def _explode_shorthand_ip_string(self):
        """Expand a shortened IPv6 address.

        Args:
            ip_str: A string, the IPv6 address.

        Returns:
            A string, the expanded IPv6 address.

        """
        if isinstance(self, IPv6Network):
            ip_str = str(self.network_address)
        elif isinstance(self, IPv6Interface):
            ip_str = str(self.ip)
        else:
            ip_str = str(self)

        ip_int = self._ip_int_from_string(ip_str)
        hex_str = '%032x' % ip_int
        parts = [hex_str[x:x+4] for x in range(0, 32, 4)]
        if isinstance(self, (_BaseNetwork, IPv6Interface)):
            return '%s/%d' % (':'.join(parts), self._prefixlen)
        return ':'.join(parts)