It’s been over two years since I was last in Yangjiang and it was nice to spend some time there. My company acquired a knife company about a year ago so I will be spending a lot of time in this seaside city in southern China where most of the world’s knife factories are located.

I planned to spend a weekend at the beach (Zhapo), but left after one night because the hotel was too loud at night (beach-front karaoke and fireworks all night).

The highlight of the Yangjiang trip was a visit to the “compound” of a local art collector that had amazing gardens and multiple houses that he sketched and had built by his private team of construction workers. It’s a 20-year project with no end in sight. The lilies in the photo below are 3 feet (1m) in diameter! Before we left we enjoyed some tea with the owner who showed me a book he published about his houses.