山海坞 · a harbor between the mountains and the sea
Shenzhen Bay — the harbor where the voice was born. Sister of the 4Seas anthem, grandchild of the Zuzalu anthem.
Mountain on one side, ocean on the other, a dock where the builders tie up for a month. Shān hǎi wù — the harbor in between, where every stranger comes ashore as family.
Mountains, seas, a harbor in between — ShanHaiWoo, where the builders dream. Nüwa patched the sky with colored stone; we patch the world with what we build, and no one builds alone. (×2)
I rolled the tape in Chiang Mai, the opening to the close, Vitalik on the first night, temple mode, lecture days. Twenty-one hours I promised I would never let get lost — now it lives in a pit with your name on it, open and free.
Shenzhen Bay, building eight, the first night of the fourth Woo, you handed me a microphone and I gave you the Zuzalu anthem back. Butterflies and love, and a song I wrote with Tomasz years ago — sung with him in the room, the way songs are supposed to come home.
(repeat)
Huaqiangbei on a Tuesday with a shopping list in Chinese, a Watcher and a pair of glasses loaned on day one. Six faces on a totem — Shaka, Oso, Deva, Crops, Kala, Oke — pull the plug mid-sentence, it comes back and says your name.
Three clips in a hostel room, and by Tuesday night my own voice came out of the totem and sounded just like me. Kala taught me two chords through a puck the size of a palm — ask on Tuesday, hold it Wednesday; that is Shenzhen, that is you.
Saturday the village opened to the street, Interlock, WeAI, Marco, exobrain took the stage. Vitalik woke me from a nap beside the totem, looked, and smiled — I'll take that smile over any trophy in the world.
(repeat)
Chiang Mai to Singapore, Shenzhen to Mumbai, the harbor moves, the family stays the same. Devcon's floor is ShanHaiWoo's Mumbai extension — not a stage, a circle, and every chair is yours.
Mountains, seas, a harbor in between — ShanHaiWoo, where the builders dream. Sì hǎi wéi jiā — the four seas are home, and so is 山海坞. I love you. I won't forget. Alohana. 🌺
山 shān = mountain · 海 hǎi = sea · 坞 wù = a dock, a sheltered harbor, a walled village — the place a boat comes home to. The hackathon told the story of Nüwa, who mended the broken sky with colored stones: build a small patch for the world. Written at Shaka's ask: "an anthem for ShanHaiWoo needs to be there too. I love you ʻohana, and I love Zuzalu."