SIA Inspiration: Huang Binhong

Posted: August 31, 2026 | Author: Salazar | Filed under: Style Imitating Art | 1 Comment

Welcome to another week of SIA! This week, it’s my turn to host, and here’s my pick:

This is a landscape by Huang Binhong, the Chinese painter whose statue I saw at West Lake in Hangzhou. I know we just had a neutral artwork with Shelbee’s pick last week, but I wanted something to commemorate my recent China trip, and the ink wash painting really reminded me of how West Lake looked when we were there – all washed out in shades of gray and blue, but there was a stark beauty to it as well. You can see more of Huang Binhong’s paintings here. So get inspired, put together an outfit, and send them to me by Tuesday, September 8th. Have fun!

Zhejiang Diary #4: Hangzhou

Posted: August 28, 2026 | Author: Salazar | Filed under: Life, Travel | Tags: china, hangzhou, photography, travel, zhejiang | 2 Comments

The morning we left Shanghai for Hangzhou, it started raining, and the rain got heavier and heavier while we were on the highway, and by the time we arrived in Hangzhou, it was coming down buckets. It turned out that Typhoon Dolphin had just made landfall right in the middle of Zhejiang. Hangzhou was supposed to be the highlight of our tour, with a visit to its two famous lakes (West Lake and Qingshan Lake aka Matcha Lake), but as everything was shut down, my memories of Hangzhou consist of the insides of an outlet mall and the rain-drenched ancient street of Hafeng, where we had to constantly duck into shops to avoid the rain.

Hafeng Street in the rain

The next day, the rain let off a bit, and thankfully we were able to walk around West Lake (the boat cruise was still grounded, though), so at least we got a taste of Hangzhou. It wasn’t perfect, but at least it was something, and the rain lent the lake a certain moody charm, like an ink wash painting.

The road toward West Lake

The statue of Huang Binhong, an artist who was born in Zhejiang and spent most of his time in Hangzhou

Then, with the rain coming down again, we spent the rest of the day in another mall until it’s time to head to the airport. Now, if I’d been traveling on my own, I would’ve found a museum or something to while away the time, but as I was bound by the group tour’s schedule, I had to go along (not that many museums were open. Even a coffee shop my friend wanted to check out was shut!) The trip ended on a bit of a bummer, but I guess it leaves something for next time! (Plus, we were super fortunate that we got out of Shanghai when we did, because by the end of that day, the city was completely flooded, the highway got shut down, and all flights were cancelled. So it was a blessing in disguise.)

Zhejiang Diary #3: Shanghai’s Old City

Posted: August 26, 2026 | Author: Salazar | Filed under: Life, Travel | Tags: china, photography, shanghai, travel, zhejiang | 2 Comments

Our second day in Shanghai was a free day, meaning we were free to wander around instead of going with the tour group. The tour is designed this way so people can go to Disneyland Shanghai if they so wish – it’s not covered by the tour package – but since neither my friend nor I were big on Disney, we chose to travel around Shanghai instead.

First, we walked along a lovely riverside path from our hotel to the subway station, watching the locals take their morning exercises along the way.

It’s called the Luijiazui Water Loop, and this particular section goes past Zhangjiabang River

Then we arrived at Tianzifang in the French Concession area, an arts and crafts enclave. It reminds me a lot of the Hanoi Old Quarter with its tiny alleys crammed full of boutiques, shops, bars, and restaurants, and mix of French and traditional Chinese architecture.

If it weren’t for the Chinese signs and the plane trees, you’d think this was Hang Bong Street in Hanoi

White Rabbit, a famous candy brand in Shanghai

From there, we visited Yu Garden, a garden residence first built during the Ming dynasty (16th century) (we were there the night before, but only saw the attached Tourist Mart). It’s absolutely beautiful (so much greenery! I could only imagine how beautiful it must be in the spring/fall) but so crowded, so after walking around once, we escaped to the subway again and went to check in at Wukang Mansion, a historic apartment building that has been the residence of many Chinese celebrities.

And of course, I found the local cat

The building is nice, but we had a lot more fun walking down the leafy side streets and looking at the old houses there (these include the former residence of Soong Ching-ling, which is open to the public, but unfortunately, tickets were sold out by the time we arrived, so we could only stand outside looking in).

We also went into Jiao Tong University (locals can register to visit as long as the number of visitors doesn’t exceed campus capacity, but as it is summer, we just snuck past the security guard anyway) and had a pleasant walk around the historic campus.

Finally, we ended the day with a visit to the St. Ignatius Cathedral, also known as Xujiahui Catholic Church, before returning to the hotel by subway. All in all, it was a thoroughly enjoyable day, and I greatly appreciated the chance to walk around and see how the locals really live – it’s always my favorite part of traveling, but you don’t always get it on a group tour.

Wild & Free

Posted: August 24, 2026 | Author: Salazar | Filed under: Clothes, Style Imitating Art | Tags: beige, beige clogs, brown, brown gingham skirt, style imitating art, white linen embroidered dress | 2 Comments

Here’s my outfit for this week’s SIA, inspired by Sila Gur‘s embroidered artwork, “Wild & Free”. I immediately knew I’d wear this dress-turned-tunic, because the linen and the embrodeired mimosa blossoms are perfect for the artwork. For the bottom, I went with this gingham skirt both for the color and the texture, and same with my clogs. I don’t have a straw hat (I used to have a straw boater that would be perfect for this, but it got too old and beat-up so I threw it away ages ago), so the gingham would have to stand in place of that. Still, I’m happy with how the outfit turned out. I can’t wait to see what everybody else wears!

Zhejiang Diary #2: Shanghai’s Financial District

Posted: August 21, 2026 | Author: Salazar | Filed under: Life, Travel | Tags: china, photography, shanghai, travel, zhejiang | 2 Comments

(Yes, I know technically Shanghai doesn’t belong in Zhejiang, but it borders the province, which is why I grouped it into the same area.)

After leaving Puyuan, we went to Shanghai and arrived straight in Lujiazui, the city’s financial district. The contrast with the sleepy Puyuan could not be starker. Here, we were confronted with some of the tallest skyscrapers in the world, including the Oriental Pearl Tower, Shanghai Tower, and Shanghai World Financial Center (or, as our tour guide called them, the Sword, the Egg-Beater, and the Bottle Opener 😂). Honestly, just standing on the ground looking up was enough to trigger my fear of heights.

Of course we had to take a touristy photo

The famous Louis Vuitton ship installation

You have no idea how dizzying it was filming this time lapse

We spent most of the afternoon window-shopping at the luxury malls before seeking refuge at the Jade Buddha Temple (unfortunately, the Temple doesn’t allow photos inside the hall, where the famous Buddha statues are on display) and shopping (for real this time) for souvenirs in the nearby Yuyuan Tourist Mart (we would be coming back to the area the next day).

I did get a photo of the cat though :))

A piece of street art that reminds me of the album cover for Snow Patrol’s Wildness, and the skyline of Shanghai as seen from The Bund

Yuyuan Tourist Mart

Then, in the evening, we take a boat cruise on the Huangpu River to watch Shanghai all lit up – even though I’m not a big city person, I have to admit it is a very impressive sight. Times Square/NYC has nothing on it!