The messages that change the story

In mid-April, editors from Wuxi media team came across Tan's posts. They reached out via direct message, asking whether he would allow them to compile his photos, videos, and reflections into an article for a feature series titled "Share Your Wuxi Story".

Tan replied without hesitation.

Not only did he agree, he publicly praised the city's professionalism and courtesy.

On April 23, an English article titled A day in Wuxi: A glimpse of nature and modern life was published online. Written in the first person, it retained Tan's conversational tone and featured only the photos he had originally shared on Facebook.

What impressed Tan most was the process behind it.

The editors sought permission before using his content and shared a draft for his review ahead of publication. "It was polite and positively written," he noted.

Tan contrasted the experience with coverage by Mothership, a Singapore-based digital news outlet, where his social media content had been reused without permission and paired with sensational headlines and unflattering visuals.

For him, what the Wuxi media team did was not simply good publicity. It was good manners.