Steam and Sizzle, Shenzhen Night

Steam and Sizzle, Shenzhen Night

They called it Operation Shenzhen Nights. Corentin and Paul had planned it with the enthusiasm of five-year-olds at a zoo — a night out in Shenzhen, no concert, no schedule, just the city.

We took the tube across town, red lanterns swaying overhead for Chinese New Year, and emerged into organised chaos. Street food stalls everywhere. Skewers of chicken, octopus, and things I decided not to look at too closely. Scorpions and crickets were offered. I drew the line there. Some adventures have limits.

But the steam rising from the food stalls against the neon-lit night — the sizzle and smoke and smell of a city that never quite stops — that was something else entirely. I had my camera out and I wasn't putting it down.

Shenzhen at night is a city in perpetual motion. Young, electric, completely alive. Standing there amid the chaos — nearly 53 years old, gammy knee and all — I felt something I hadn't expected. Completely present. Completely there.

What happens on tour stays on tour. But some images deserve a wall.

Shot on Fujifilm X100F — Shenzhen, China, December 2024