Away from the cities, underneath the Milky Way

We’re somewhere in between Shengzhou (嵊州) and Yuyao (余姚). The hills are dotted with 枫叶: red maple trees.

We make our way to the hills of the Fuzhi Mountain (覆卮山), with its terraced rice fields.

One part of the valley is an old glacier, and it’s a thing to climb the rocks, even though the stairs are not far aside from it. We too, make the climb.

Hello friend.

We walk from Dingshan Village (丁山村). Back in Dongcheng (东澄村) we have steamed sea bass (清蒸鲈鱼) and probably the fattest thing we ever had; meigan cai & pork belly (梅干菜红烧肉). Actually, we skip the fat and just eat the meat and skin.

We then drive to the 500-year-old village of Lijiakeng (李家坑).

Less than 20 kilometers in a straight line on the map, but actually 60 kilometers and 90 minutes away.

This is the oldest house in the village, I think.

Pieces of bamboo drying on the stones.

We stay the night (& morning) in a tiny town called Xufu (徐凫). A shushu is preparing tea while another one says this place is so quiet that you often can see the Milky Way in the night, alas; but not tonight as the moon is too bright.

Latest

The Return of Magic

The Return of Magic

My first time in an airplane was in some Cessna 25 years ago. I had never imagined I’d ever sit in a plane, because that was something for rich people. But then after our visit to Legoland in Denmark, my dad decided we’d see the park from above. The whole was so inconceivable, not just […]
November 11, 2025
Toilet Egg Pancake

Toilet Egg Pancake

Sometimes a place or thing becomes super memorable not despite its odd name, but because of it. In Kunshan (昆山) there’s a place that sells ‘Toilet Egg Pancake’ (厕所蛋饼), because their original store was next to a public toilet. It has already moved on, but the name remains. While their pancakes are so good (and […]
November 10, 2025
These Same Roads Again

These Same Roads Again

My parents visited Shanghai for the first time in seven years, and even though the city has changed a lot, I dare say it has changed not as much as I have. Sure. On the surface of Shanghai, a lot of stores have come and gone since 2018, and large areas of the city were […]
November 5, 2025
To Taipei and Back in a Day

To Taipei and Back in a Day

I got the chance to travel from Shanghai to Taipei and back in one day. Rather impractical, very tiring, but still worth it. Because you could stay at home for ten weekends and watch fifty movies, and still not have as many impressions as this. I will refrain from acting as if now I know […]
November 3, 2025