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HEXplore - Trashhand in China

August 08, 2019

Surprisingly this is my first trip to China.The first photo I saw on Instagram that inspired to me to start shooting was a photo of Hong Kong. I imagined I would’ve been here by now but here we are, 8 years later.. As far as “we” goes, I went with my father, who’s 76 and loves to travel more than ever. I haven’t lived at home since I was 17 so it’s amazing to go on these trips together and connect. We went to Beijing, Xi’an, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Chongqing, and even did a quick stop in Tibet over the span of 23 days. Even took a 4 days cruise down the Yangtze River.

Every city had incredible futuristic architecture and each building came alive at night. Sometimes whole blocks were lit in unison presenting beautiful light shows at night from a distance. All of the architecture, neon signs, red cabs, and amazing food had me hyped the entire trip. There was too much to capture in too little time. Yes, 23 days was not enough.

A highlight of the trip for me was visiting the Terracotta Army in Xi’an because of the amazing detail of each warrior and size of the total collection. The whole site was completely mind blowing. We were the first group to arrive that day so the tour felt private and intimate. The main room was quiet so it felt a bit eerie, couldn’t have been better.

I look forward to coming back to China. So much more in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Chongqing. I’m also hoping to go to Shenzhen and Guangzhou on my next trip. To see more of my work from this trip, check out Instagram - @trashhand.

Listen to our podcast with Trashhand recorded live at our Downtown Los Angeles store HERE