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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05 · 10 · 2026 · Parque das Nações · Wooden pier beside the Vasco da Gama Bridge · Sam Wang
LIFE NOTE
Anglers V
Beside the great bridge at the northern end of Parque das Nações, the anglers are holding their positions on the wooden pier.
Some lean on the railing, some stand with their hands on their hips, some watch the water, scouting for the enemy. Their weapons are lined up along both sides; an electric scooter is parked nearby too.
The bridge stretches into the distance, the water glints; whether the fish have arrived, there is no telling.
“A dark cloud has hidden the sun;”
I CHING READINGOpen another reading
Hexagram 5
Classic text · interpretive translationXu · Waiting
Clouds above in the sky: Waiting. Thus the noble person eats, drinks and enjoys good company. — Zhou Yi · Xu, Image
The Image takes clouds in the sky as a figure of waiting. On the pier, the rods, equipment and everyone’s positions are ready, but what lies underwater remains unseen. That is the humour in describing the scene as a well-planned military operation: much can be prepared on shore, but the anglers cannot command the fish to arrive.
The Image continues with eating, drinking and enjoying good company. Those who wait still have a life, without staking every moment on the outcome. Read through this pier, leaning on the railing, standing and watching the water are part of the time spent here too. A cloud hiding the sun changes the visible light; the note does not answer for what is happening beneath the water.
Reading in briefPositions secured; beneath the water, things remain unknown.I Am a Fish · 我是一只鱼
Richie JenOne vote per browser per version; change or withdraw it anytime. Votes are for the author’s reference.
Richie Jen’s “I Am a Fish” briefly shifts the viewpoint of this reconnaissance on shore. The song uses a fish as a metaphor for love; here, it adds a little joke between the anglers and the fish.
Quality adapts to your connection. You can select HD in the player settings.Player not working? Open the original video ↗READER ECHOES
Waiting for your voiceWhat stays with you here?
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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