{"product_id":"reflections-on-the-canal","title":"Reflections on the Canal","description":"\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReflections on the Canal — Shao Xing, China\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eIt was one of the last mornings of the tour. The parenthesis, as I'd come to think of it, was beginning to close.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eMy colleagues had discovered a hidden residential quarter the evening before — the kind of place that doesn't appear in guidebooks. Round entrances leading to inner courtyards. Red lanterns going up for Chinese New Year. Fish drying under the rafters. Boats drifting on ancient canals.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eI was told to turn left outside the hotel, walk ten minutes, and I couldn't miss it. Which is, of course, exactly the kind of direction I usually do miss. Not that morning.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eThe quarter was just waking up as I arrived, camera in hand — my wife having specifically asked me to remember to shoot in colour this time. People were clearing their throats, eating their rice for breakfast, mopeds carrying their passengers gently to work. The canals reflected the old white walls and tiled rooftops in the still morning water.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eIt was authentic China. Not the gleaming towers of Shenzhen. The China that has existed for centuries and quietly continues to exist, unhurried and completely itself.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eI didn't want to leave.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eShot on Fujifilm X100F — Shao Xing, China, January 2025\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"IJM Photography","offers":[{"title":"30 x 45 cm \/ Floater Frame","offer_id":57219985703295,"sku":"7-32141602-300000-450000","price":279.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"30 x 45 cm \/ Photo Print Under Acrylic Glass","offer_id":57219985736063,"sku":"4-32141602-300000-450000","price":159.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"30 x 45 cm \/ Photo Print On Fuji Crystal DP II","offer_id":57220427678079,"sku":"1-32141602-300000-450000","price":69.75,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0966\/7847\/8207\/files\/17a2a607-9891-48ef-a7c8-5208b11b44f4.png?v=1774535515","url":"https:\/\/shop.ijmphotography.net\/products\/reflections-on-the-canal","provider":"IJM Photography","version":"1.0","type":"link"}