Silk robes, pinned hair, a stone wall at your back

Stone thresholds, chess clicks, and narrow lane light

Raw slices hit the boil; the table talks for hours

Gaiwan steam, bamboo chairs, and mahjong clatter

Your lunch descends on four rotors

Flat bamboo raft, limestone walls, slow green water.

Bamboo stalks crack under heavy paws in the cool morning

Blue glow through carved ice walls in minus-twenty air

Pedal 13.7 km of Ming rampart above the rooftops

Stone-gate alleys by day, river light by dusk

Steam curls off bamboo tiers, one small plate at a time

Ride the shoreline path, brake for gardens and tea houses