A camera, a pen, and a story to tell: Peter Waddell’s life in Hangzhou

Peter Waddell has a new story out. This one might catch you by surprise: it’s horror.Peter Waddell

An excerpt from Peter’s Under the Shadow of the Moon

The self-taught South African writer, who now lives in Hangzhou, recently published Under the Shadow of the Moon in the American online magazine Flash Phantoms. The idea came to him during a visit to Xizi Carnival in Hangzhou.

Step into that story and you’ll find a dark world where you’re never quite sure what might happen next. Then pick up one of his poems, and you may wonder if it was written by the same Peter. To Peter, the two sides need not be at odds. Life, after all, has room for more than one kind of story.

A painting by Lee-Anne and the poem it inspired Peter to write

His relationship with Hangzhou has grown in ways he could not have planned, either. At first, it was where his wife’s work had brought them—a new place to make a home. In time, he discovered a Hangzhou all his own.

How It Began 

Before coming to China, Peter worked as a diesel fitter in South Africa. Photography had always interested him, but between a full-time job and limited equipment, there was only so much he could do with it. Writing was even less a part of his life then.

Then an opportunity came along for his wife, Lee-Anne, who loves teaching. Her work took her to China, first to Weihai and later to Hangzhou, and Peter came with her. He could hardly have known then how much room photography and writing would come to occupy in his days here. They have now lived in Hangzhou for five years.

In China, Peter finally had more time to take photographs. The camera got him out of the house and looking closely at what was around him. Before long, he found himself wondering whether there was more he wanted to say about a scene than a photograph alone could show. From there, writing began to follow.

A portrait of Peter by an artist he met at an art museum

Stories Along the Way

How many pictures can one person take of the same bridge? Ask Peter, and the answer is: quite a few.
“It’s the same bridge, but each is very different and tells a new story,” he says. It is a way of getting to know Hangzhou: not by seeing everything at once, but by coming back for another look.

Sometimes he goes back through stories he has written over the years and discovers a fresh idea in an old draft. Other times, he simply needs to leave his desk behind for a while and let his thoughts wander.

Click to watch Peter explore Linping Mountain for inspiration

Filmed with Peter at Linping Park on October 22

One stretch beside the Qiantang River has become one of his favourite cycling route. Peter calls it “Road to Nowhere.”He likes the cool shade and the quiet; there, he says, you can think about almost anything. In May 2026, he even wrote both a poem and a prose piece about the road.

Peter’s poem about Road to Nowhere

A New Chapter in Print

On November 14, 2024, Peter’s writing appeared in Hangzhoufeel’s English-language newspaper.“I was estatic when I saw Thunderstruck in the newspaper,” he says. “I was so happy that my writing was good enough for the newspaper. I still have the copy of that edition of the paper. It is one of my prized possessions.”

Peter’s article in Hangzhoufeel's English-language newspaperpublished on November 14, 2024

But the paper means more to him than a fond memory. “It most definitely made me think more about where to publish and what to publish,” Peter says. “It was a turning point in my writing.”
He is still writing and submitting his work. Several more pieces have recently appeared in Flash Phantoms. So far, he has published 14 books connected by the title The Ramblings of an Old Man, as well as three poetry collections. Behind all that work is an enthusiasm for writing that has never faded. If he wakes at three in the morning, he may simply get up and write until sunrise. Later, he can still head out on his bicycle. A bridge or a quiet stretch of road may yet turn up on the page in a form he never expected.
Peter did not come to Hangzhou with a plan to become a writer. But over five years, he has found favourite routes for his camera, quiet places to return to, and the thrill of having his work read and appreciated here. Hangzhou has never had to choose between his tender poems and his horror stories. It has simply given him plenty of reasons to go out, look around and keep creating.

For a place called “Road to Nowhere,” Peter is happy to keep going back. Perhaps that is how a city becomes yours: you arrive, then find yourself returning to certain places, collecting things you want to write about—and meeting people who want to read them.
Source: Hangzhoufeel