Shanghai: Childhood Joy in an Inflatable Castle | 20 Nov 2022

Описание: 20 November 2022. Shanghai. A children's play area in a residential compound.

An inflatable castle, brightly colored, standing in the open space. A group of children inside—jumping, bouncing, climbing, rolling. Some laughing loudly, some screaming with joy, some falling without crying, getting up to jump again.

The sun was just right. The inflatable warm to the touch. The children's cheeks flushed pink.
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Watching them, I remembered a saying:

When we are young, happiness is a simple thing.
When we grow up, simplicity is a happy thing.

They don‘t know this saying. They just jump. From one corner to another, rolling from one end of the castle to the other. When tired, they pause to catch their breath, then jump again.
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Elderly people sat on nearby benches, chatting while watching. Young mothers held up phones, taking photos for their朋友圈. A father crouched with arms wide open, waiting to catch his child sliding down from the castle top.

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Where do we begin to understand a city?

We begin with its landmarks—the Bund, Lujiazui, Nanjing Road.

And we begin with its residential playgrounds—with the jumping silhouettes in inflatable castles, with the Shanghainese chatter of elderly on benches, with the clicks of young parents‘ cameras.

A city is not only skyscrapers and traffic.
It is also these small, concrete moments of happiness—happening right now.
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I stood there for a long time that day, filming over ten minutes. Not because the scene was exceptional. But because the happiness was so full it spilled beyond the frame—full enough to make a bystander want to smile too.

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2022年11月20日，上海。某小区的儿童乐园。一个充气的城堡，五颜六色的，立在小区空地上。一群小朋友在里面跳、蹦、爬、滚。有的大笑，有的尖叫，有的摔倒了也不哭，爬起来继续跳。

阳光正好。气垫被晒得暖暖的。孩子们的脸蛋红扑扑的。
———
看着他们，想起一句话：

小时候，快乐是一件简单的事情。
长大后，简单是一件快乐的事情。

他们不知道这句话。他们只是跳着。从这个角跳到那个角，从气垫城堡的这头滚到那头。跳累了，就趴着喘气，然后继续跳。
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老人们坐在旁边的长椅上，一边聊天一边看着。年轻的妈妈拿着手机拍照，发朋友圈。有个爸爸蹲在地上，张开双臂，等孩子从城堡顶上滑下来接住他。
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我们可以从何处开始了解一座城市？

从它的地标开始——外滩、陆家嘴、南京路。

也从它的小区儿童乐园开始——从气垫城堡里那些跳跃的身影，从老人们闲聊的上海话，从年轻父母按快门的声音开始。

城市不只是高楼大厦、车水马龙。
也是这些小小的、具体的、正在发生的快乐。
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那天我在那里站了很久，录了十几分钟。不是因为画面多特别，是因为那种快乐太满了，满到溢出屏幕，满到让站在旁边的人也想跟着笑。
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#慢下来看世界 #记录你身边的声音 #应该从哪里开始了解一座城市 #藏在身边的绝美光影 #万物生长#我在故宫修文物#如果国宝会说话#总有些生命为治愈你而来 #野蛮生长的快乐 #治愈