Tip on making a trip awesome: developing a “false” nostalgic feeling for the place. The German word “Fernweh” is probably the only word that perfectly describes such feeling. I know every year millions of people go to climb that great wall of China, take selfies with chairman Mao on Tiananmen square and visit the Forbidden city. My trip to Beijing, however, was totally personal. For a few years I had chosen Beijing as my spiritual hometown, though that Beijing was only an idealistic symbol based on novels, poems, some movies and punk rock, and my imagination. Nevertheless, my trip turned out a very psychedelic experience. It feels like going back in time: lots of things that became extinct later in my Childhood magically reappeared, and the kids I encountered were all like me. Believe it or not, Chinese culture is very psychedelic.
I took with me the old film camera which my family used 10 years ago. I only brought two rolls of film and I knew half of the result would be a failure. Through these unintentional shots, I recovered my alternate personal history: growing up with ancient culture not too distant from real life, listening to the newest punk sounds from the underground and experiencing the weakness of individuals on the Square. Now, my relationship with Beijing is finished, I had to look for another one to play the fernweh game.
And I also got inspirations for decorating my guitar.
by PangLu23, featuring my friend Olivia and Tsing Dao beer
