St. Louis: America’s Wuhan, Left Behind by Time

Crossing the endless mountains of West Virginia, rolling through the grasslands of Kentucky, and heading west, you arrive at St. Louis on the banks of the Mississippi River. Here, the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers converge, with railways and highways crisscrossing the vast plains on either shore. In theory, this place could have been America’s "Wuhan + Chongqing"—a trifecta hub of rail, water, and road transport, destined to become a megacity humming with factories and freight. But reality tells a different story: 🚢 The river is eerily empty—only the occasional coal barge, a ghostly remnant of the industrial age, drifts by. The Mississippi’s cargo volume is now just a tenth of the Yangtze’s, even lagging behind China’s Grand Canal. The irony? Its natural waterways are far superior. 🏭 East St. Louis, once a booming industrial zone, is now one of America’s most dangerous places . To call it a "city" feels generous—it’s more like abandoned ruins, bulldozed lots rebranded as "urban green spaces." Homes stand vacant, and even basic stores or gas stations are nowhere to be found. Under America’s hyper-local governance, no business means no taxes; no taxes mean no police; and without governance, society reverts to "every man for himself"—effectively ruled by gangs. 🔫 The rest of St. Louis barely holds on , but safety remains a constant worry. On the surface, these rusting industrial cities seem just one "economic revival" away from recovery. But in truth, almost no old industrial hub transitions smoothly. New industries birth new cities, while the old ones are left behind by time. Another critical observation: America’s system of local autonomy offers no lifeline for dying cities. U.S. cities fall into two categories: 1️⃣ Tight-knit religious towns (like those in West Virginia)—poor but united by community spirit, maintaining order and public services through sheer will. 2️⃣ Megacities (NYC, LA)—lacking shared identity but propped up by massive economies and tax bases, keeping the bureaucratic machine running. But cities with neither cohesion nor economic might? The system discards them without a second thought. America operates on winner-takes-all logic—even for its cities. There are no second chances. #USA #StLouis #UrbanDecline #PostIndustrialAmerica #HistoryWitness #DeepThoughts