Pictures of 2023
Contents
The year 2023 stands like a milestone dividing one life from another—behind me, plateaus and snow-covered mountains; ahead, grasslands and the sea.
The Last Sunset of 2022
Gongshu Canal Sports Park
31 DEC 2022
Xihu District • Hangzhou • Zhejiang • China
The last light of 2022 was about to disappear. Looking back quietly over the year, I found it filled with pain, hardship and despair. The queues for COVID tests in the summer heat already seemed distant, gradually slipping from sight and memory.
New Year’s Day 2023
Liuhe Pagoda
01 JAN 2023
Xihu District • Hangzhou • Zhejiang • China
On New Year’s Day, Hangzhou had not yet fully recovered from the wave of infections that followed the sudden end of pandemic restrictions. Liuhe Pagoda had long been somewhere I wanted to visit but could never “find the time” for. On the first day of 2023, I finally climbed it. Built long ago to subdue the Qiantang River’s tidal bore, the pagoda has watched Hangzhou rise and fall through many periods of its history.
A Final Visit to Alibaba’s Xixi Campus
Alibaba Headquarters — Xixi Campus
11 JAN 2023
Yuhang District • Hangzhou • Zhejiang • China
What I found hardest to leave at Alibaba was the Xixi campus. Spring brought flowers, summer the sound of cicadas, autumn red leaves and winter snow. It was a place that always made me want to linger. For the sake of this beautiful garden, I hoped Alibaba could move beyond its negativity in the new year and regain its momentum.
Farewell, My Trusty Companion
Jiaxing Used Car Market
16 JAN 2023
Nanhu District • Jiaxing • Zhejiang • China
This Honda Accord, nearly twenty years old, was my first car. I bought it at a court auction on 6 June 2018. Over five years, it traveled with me through Jiangsu, Fujian, Jiangxi and Zhejiang, and along mountain roads all across Hangzhou. But time passes and every song must end. It was time to say goodbye.
The Four-Wheel Drive Lays Down Its Armor
Black Ant Automotive Workshop
07 FEB 2023
Wuzhong District • Suzhou • Jiangsu • China
Vehicle modification still occupies a gray area in China. Before leaving this four-wheel drive, which had accompanied me on so many adventures, in a friend’s care, I needed to return its suspension and bumpers to factory condition. I liked the owner of this Suzhou workshop for his skill, warmth and enduring enthusiasm for modified cars. A four-wheel drive is more than transportation; it carries a way of life.
Until We Meet Again, Alibaba
Alibaba Cloud Valley Campus
09 FEB 2023
Xihu District • Hangzhou • Zhejiang • China
From 16 October 2017 to 9 February 2023: 1,942 days, the longest chapter of my working life. I had imagined countless ways I might leave. In the end, it happened suddenly, as though I had not yet had time to prepare for an ending.
The Road Home
China National Highway 310
14 FEB 2023
Weiyuan County • Dingxi • Gansu • China
Under normal conditions, the drive from Hangzhou to Xining takes only two days. Heavy snow across western China and highway closures stretched the journey to four. The three days I had planned to spend at home became a single night. I reached Xining on the evening of 14 February and flew back to Hangzhou the following day.
My Last Night in Hangzhou
West Lake, Hangzhou
16 FEB 2023
Shangcheng District • Hangzhou • Zhejiang • China
Leaving a place where I had lived for seven years was not easy. My feelings were complicated, words failed me, and the memories remained beautiful.
Advance Australia Fair
Sydney
18 FEB 2023
Greater Sydney • NSW • Australia
As the plane descended, the Harbour Bridge and Opera House appeared together outside the window. It was my first journey abroad, and I felt both excited and nervous. The unknown and the challenges ahead filled me with anticipation.
First Day on the Job
Sydney CBD
20 FEB 2023
Sydney • NSW • Australia
This was my second time joining Amazon Web Services; the first had been a short internship in 2015. The standard software engineer’s welcome kit was a MacBook and headphones. Unlike Alibaba, it also included a USB security key for authentication.
An Oversized Delivery
Home
31 DEC 2023
Greater Sydney • NSW • Australia
After ninety days in transit and customs clearance, the belongings shipped from Hangzhou finally reached Sydney. Moving between countries takes time and effort. My employer covered the full cost, and professional movers came to pack everything, but sorting and inventorying it all still demanded a great deal of work. Fortunately, every item arrived safely, with nothing damaged or lost.
A First Taste of Buying a Car
Highlands Garage
15 APR 2023
Mittagong • NSW • Australia
Believing I knew enough about cars, and with remote support from the owner of the Suzhou workshop, I began searching for a used one. The dealer warmly suggested that we take a test drive to Berrima, fourteen kilometers away, without even recording our contact details. After mistakenly driving along a stretch of corrugated dirt road, we returned with the license plate shaken into this condition.
Dream Car — Pajero
Somewhere
22 APR 2023
Somewhere • NSW • Australia
The Pajero, winner of seven consecutive Dakar Rallies, is one of my dream cars. Production has ended, but there are still plenty of them in Australia. The previous owner was a Pajero enthusiast and had maintained this one beautifully. After inspecting it in person, I could pay the deposit and drive away. In Australia, buying a used car can be almost as simple as buying groceries.
The Capital and Parliament
Parliament House
11 JUN 2023
Canberra • ACT • Australia
Australia classifies its capital, Canberra, as a regional area. It is a small city of only about 400,000 people. Parliament House, a modern building, stands at its center. Unlike the British Parliament, with its House of Lords and House of Commons, Australia has a Senate and a House of Representatives. The head of state is King Charles III, and the Governor-General is appointed to exercise the King’s powers on his behalf.
The Southern Sky
O’Connell
17 JUN 2023
Bathurst • NSW • Australia
This was my first proper look at the stars of the Southern Hemisphere. Unlike in the north, both the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds can be seen with the naked eye, an experience that left me in awe. Here, too, the brilliant center of the Milky Way can be seen stretching across the sky. But the Milky Way season overlaps with the Southern Hemisphere winter, so the spectacle demands some tolerance for cold.
Xining, the Summer Capital, in November
Beside the Huangshui River
2 NOV 2023
Chengxi District • Xining • Qinghai • China
I had not seen Xining in November since finishing high school—more than fifteen years ago. I have photographed this view since I began university, though I do not know how long I will keep returning to it. Of all the photographs I have made here, this was the first to capture the scene in November.
Road Trip
Castlereagh Motor Inn
25 DEC 2023
Gilgandra • NSW • Australia
Magnum photographer Alec Soth’s Charles changed my understanding of the road trip. Until then, I had thought of it simply as travel. Hearing Alec explain the story behind Charles showed me that a road trip need not be about making breathtaking landscape photographs. It can be a search for a particular person or scene—something so distinct that it speaks for a way of life and reveals a deeper meaning within it. I made this photograph at the motel where I stayed during the Christmas holiday, on my first Australian road trip.