繁荣锐变中的休斯敦国际区

身為国际区区长二十多年来，我常常觉得自己不是「管理一个区」，而是陪着一个社区一起长大、一起呼吸、一起走过风雨。

我看过它最辛苦的时候：店家撑着租金与人潮的起落，移民家庭在语言不通中摸索，街道有时显得老旧、沉默，大家的脚步却从未停下。也看过它最耀眼的时候：节庆的鼓声把人心敲醒，新开的店面灯火通明，年轻人愿意留下来，外地人也愿意走进来——那一刻你会明白，国际区不是被「打造」出来的，而是被一代又一代人的汗水与信念「撑」出来的。

这二十多年，我最珍惜的，不是头衔，而是每一次握手、每一次协调、每一次在关键时刻挺身而出：為商家争取改善道路与停车、推动环境整洁与治安提升、促成活动与招商、连结市府资源与社区需求。很多事情不会上头条，却能慢慢改变生活；很多成果不是一天完成，而是靠长期的耐心，一点一滴堆起来。

我也更深刻体会到，国际区的价值不只是经济繁荣，更是「多元共生」的象徵。这裡的人来自不同国家、讲着不同语言、吃着不同味道的家乡菜，但大家共享同一条街、同一盏路灯、同一种对安稳生活的渴望。只要我们愿意彼此尊重、彼此照顾，差异就不会是距离，而会变成力量。

走到今天，我依然相信：国际区的下一步，不是单纯更热闹，而是更有秩序、更安全、更乾净、更友善，也更让下一代感到骄傲。只要我们继续把「人」放在中心，把「社区」放在心上，这片土地就会一直繁华，也会一直向前。

Houston’s International District in a Season of Transformation

In recent years, as newcomers continue to arrive, Houston’s International District has been expanding like a river that never stops widening—flowing day and night, gathering strength with every new current. This is no longer a neighborhood defined by a single community. It has become a living portrait of the city itself—languages weaving through the air, aromas taking turns at every corner, cultures lighting up one by one like lanterns in the dusk.

Walking these streets, you can feel that something is constantly happening: longtime businesses refresh their storefronts, restaurants renovate their interiors, glass facades reflect the steady stream of people passing by. New cafés, clinics, markets, and service shops continue to appear—like fresh shoots in spring—proof that this district is still growing. Many are not just upgrading a space; they are renewing a kind of confidence—writing hope into bright signage, laying the future into newly set tiles.

This prosperity is not an accident. It is built from countless journeys and choices: families arriving with children and suitcases, entrepreneurs carrying skills and dreams, newcomers facing uncertainty but refusing to surrender their determination to build a better life. That is why the International District feels so powerful. It doesn’t rely on slogans. It relies on everyday effort—each storefront, each light left on, each door opened to welcome customers—day after day, until today’s vibrancy becomes undeniable.

Perhaps transformation does not mean erasing the past. It means honoring memory while learning to move forward with greater order, dignity, and strength. The International District is still being renewed. The streets are still changing. And that ongoing change—never stopping, always reaching—may be exactly what makes this place so compelling: it proves its vitality through bustling life, answers growing crowds with real construction, and quietly lays the road for tomorrow, one day at a time.