01 · 28 · 08 · 2026 · South of the Expo districtPINNED
Performer
The platform outlined in red looks so fragile—like a footnote to walking on thin ice in life.
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ENGLISH EDITION
Let it be,without forcing it;
Memoirs of a Chinese restaurateur in Portugal, read through life’s changes and the I Ching.
HALF A LIFETIME OF NOTES
Let it be,without forcing it;
If you can make ‘creation’ as natural as breathing, it is not because intention is absent; it is because all intention has already dissolved into the breath.Sam Wang
Two parts, twelve moments.
A life told through choices, losses and changes rather than a résumé.
Necessity brings change.
From arriving in Lisbon to the Madrid expansion, family, and the pandemic.
Change opens the way.
A new digital beginning with XIAOXIONG®.
The city passes.
Memory remains.
Photographs and short texts about Lisbon, restaurants, architecture, and the moments that do not fit inside the chapters.
90 translated notes · English edition
02 · 06 · 10 · 2026 · Parque das Nações · Oceanarium
Oceanarium II
“The oceanarium sheds the bustle of the day and returns to quiet;”
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03 · 06 · 10 · 2026 · Parque das Nações · Beside the oceanarium
Little Stream
“In the lower-left corner, the shadow holds up a phone;”
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04 · 06 · 10 · 2026 · Parque das Nações · Lisbon Oceanarium
Oceanarium
“In the distance, two cable cars glide towards the end of the line;”
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05 · 05 · 10 · 2026 · Parque das Nações · Vasco da Gama Shopping Centre
Nightfall
“Beneath the streetlights, a family passes, seen from behind;”
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06 · 05 · 10 · 2026 · Parque das Nações · Tagus riverside
Low Tide II
“The sky, so blue;”
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27 · 08 · 2026 · Nanjing 1912 district · Sam Wang
LIFE NOTE
Childlike Joy
At the top of the photograph is the unmistakable ‘1912’ neon sign—Nanjing 1912 district.
1912 marks the year Sun Yat-sen proclaimed the founding of the Provisional Government of the Republic of China in Nanjing.
A fountain full of colours, an innocent smiling face — pure, bright, heartwarming. On Dabao’s trip back to China, this visit to Nanjing seems to have left her with memories of truly being there.
“The best moments may be nothing more than laughing without the slightest guard;”
I CHING READINGOpen another reading
Hexagram 58
Classic text · interpretive translationDui · Joy
Dui is joy: firm within and yielding without; joy benefits from constancy. — Zhou Yi · Dui, Commentary on the Judgment
Dui’s joy circulates and has its moment. The father finds comfort in the smile; the child’s lived happiness belongs first to her. The photograph holds two distinct experiences.
Keeping the smile need not make it stand for all childhood. Allowing other expressions and preferences prevents recorded happiness from becoming an obligation.
Reading in briefTreasure this smile, and welcome other expressions.Childhood · 童年
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That smile by the fountain—I can still see Dabao as a little girl;
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Author 04
RESTAURANTS · ARCHITECTURE · HISTORY · I CHING
Half a lifetime
of notes
Hello, I’m Wang Sanxiong — Sam 🤝
The book’s epigraph is my motto, and the starting point for how I understand life, restaurants, and entrepreneurship.
I am a Chinese immigrant living in Portugal, originally from Qingtian, Zhejiang, and a restaurant owner. I love architecture and the history behind it; I love the I Ching, and use Eastern wisdom to interpret the stories hidden behind history.
A battle for small and medium-sized restaurants to reclaim their own customer channels;
The second half of life should be more exciting than the first — that is only reasonable;
【XIAOXIONG®】
XIAOXIONG®; it is not an advertisement in this book. It is proof that, in the second half of life, I am still willing to change.
FOUNDER OF XIAOXIONGWang Sanxiong · Sam Wang