Fly over the sky and arrive in Changsha
Soaring in the sky, occasionally catching a glimpse of the ever-changing purple lightning in the clouds, accompanied by the slight tremor during the journey, finally, the wings lightly touch the ground, and I land on the familiar land of Changsha.
::: gallery
:::
Even though I have spent countless moments here, this is my first experience landing at Huanghua Airport. Following the signs, I enter the exit gate and see the bustling traffic flow in front of me. The various colors of car lights are reflected by the distant red and blue police lights, forming a subtle contrast with the grayish-brown night sky. On the shuttle call, the driver communicates with me in Mandarin mixed with Changsha accent, indicating the direction for me to go. However, amidst the chaos around me, I couldn't find his figure. The phone rings again, and he hurriedly tells me that his car has been driven away by the traffic police - even though he had falsely claimed to be picking up his elderly grandmother from the airport. He finally drives the car away from the pick-up area and walks back to my side, gently carrying my luggage, traversing the crowd together.
Inside the car, my reserved jazz melody flows, adding a touch of relaxation to the weary journey. The driver notices my slight fatigue and drives attentively without saying a word. Although it is already late at night, the lights on the roads of Changsha are dazzling. The scenery outside my car window is like a dream, and I unknowingly fall into a dream.
When I wake up again, the car is waiting silently in front of the hotel. The driver kindly assists me in carrying my luggage into the lobby. I provide my name, and after the staff verifies my identity, they check me in and guide me to the elevator.
Arriving in the room, I unpack my luggage, hand over the clothes stained with coffee to the front desk for processing, take a simple shower, and then fall into a deep sleep. It is not until the next morning that I wake up in the gentle call of the sun.
Climbing Yuelu Mountain and talking about the green mountains
In the faint morning light, we leave the hostel and head straight to Wuyi Square. In the bustling market, we randomly choose a barbecue restaurant to satisfy our hunger at noon, and then take a car to Hunan University. Our friends from Hunan University warmly lead us to tour the campus and visit the historical museum together. I can't help but feel fortunate that our solemn school has been preserved and not disturbed by such worldly hustle and bustle.
At dawn the next day, we arrived at the foot of Yuelu Mountain. We slowly climb along the mountain path, and I mention to my friends the trip I took to Changsha last summer. The mountain peaks I climbed at that time are quite similar to the Yuelu Mountain in front of me - winding paths and moderate altitude. I was immersed in the feeling of the similarity of southern landscapes when I suddenly realized that the familiar mountain in my mouth, which I mistakenly thought was another mountain, is actually Yuelu Mountain itself! At that moment, I realized that I had made a big joke - there is only one mountain in the center of Changsha, and it is this Yuelu Mountain that I mistakenly thought was elsewhere, and I was talking endlessly about the monotony of southern landscapes to my friends.
Tianxin Pavilion and modern buildings
Indeed, the scenic spots in Changsha are not very common, but my affection for this land keeps pulling me back time and time again. Today, we enter the embrace of Tianxin Pavilion. In front of the ancient pavilion, the crowd gathers, and we shuttle through the hustle and bustle, find the ticket office, and get two half-price tickets for only thirty yuan. The privilege of being a student is delightful.
Although the park is not large, it hides the last trace of the ancient city of Changsha, and the historical context flows heavily in the ancient city walls. Here, you can often meet the elderly who exercise in the morning. They hold their senior citizen cards and enjoy the free tranquility in this historical courtyard. The silent bell tower of the Wenxi fire stands in a corner, emitting a solemn and dignified atmosphere.
::: gallery
:::
After leaving Tianxin Pavilion, a man-made rock waterfall comes into view. Young people come and go in a hurry, walking quickly and occasionally stopping to capture the moment, then disappearing into the bustling crowd. In contrast, the elderly are leisurely, playing chess in the pavilion, and chatting on the flat ground. Tianxin Pavilion is like an island, standing quietly in the modern building jungle of Changsha. The tranquility of the elderly and the serenity of the ancient pavilion contrast with the buildings, symbolizing the busy and lofty pace of the young people.
This scene reminds people that Tianxin Pavilion is the precipitation of time and the tranquility of the elderly, while modern architecture represents the vitality of youth and the bustling pace of young people. The two complement each other under the same sky, weaving a picture of the integration of ancient and modern Changsha.
Ancient Bookstore
Although Tianxin Pavilion is one of the destinations, what we really want to visit is the nearby old bookstores. Under the unique social background of China, many books have been banned or censored, and some academic masterpieces have been printed in limited quantities due to subject restrictions. Thinking back to my enthusiasm for philology in high school, I spent two weeks searching for Mr. Lu Zongda's works.
At first, we followed the guidance of the map to a building called the Book City, expecting to find rare and excellent works there. However, reality is completely different. This so-called Book City only occupies a corner of a dilapidated shopping mall, and the dim lights barely illuminate the small book stalls. Even though it is noon, it feels like dusk here, making it difficult to get excited. We wandered among the small shops filled with various colored exercise books, and those familiar materials reminded me of the years of doing exercises that I didn't want to relive. My friend seemed particularly frustrated, and we encouraged each other to continue searching for a bookstore that could escape the secular hustle and bustle and collect truly valuable books.
Finally, we found a bookstore where we truly met our expectations. On the counter were neatly arranged sets of "The Complete Works of Lu Xun" published by People's Literature Publishing House, as well as classic ancient books. The books were as clean as new. We thought we had encountered a true book lover, so we approached and asked if there were any old bookstores nearby. Unexpectedly, the owner showed a strange smile and mocked us for why we preferred old books instead of reading new ones. His attitude made us understand that this person was just a businessman pursuing surface glamour. So, we smiled politely and left this soulless Book City.
As we walked out of the Book City, we strolled down the street, dissatisfied with the difficulty of finding like-minded people nowadays. Suddenly, we noticed a simple shop on the opposite street corner, with the name written in traditional characters on a yellow sign. Our intuition told us that this was not an ordinary place, so we crossed the traffic and entered the shop. The shop owner was an old man who seemed to have a peculiar temperament, and his eyes carried a sharpness. Three walls in the shop were lined with towering bookshelves, containing various books from ancient to modern, from China to abroad.
Just when we were desperate, we unexpectedly found this bookstore that truly met our expectations. My friend found a rare set of political science books in the sea of books, and I couldn't let go of a beautiful edition of "The Peony Pavilion". After negotiating the price with the owner, we happily made the payment, glad that this trip was not in vain.
Farewell
On October 1st, we chose to stay in the room and rest, no longer going out for a walk. At 6 o'clock in the morning on October 2nd, the loud alarm clock woke us up. We quickly packed our luggage, checked out, and arrived at the hotel entrance. The reserved vehicle had been waiting for a long time. I embarked on the journey back, arrived at Huanghua Airport, went through security, and entered the quiet lounge, but at this moment, I received a message from my friend.
Originally, he planned to take a high-speed train to a nearby city in Changsha for a short visit, and then go straight to his hometown in Shandong. However, he encountered a vehicle malfunction on the way to the train station, which hindered his journey, causing him to fail to arrive at the station in time and unfortunately miss the scheduled train. The next high-speed train time was not ideal, forcing him to spend a long half-day waiting patiently at the station for the afternoon train back to Shandong.
In comparison, everything at the airport was in order. After enjoying a simple breakfast in the lounge, I went to the boarding gate. This time, the flight was assigned to a remote gate, and I took a shuttle bus alone to reach the plane. Once again, I sat in the business seat I love, the first row by the window. However, the drink menu provided by Air China only had orange juice, which was a small disappointment.
::: gallery
:::
This article is also updated on xLog by Mix Space
The original link is https://nishikori.tech/notes/10