Culture

The Suzhou Museum, held in a Polaroid.

Browsing outside Watkins Books on Cecil Court.

Hanging scrolls in the galleries of the National Palace Museum.

A lane of lanterns at Shengjiaxu, and one small red smile in the dark.

Gaudí’s Barcelona, where structure turns into ornament.

A Basque detail from Bilbao’s streets.

The Atlantic path toward San Juan de Gaztelugatxe.

A corn stall at Cusco's market

Native corn and potatoes at a highland farm

Entering the Tambopata National Reserve

An ancient bronze ding at the National Palace Museum.

Old railway carriages turned into shops on the old Taichung line.

Rattan chairs in a café inside an old warehouse.

Two paper lanterns against a white wall, one warm, one pale.

A Catalan summer detail between the old city and the sea.

Pintxos-hour light in the old city.

A cliffside view of the Basque coast.

Peaches stacked at the Yau Ma Tei Fruit Market after the rain.

Skólavörðustígur’s rainbow street and Christmas lights, Hallgrímskirkja at its end.

The blue plaque at the Eagle: “DNA — The Secret of Life”, 28 February 1953.

Benches along the old rails for passers-by to rest.

Arriving at Tainan Station.

Rainbow fish lanterns swimming through the dark.

Bilbao between industrial memory and contemporary architecture.

A Basque summer scene between rain and celebration.

The door of Witch House (女巫店) near Shida — the tiny live house where 張懸, 蘇打綠 and 陳綺貞 played their early shows.

A shop inside a restored railway warehouse.

A school of silk goldfish swimming between the lanterns.

A Basque detail from Bilbao’s streets.

Compañía de Jesús, Plaza de Armas

Machu Picchu's terraces

The Sunbeam Theatre sign over King’s Road.

The Icelandic flag at dusk on the Golden Circle.

Búðakirkja, the black church at Búðir, alone on the lava field.

The lantern-lit staircase up to the Christ Church hall.

A breakfast shop lit before dawn — the only thing open on a Taipei morning.

An eye-chart sign at the Eye Scream shop.

Floor-to-ceiling shelves in a Tainan bookstore.

A road sign for land crabs: 30.

Aerial-yoga hammocks in an open shala at Udara Bali.

Three paper lanterns at three heights of warm light.

Pintxos-hour light in the old city.

One of Cusco's colonial church domes

Musicians play for the wedding procession

The avenue of flags at the United Nations.

A tram passing the Sunbeam Theatre, home of Cantonese opera.

Long tables and lamps in the Christ Church hall.

The National Palace Museum under a grey January sky.

A Taichung City tile underfoot.

A bicycle among the bookshelves.

A carved stone face in a garden fountain.

The Kecak fire dance at Uluwatu Temple.

A red palace lantern carried high above the Shangyuan crowd.

A pause among Madrid’s art, parks and bookstalls.

Bilbao between industrial memory and contemporary architecture.

A wedding in Pisac

A community gathering in Chinchero

Portraits and table lamps in the Christ Church hall.

A woodblock-printed book in the Palace Museum collection.

A temple tower lettered with a prayer to Guanyin.

The Kecak chorus, arms raised.

The pagoda lit in gold, standing over its own reflection.

A tiled street sign and the warm pulse of Madrid.

A Basque detail from Bilbao’s streets.

A Semana Grande moment in Donostia.

A Cantabrian coastal detail.

The Christ Church hall, dinner tables laid.

The entrance to an independent bookshop off a Taipei lane.

The Taichung Literature Museum, once Japanese-era police dormitories.

Pork-lard rice, a fried egg and fish-ball soup.

The gate of the Ubud Palace.

Penjor poles against the sunset.

Rainbow carp leaping across a sky of paper moons.

Plaza de Armas at night

Harry Potter on his broomstick in Leicester Square.

Portraits over the high table.

Tables of new books in a Taipei bookstore.

Ding Fu Fa (鼎富發), famous for its pork-lard rice.

Gongs in the red light of the sound-healing room.

A guardian statue in a checked sarong beside a carved gold door.

A penjor and a temple gate in silhouette.

Two rows of lanterns lighting the stone steps up to the bridge.

A pause among Madrid’s art, parks and bookstalls.

Cusco's historic center, seen from above

Moray's circular terraces

The Witch House sign over the bar — a stage that launched a generation of Taiwanese indie singers.

A small bookshop sign in a Taichung lane.

A stone guardian with flowers behind its ear.

Kecak dancers under the penjor at dusk.

Lantern colours dissolving into the canal.

Gaudí’s Barcelona, where structure turns into ornament.

A wall of polaroids from years of shows at Witch House, from 張懸 and 蘇打綠 onward.

Brick and carved stone of the palace gates.

Lantern light doubled in the canal under a bridge at Shengjiaxu.

A Catalan summer detail between the old city and the sea.

Hand-printed postcards of Icelandic horses in a downtown shop.

An album in the window of a Shida record shop.

A temple gate against the evening sky.

Round lanterns above a silk carp.

The final light over Barcelona after a crowded day.

A roadside memory from Cantabria.

“Viva el Perú” overlooking the city

The Vatnajökull National Park sign at Jökulsárlón, half buried in snow.

Skólavörðustígur’s rainbow road leading to Hallgrímskirkja.

Shelves upon shelves in the Norrington Room at Blackwell’s.

Fembooks (女書店), the first feminist bookstore in the Chinese-speaking world.

A latte and fresh flowers at a café.

Lanterns painted with 囍, glowing above the crowd.

Gaudí’s Barcelona, where structure turns into ornament.

Llamas graze among the ruins

The Fembooks plaque, founded 1994.

Yoga under a woven bamboo roof.

Double-happiness lanterns, close enough to touch.

A Catalan summer detail between the old city and the sea.

A parade crosses Pisac's market square

A San Blas street, looking down over Cusco

An old Chinese book on display at the Weston Library.

“This is what a feminist looks like” — a mural at Fembooks.

Lanterns over Shennong Street at night.

A Balinese feast: grilled fish, satay, ribs and yellow rice.

A golden dome of lanterns, and its twin in the water.

The final light over Barcelona after a crowded day.

Andrea’s cacao ceremony

A signpost in San Blas

A fried-chicken stall at Shida night market.

Red lanterns down a Shennong Street lane.

A pavilion made of light, sparks drifting around it.

Gaudí’s Barcelona, where structure turns into ornament.

Woven bundles on every back at the wedding

The Maras salt pans

Handwritten wishes on tags, Reykjavík Art Museum Hafnarhús.

Neon signs over Shilin night market.

A lantern-hung old street in daylight.

Lanterns climbing the lane, one step of light at a time.

A Catalan summer detail between the old city and the sea.

A summer walk between plane trees and old façades.

The Maras salt pans

A vintage electronics-shop sign at the Taipei Music Center.

A temple gate in the old city.

Paper lanterns climbing a narrow lane, orange and pale blue, into the dark.

The final light over Barcelona after a crowded day.

A Basque summer scene between rain and celebration.

Old television sets playing music videos in the exhibition.

A thatched meditation pavilion with red cushions.

A Semana Grande moment in Donostia.

A tiled street sign and the warm pulse of Madrid.

A patchwork of collage in an Icelandic artists’ exhibition.

Broadcast equipment from the early days of the radio era.

Lanterns hung at odd heights, like notes on a stave.

Life along the Bay of La Concha.

Stone, sea and a northern Spanish summer.

A summer walk between plane trees and old façades.

Ollantaytambo, in the Sacred Valley

An arched gallery window looking over the frozen pond.

A recreated teenager’s bedroom of posters and cassettes.

A fruit stall piled with guava, wax apple and papaya.

A blue lantern dragon floating on the canal.

A pause among Madrid’s art, parks and bookstalls.

Photographs and tour notes from a band’s early years.

Dinner in Tainan: fish-ball soup, braised tofu and eggs, and minced-pork rice under pork floss.

A morning yoga class in an open shala.

A blue dragon lantern asleep on the dark water.

Gaudí’s Barcelona, where structure turns into ornament.

A Semana Grande moment in Donostia.

A tiled street sign and the warm pulse of Madrid.

The Reykjavík Fish sign glowing at dusk.

Cheer Chen, “Travel Is Meaningful” — one of the lyrics lining the gallery.

Magnolia over a white wall, held up in a Polaroid against the real thing.

A Catalan summer detail between the old city and the sea.

A summer walk between plane trees and old façades.

“Take a look out the window: how is the weather?” — a gallery window on the harbour.

A 1990s study desk, reconstructed for the exhibition.

The street to Changmen, kept in a Polaroid on a grey spring day.

The final light over Barcelona after a crowded day.

A Basque summer scene between rain and celebration.

A pause among Madrid’s art, parks and bookstalls.

Two circles of coloured light in a gallery room.

Deserts Chang, “The Rose-Coloured You”.

A takeaway drink in Anping.

An old rainbow sign in spring light.

Gaudí’s Barcelona, where structure turns into ornament.

A Semana Grande moment in Donostia.

A Cantabrian coastal detail.

“Young people’s spiritual sanctuary.”

A toy shop of retro figurines and old tins.

苏州, brushed onto a white wall at Algebra Café.

Life along the Bay of La Concha.

Jonathan Lee, “The Spirit of Life”.

Snoopy figurines in the same toy shop.

Oysters and sweet shrimp at Donggang harbour, on the way back.

苏州 written on a white wall, a red scooter parked beneath.

Tom Chang, “My Future Is Not a Dream”.

Tuna and yellowtail sashimi at Donggang.

“We love this city so much” — a sign for Gusu.

A Semana Grande moment in Donostia.

Mayday, “Fool”.

The seafood market hall at Donggang harbour.

“We love this city so much” — Gusu, on a pale sign.

The tall Gothic nave of Saint-Pierre Cathedral.

A lyric projected on the gallery wall.

A Basque summer scene between rain and celebration.

A ticket for “Music Island Stories” (唱我們的歌).

The Tainan Confucius Temple.

A Basque detail from Bilbao’s streets.

A Semana Grande moment in Donostia.

“Love came, love left — when the song begins, who do you remember?”

Plaques in praise of Confucius in the temple hall.

Stone, sea and a northern Spanish summer.

Flags outside the UNHCR headquarters.

Lyric leaves hanging from a white paper tree.

Bilbao between industrial memory and contemporary architecture.

A Basque summer scene between rain and celebration.

A pause among Madrid’s art, parks and bookstalls.

The glass-roofed atrium of the UNHCR, a Nansen Award banner hanging down.

Paper leaves, each one a line from a song.

Mayday, “Peter & Mary”, and a single brushstroke character: 你.

Life along the Bay of La Concha.

Lang Lang at the piano, alone in the light at Victoria Hall.

Wu Bai & China Blue with 萬芳, “Express Love Letter”.

A Basque summer scene between rain and celebration.

A roadside memory from Cantabria.

Christmas bells hung from a street lamp.

Handwritten lyric drafts under glass.

A Semana Grande moment in Donostia.

Wooden skis and checked tablecloths at Les Armures.

The rainbow street to Hallgrímskirkja in winter.

Album covers, records and a guitar from the Mando-pop years.

Life along the Bay of La Concha.

Stone, sea and a northern Spanish summer.

The Matterhorn in a frame, above a checked table.

Posters from the music exhibition’s final room.

Crossed skis and old rucksacks on the restaurant wall.

The Sherlock Holmes statue outside Baker Street station.

萬芳 and 壯女們 on stage — “人生幾見月當頭” projected behind them.

A waiter laying the tables at Les Armures.

萬芳 on the big screen during the Everyday Sunday concert.

Deerstalkers, a typewriter and a clock in a Baker Street window.

Curtain call: 萬芳和壯女們, “Everyday Sunday”.

A Basque summer scene between rain and celebration.

The Sherlock Holmes shop on Baker Street.

Books hung from the ceiling in a Taipei bookshop.

A Victorian constable at the door of 221B.

The rainbow crossing in Ximending at night.

Holmes’s armchair by the window of the sitting room at 221B.

A book signed by Chiang Hsun (蔣勳), bought at Bleu & Book (青鳥書店) in Taipei: his record of life in Wan’an, Chishang, in Taitung.

A Basque summer scene between rain and celebration.

Through the gate into Noël au Jardin, snow on the ground.

The violin and the chemistry bench.

The Literary Sandbox (文學基地) bookshelves.

A Semana Grande moment in Donostia.

Fairy lights on young firs in fresh snow.

Portraits crowding a green wall at the Sherlock Holmes Museum.

The Japanese-era houses of the Taipei Literature Base.

A lit Christmas tree among the market chalets.

A copy of The Times beside the inkwell.

A blue market chalet beside the bandstand.

The window of Daunt Books on Marylebone High Street.

The calligraphy sign of Taipei Main Station.

The oak galleries and skylight of Daunt Books.

Lines of poetry along the underground passage of Taipei Main Station.

A chandelier of lights hung in a bare winter tree.

Poetry along the walls beneath Taipei Main Station.

Signposts to the artisans, the kids' corner and the Christmas pub.

The Notting Hill Bookshop, a blue Mini parked outside.

Poetry along the walls beneath Taipei Main Station.

A Cantabrian coastal detail.

An old carousel turning in the snow.

Poetry along the walls beneath Taipei Main Station.

Noël au Jardin spelled out in lights under a great tree.

Poetry along the walls beneath Taipei Main Station.

A hay cart wrapped in fairy lights.

Poetry along the walls beneath Taipei Main Station.

Snow on the chalet roofs, warm bulbs beneath.

Poetry along the walls beneath Taipei Main Station.

Stone, sea and a northern Spanish summer.

The carousel and the big tree, both glowing.

A wall of old cameras at the V&A Photography Centre.

Poems on wooden boards along the fence of the Taipei Literature Base.

Poems on wooden boards along the fence of the Taipei Literature Base.

Paper stars glowing in a market stall.

Poems on wooden boards along the fence of the Taipei Literature Base.

An old wagon in the snow, lit for Christmas.

Readers’ notes hung on strings at the Taipei Literature Base.

A fire burning inside an iron globe.

The carousel lit up as night falls on the market.

Stone, sea and a northern Spanish summer.

Warm light under the market awnings.

A street photographer and his old wooden camera in Santillana del Mar.

Skewers roasting over an open fire.

The Christmas pub glowing under its strings of lights.

Signposts on the South Bank: National Theatre, Hayward Gallery, Royal Festival Hall.

A tall Christmas tree by the lake, the city lit behind it.

The second-hand book market under Waterloo Bridge.

The Noël au Jardin sign at night, the lake beyond.

PEACE in six languages, written in light.

A gilded table clock behind glass at the Patek Philippe Museum.

The red carpet of the BFI London Film Festival.

Pocket watches laid open like small planets.

Welcome to the BFI London Film Festival 2025.

A gold pocket watch, holding the sky, the calendar and the hours in one hand.

A blue star chart inside a gold watch case.

Member-state flags flying at CERN.

CERN's Globe of Science and Innovation under the flags.

Ptolemy's epicycles etched in steel at CERN.

Old glassware and curios at a market stall.

A carousel turning in the Place du Bourg-de-Four, autumn overhead.

The Flower Clock in the Jardin Anglais.

Paddington Bear waiting at Paddington Station, before the train to Oxford.

Xueshi Street in the rain.

Two cats napping on a terrazzo step.

Two fluffy cats exploring the terrazzo at Lindu Nuancun.

The cats again, one keeping watch, one turning to look.

An old wall of stacked tiles and jars.

A poem painted on a whitewashed wall at Lindu Nuancun.

An old wall built from stacked tiles and clay jars.

The Suzhou Museum’s white rooflines in late sun, against a deep blue sky.

The Suzhou Museum’s white geometry against a blue sky.

The Suzhou Museum's geometry glowing pink at dusk.

Museum rooflines stacked like a mountain painting.

Red lanterns scattered through the dark like embers.

One big red lantern among many small ones.

The Gate of the Orient across Jinji Lake, after dark.

Years written in tall red banners down a stairway.

Market day in Pisac.

Feathered headdresses for the festival.

The whole town in the plaza.

Weavers gathering in Chinchero.

Pingjiang Road after rain: a lane where the water keeps the sky close.

Shantang Street: one bridge, then another, and the canal carrying the evening on.

A white line at the Suzhou Museum, drawn against the weather.

The Twin Pagodas at Dinghui Temple, when the year begins to turn gold.

A small note from home, kept for the exhibition wall.

At the Master of the Nets Garden, the smallest view holds the whole season.

Shengjiaxu on Shangyuan night: lantern light learns the shape of water.

Yipu Garden, where a white wall makes room for a branch to speak.

The first full moon is never only above the roofs; it is also in the canal.

Yipu Garden keeps its green in the pauses between stone and shade.

At the Suzhou Museum, geometry softens into a mountain range.

Shiquan Street: the old city seen at walking pace.

Red ivy climbing a weathered garden wall, autumn written in a few lines.

Dinghui Temple’s Twin Pagodas, held in the quieter light of autumn.

Autumn pauses between the Twin Pagodas; even the air seems to keep still.

The angle of Xu Yang’s scroll Prosperous Suzhou: old Gusu roofs in front, the towers of Suzhou Industrial Park behind.

Yipu Garden: spring does not announce itself; it gathers in corners.

A Polaroid of the street to Changmen, the old gate tower waiting at its end.

Suzhou Museum, a memory of old roofs translated into white geometry.

The Twin Pagodas make a compass for the autumn streets.

Autumn’s last warm page, pressed into the city’s old stone.

The Gate of the Orient wears Van Gogh’s Starry Night in light, and the lake gives it back as a second sky.

A branch of wintersweet by the temple wall, blooming quietly in the cold.