We’ve featured a lot of awesome car culture content from Halcyon over the years, but his latest offering, ‘The Chinese Car Scene: Behind the Firewall | iAcro Shanghai’ is one of his most ambitious projects yet.
Anthony Purcell of Halcyon, tells us more…
When it comes to car culture from Asia, the first thing that comes to mind for most people is Japan. Perhaps Thailand and Indonesia as well. But behind the great firewall of China’s internet is a culture of cars and people that rarely sees the light of day. In 2015, I was sent to Shanghai, China by AccuAir Suspension to capture an event hosted by iAcrophobia, a Chinese based car group with chapters around the globe.
This film was originally supposed to be uploaded to the AccuAir channel, and for various reasons, they held off on releasing it. With the recent news of them closing down, I knew this content couldn’t stay hidden forever, and wanted to get it out for all of you guys and the people of iAcro.
This footage is now 4 and a half years old, and while far comparable from my current work, I hope you enjoy a peek into the universal language that is a love for car culture. When I arrived at the show, this universal language was all I needed to communicate with the enthusiasts at the show. Their passion and love for cars are just the same as anywhere else I have been. It was an experience I will never forget.
In China, you can not access major western websites and social media, like Instagram and Facebook, without the use of a VPN. Even with one, connections are slow and unreliable. With the lack of social media, everyone’s engagements with each other felt more pure, genuine, and less about displaying their own experience out to others, and more just about enjoying the moment. This most definitely will not be my last time documenting the Chinese car scene. Hit play and enjoy!
