A city, a roll of film | Nanning

A long-held but unfulfilled idea was to travel to a city with a film camera and capture its unique atmosphere. I chose Nanning as my first stop. In the past, every trip home had been solely focused on the authentic local noodles, never truly exploring the city. This time, I tried a different approach, strolling through Nanning's street corners or riding a yellow convertible bike (occasionally switching to a blue one) through the alleys, trying to discover a different side of Nanning in the wind. Looking up, sunlight filtered through the gnarled branches. After filling my stomach with a bowl of two ounces of freshly squeezed rice noodles downstairs from my apartment, I headed to Zaoguang Bookstore. Every street and alley exuded a languid charm; the bookstore's pleasant atmosphere had made it a must-visit; the mahjong games played by the elderly women on the street were a unique and vibrant part of the old city; afternoons on Nanhu Lake, strolling, enjoying the scenery, and boating (a friend joked that the photos looked like Robinson Crusoe) – all became precious moments captured on film. For my last meal, I went back to the little shop downstairs. A rice noodle roll brimming with filling, coated in yellow bean sauce, filled my mouth—it felt like all the relaxation from the entire trip was sealed in that one bite. Back in Macau, I made a special trip to a friend's shop to develop this roll of film myself. It was actually something I did back during the National Day holiday, but I kept putting it off until now, finally unfolding this entire roll of my story with Nanning.