Mourning begins

14:28pm--the moment of silence to commemorate the victims of the Sichuan earthquake that happened exactly one week ago. After the PA announcement came through on our office loudspeakers (which I hadn't even known existed), a ghostly wailing rose up from the streets outside: cars and trucks holding down their horns for three minutes straight, weaving into a chorus of otherworldly sorrow. I've never heard a sound like this mournful cacophony--this was not so much a moment of silence per se, but minute of national sorrow expressed through the embodiment of China's recent economic prosperity, the motor vehicle. It reminded me strangely of Old Testament descriptions of mourning rituals, where people would wail, rend their clothing and beat their bodies.

I'm looking down on the street now at the alleys near Xintiandi. The migrant workers are standing erect, heads bowed, orange hard hats dipped in respect. The only things that were moving on the street were the treetops swaying in the breeze.