Money, family, communication, and exploring life.
Lessons from seven years in Shanghai:

jaapgrolleman.com/lessons-seve...

Fengcheng (奉城镇) in the rain.

Sometimes I wonder why I like to visit these places, but maybe taking photos is just an excuse to keep looking. But I do also think it’s something valuable.

Today's hike; Shangqing Ancient Road (上青古道) near Shaoxing (绍兴).

More words and pictures:
jaapgrolleman.com/the-empty-ro...

The towns of Luci (芦茨乡), Maoping (茆坪村), and Shishecun (石舍村) today, alongside the Maling Ancient Road (马岭古道).

(This is probably the best hike for Shanghai-based folk.)
jaapgrolleman.com/maling-ancie...

Back to Gaoqiao (高桥) today, with its Guanyin Crown (观音兜) buildings. 42KMs done despite not feeling like exercising ✌️

Notes from an earlier trip: jaapgrolleman.com/gaoqiao-unin...

Changshu (常熟) today, searching for little blessings and tombs.
jaapgrolleman.com/tiramisu-in-...

Taitai: "When my grandmother was still alive, I took her to the first Transformers movie (2007). It was her first time in the cinema. She was so afraid of the screen, and the sounds that she wanted to go outside. I said, “it’s just fake, try it, you’ll get used to it."

A church and 'oil blocks' in Lili (黎里).
jaapgrolleman.com/lili/

I usually shop at the supermarket, everything wrapped with shiny logos or labels. But Eva likes the market — and I’ll agree with her, it doesn’t get fresher than this.
Chuansha (川沙十八铺农产品批发市场).

Friend: “I used to work at a store called JeansWest (真维斯) in Nanjing. I didn’t get any hourly pay, just a percentage of the clothes sold. So customers would ask: “Does this look good?”, I’d always reply “Yeah amazing!” But I always felt the clothes we sold were ugly."