridges. The bridge leads to both banks, to the right bank and to the left bank. The city expanded to both sides of the river, one kilometer, two kilometers, three kilometers... Cities are constantly getting new spatial coordinates. But no matter how the city's growth rings expand, the center point will always be in the church square, where the brass "0" marks. After the 16th century, the map of the city became larger and larger, and people, vehicles and horses and mules came and went frequently. In 1578, it was decided to build a twelve-arch stone bridge on the western tip of the Cite Island, connecting both the right and left banks. The stone bridge was completed in 1604, with circular arched seats along the guardrail on both sides. In addition to the convenience of the original transportation, the bridge also has many functions that enable people to sit down and rest and stay. Sitting down, I could look out over the city and watch the sunset rolling on the water under the bridge. I could meditate on it with nothing to do. City residents love this beautiful "new bridge". They bring the old and help the young to see it. Every time they cross the bridge, they feel the beauty of the city, the beauty of the river. From the time it was built, the bridge was called the Pont Neuf. In the past four hundred years, many new Bridges have been built over the river one after another, but this bridge has become the eternal "new bridge" in the hearts of city residents, the eternal "new bridge" in the history of the city, and the "new bridge" that can never be replaced in the memory of beauty. I am sitting in an arm-chair by the stone bridge, sketching. It is nearly ten o 'clock, and the light of the setting sun flickers slightly over the far, far west end of the city, among the new modern buildings with glass curtains. There is the outermost circle of the city's growth rings, far away from the zero coordinate.

At dusk, many people walk by the river. The river, from east to west, flows into the sea and divides the city into north and south. Locals call the north the Right Bank and the south the left bank. The earliest extent of the city was just a sandbar in the middle of a river. In the Middle Ages, people came to the sandbar for refuge and built castles around the sandbar. The castle is surrounded by water, forming a natural moat. It is not easy for the enemy to invade, and it is convenient for the inhabitants to get unlimited water, drinking or irrigating their fields and feeding their livestock. A sandy beach in the middle of the river has the conditions for human settlement. As the population grew larger, the beach was given a name, Cite, which literally means "city." When life is settled, the people are glad that the suffering is over.

They thank God for blessing, peace and prosperity, and pray that they will be free from disease and war from now on... In 1163, the city's residents decided to build a church dedicated to the Virgin in the middle of the beach, hoping that the divine grace, like a mother's great love, would stay and care for the city for a long time. Notre Dame Cathedral, built a thousand years ago, has two tall bell towers. The bell tower faces west. After dusk, the slanting golden sunset illuminates the facade of the church. Because of the latitude, the summer dusk lasts a long time. Beginning at five or six o 'clock in the afternoon, the three pointed arches of the lower church were illuminated by the setting sun, which at about eight o 'clock moved to the rose Windows above the arches. After nine o 'clock, the last rays of the sun shone on the top of the bell tower, and slowly faded, and the night bell rang out over the city. Usually at this time, I'm beginning one of my usual nightly walks. I was walking in front of the church square when I saw a brass zero embedded in the ground. This was the zero of the city. The city begins here, the time of the city begins here, and the space begins here. This "0" seems to be the center of the tree ring, from which the city expands outward year by year. By the fourteenth century, this stretch of sand in the middle of the river was already a thriving city. The island, once isolated in the middle of the river, was built with several wooden Bridges. The bridge leads to both banks, to the right bank and to the left bank. The city expanded to both sides of the river, one kilometer, two kilometers, three kilometers... Cities are constantly getting new spatial coordinates. But no matter how the city's growth rings expand, the center point will always be in the church square, where the brass "0" marks. After the 16th century, the map of the city became larger and larger, and people, vehicles and horses and mules came and went frequently. In 1578, it was decided to build a twelve-arch stone bridge on the western tip of the Cite Island, connecting both the right and left banks. The stone bridge was completed in 1604, with circular arched seats along the guardrail on both sides. In addition to the convenience of the original transportation, the bridge also has many functions that enable people to sit down and rest and stay. Sitting down, I could look out over the city and watch the sunset rolling on the water under the bridge. I could meditate on it with nothing to do. City residents love this beautiful "new bridge". They bring the old and help the young to see it. Every time they cross the bridge, they feel the beauty of the city, the beauty of the river. From the time it was built, the bridge was called the Pont Neuf. In the past four hundred years, many new Bridges have been built over the river one after another, but this bridge has become the eternal "new bridge" in the hearts of city residents, the eternal "new bridge" in the history of the city, and the "new bridge" that can never be replaced in the memory of beauty. I am sitting in an arm-chair by the stone bridge, sketching. It is nearly ten o 'clock, and the light of the setting sun flickers slightly over the far, far west end of the city, among the new modern buildings with glass curtains. There is the outermost circle of the city's growth rings, far away from the zero coordinate.