Last week was China’s ‘Golden Week’, when the country goes on a collective holiday. Traffic jams and popular tourist destinations are filled with crowds. So too on Nantong’s Mount Lang, its pagoda providing a view across the city and the Yangtze river. I explored the place and behind the facade, I found this trashed frame with photos taken perhaps only a weeks ago — ready to witter away in weather and time.

Then I looked around again, seeing tourists taking photos and selfies, an endless wave pouring towards news feeds — be it Instagram and WeChat — or to be stuck on smartphones to end up outdated in drawers and eventually in landfills. I was reminded of this quote from James Salter’s memoir, Burning the Days.

“So much is lost, entire histories, there is no room for it all. There are only the generations surging forward like the tide, the years filled with sound and froth, then being washed over by the rest.”

It’s all fine really. But for now, let’s make some some waves and froth.