In New York's Chinatown, small piles of trash, drink cans and food wrappers were piled neatly around garbage cans on Wednesday, just a mile from the dust and debris of the worst terrorist strike on US soil.
Life began the long trip back to normal, with residents scouring available newspapers, and stores reopening with stocks of fish and dried mushrooms.
On Canal Street, hundreds of young Asian-origin men of all ages waited patiently at the only open newsstand for copies of a rudimentary paper with shock photos of the catastrophe which occured almost in their back yard.
The street, normally filled with tourists for shopping, was still deserted, and most security curtains were still pulled down.
But the street was cleared and ready for traffic, and to the south, stands selling fish, fruits and vegetables, and mushrooms offered their wares to residents, who trickled by with plastic bags in hand.
Nearby, past a security cordon around "ground zero," the area containing the most destruction resembled a ghost town.
On each street, police officers checked identification, only letting those who could prove they lived in the neighborhood get by.
The others were turned away, including employees of local businesses, passersby, and reporters.
Some desperately waved business cards to show they occupied addresses within the zone, others tried in vain to talk their way through.
Just under a half-mile away towards the East River, police barricades had disappeared however, and residents began to go about their lives again.
Here and there, small groups of people gathered around newspapers held in hands or posted on walls, commenting on the events in Chinese dialects.
On a small square, dozens of residents watched the cloud of smoke which continued to hand over the trade center's remains to the south.
On a bench, a young man napped, bathed in the late summer sun and clear air which seemed as surreal as the massive destruction nearby.
(chinadaily.com.cn 09/13/2001)
