正在趕工興建的休斯敦會展中心

清晨走過市中心，遠遠就看見那一排高高矗立的吊車，像一隻隻長頸的鐵鳥，靜靜守在灰白的天空下。正在趕工興建的休斯敦會展中心，外牆還未完全封起來，鋼骨像章魚的觸角向四方伸展，工地裡機器的轟鳴聲，和工人此起彼落的呼喊聲，混在一起，奏出一首熱火朝天的「城市進行曲」。

這幾年，世界局勢詭譎多變，經濟時起時落，很多人選擇觀望、退縮，可是我站在工地圍籬外，看著這片泥土上不斷往上長高的樓層，心裡卻湧起一股安慰：原來這座城市還願意押注未來。會展中心不是一棟普通的大樓，它是一個舞台，未來世界各地的商人、學者、藝術家，都可能在這裡相遇、握手、簽約、交流；今天的鋼筋水泥，就是明天故事與機會的劇場布景。

工人們戴著安全帽，在冬日略帶涼意的風中忙進忙出，有人推著滿載建材的小車，有人蹲在角落仔細測量，有人站在高架上揮手指揮吊掛。一個會展中心的背後，是無數雙粗糙卻踏實的雙手。城市的天際線，表面上是由建築師的圖紙勾勒出來的，實際上，則是由這些默默無名的人，一錘一鑽敲出來的。我看著他們，總會想起自己一路走來的打拼歲月：每一個移民的夢想，不也是在塵土飛揚中，一點一滴搭起來的骨架嗎？

休斯敦向來以能源、醫療、航太聞名，如今又在會展、金融、科技、文化上加碼布局。這座正在趕工中的會展中心，彷彿在對世界宣告：我們不只要「做生意」，更要「匯聚世界」。將來，亞洲與美洲的企業，有可能就在這裡對話；華人社區的創業故事，也可能在這裡被更多人聽見。想到這裡，我不禁在心裡默默對自己說：我們也要加快腳步，把自己的媒體、金融、文化平台，與這座城市的新引擎連在一起，讓華人的聲音，在這樣的國際舞台上更加清晰、有力。

傍晚時分，夕陽把半完工的大樓染成金色，鋼骨在光影之間拉出一條條明暗交錯的線條，像是在天空寫字。有人說，工地很吵、很亂，可在我眼中，那是一幅「未來進行式」的畫。等到有一天，彩帶剪下、會展中心正式啟用，人們拍照、留影、喝著咖啡、談著合作的時候，也許不會記得今天這一地泥濘，但我知道，正是這些泥濘，托起了明日的光亮。

今天的日記，就留給這座正在「長大」的休斯敦會展中心。看著它，我彷彿也被提醒：無論世界怎麼變，我們不能停工，不能停步。只要還有信心、還有願景，就要像這個工地一樣——在風中，在塵土裡，繼續向上蓋，蓋出屬於我們自己、也屬於這座城市的明天。

The Houston Convention Center Racing Against Time

Early this morning as I walked through downtown, I could already see a row of tall cranes in the distance, like long-necked iron birds standing quietly against the pale sky. The new Houston convention center, still under rapid construction, has yet to close up its outer walls. Steel beams stretch out in every direction like the arms of a giant octopus. Inside the site, the roar of machinery mixes with the shouts of workers, weaving together into a fiery “city march.”

In recent years, the world has been full of uncertainty. Geopolitics shift like quicksand, economies rise and fall, and many people choose to wait and see, to hold back. Yet as I stand outside the construction fence, watching each new floor slowly climb upward from this once-empty patch of dirt, a strange sense of comfort wells up in my heart: this city is still willing to bet on the future.

A convention center is not just another big building. It is a stage. One day, businesspeople, scholars, and artists from around the world may gather here—shaking hands, signing contracts, exchanging ideas. The concrete and steel rising today will become tomorrow’s backdrop for countless stories and opportunities.

The workers, hard hats on, move briskly through the cool winter air. One pushes a cart loaded with materials; another crouches in a corner, carefully measuring; someone else stands high on the scaffolding, signaling to guide a massive load into place. Behind this convention center are countless pairs of rough but steady hands. On the surface, a city’s skyline is drawn by architects on paper; in truth, it is hammered and drilled into existence by these nameless workers. Watching them, I can’t help thinking of my own years of struggle. Isn’t every immigrant’s dream built the same way—frame by frame, piece by piece, in dust and noise?

Houston has long been known for energy, medicine, and space. Now it is doubling down on conventions, finance, technology, and culture. This convention center under construction feels like a public declaration: we are not only here to “do business,” we are here to “gather the world.” In the future, Asian and American companies may sit across the table here; the entrepreneurial stories of our Chinese community may also be heard more widely in these halls. Thinking of this, I quietly tell myself: we, too, must quicken our pace—link our media, our financial platforms, and our cultural work to this new engine of the city, so that Chinese voices can ring out more clearly and confidently on this international stage.

By late afternoon, the setting sun turns the half-finished building a soft gold. The steel beams cast long lines of light and shadow, as if someone were writing in the sky. Some people say construction sites are noisy and chaotic. To me, it is a canvas with the words “future in progress” painted across it. One day, when the ribbon is cut and the convention center officially opens, people will take photos, sip coffee, talk business, and celebrate. They may no longer remember today’s mud and mess—but I know it is precisely this mud that carries tomorrow’s light.

So I dedicate today’s entry to this convention center that is still “growing up.” Looking at it, I feel as if I’ve been reminded once again: no matter how the world changes, we cannot stop building, and we cannot stop moving forward. As long as we still have faith and a vision, we must be like this construction site—pressing on through wind and dust, building upward, until we create a tomorrow that belongs both to ourselves and to this city.