The monk with the worn fan
A patched robe, an easy laugh, and a habit of noticing the person everyone else has passed by.
All articles
Hangzhou
30 articles
The tide has no portrait mode
Phones rise, the water arrives, and the river declines to stay inside the frame.
When the sea comes upriver
A little moonlight, a narrowing estuary, and a river that seems to change its mind.
The small hours of an ordinary day
Morning footsteps, leaves opening in a glass, and the scent of autumn: a city comes into focus through small things.
Along the canal, the city keeps its layers
A stone bridge, waterside houses and a former oil depot hold different chapters of the same city.
A city turns towards the river
Beyond the lake, wide water, contemporary buildings and public gardens open another chapter of Hangzhou.
Ten names for the changing lake
A causeway at daybreak, a bell at dusk, moonlight resting on water. West Lake’s Ten Scenes, celebrated since the Southern Song, give passing moments names that have lasted for centuries.
Fahai: Whose Story Is the Monk Telling?
Fahai’s certainty meets Bai Suzhen’s wish for an ordinary life, and the heart of the story begins to move.
A Poem Looking for a Listener
Moonlight, a quiet courtyard and a musical instrument reveal another register of Yue Fei’s cultural memory.
Why Is Qin Hui Remembered Kneeling?
A familiar group of figures at Yue Fei’s memorial turns historical judgement into a visible arrangement.
Yue Fei: How a Life Became a Place of Memory
The memorial by West Lake connects a Song-era life with centuries of remembrance.
The Hill That Flew Here
Feilai Feng has a name with a journey inside it—and a rock face carrying centuries of work.