Cui Xiangqi: Trip to Yunnan (11th)

Cui Xiangqi: Trip to Yunnan (11th) Phoenix City Cui Xiangqi Yunnan Stone Forest has been awarded the "World Cultural Heritage" by the United Nations...

Phoenix City Cui Qiqi

The Yunnan Stone Forest has been awarded the title of "World Cultural Heritage" by the United Nations. There are many strange peaks and rocks here, which is dizzying. The Chinese government has also done a good job in managing this place. There are many tourists but everything is well organized. Among the scenic spots in China that I have visited, the tourist environment here is the most comfortable and has reached a world-class level. Also, it is free for seniors over 75 years old (adult ticket price is RMB 175). China has indeed done better than the United States in terms of free rides and free park visits for seniors.

My return visit to Stone Forest this time was mainly to look for traces of history. During the Anti-Japanese War, when we lived in Mingliang Coal Mine, my father took me to Stone Forest during a long vacation and took a group photo of the whole family. This time I took the photos from that year and went to the original place where I took them. Seventy years have passed, things have changed, political power has changed, and generations have passed, but the stone forest still maintains its original appearance, and I remain unmoved. This is the greatness of nature. Along the rugged path with numerous rocks and protruding peaks, it is not easy to find a stone that is the same as the one in the old photos among thousands of stone forests with different shapes. It is like looking for a specific redwood in the jungle of Daxinganling Mountains, or looking for a lost child in the bustling Wangfujing Festival in Beijing. I carefully observed the topography of each stone forest, and then looked at its appearance. I asked a guide wearing national costumes to look around each scene carefully. A group of young students enthusiastically picked up photos and joined the "treasure hunt" team. They helped me compare stone by stone. Although they didn't find it, they happily wanted to take a photo with me and asked me to put the old and new photos online together. I told them about my life during the Anti-Japanese War. For them who grew up in a happy life in peaceful times, the past seventy years ago was a novel historical story. Suddenly, a local photographer looked at the photo and said thoughtfully, maybe it is in "Jianchi"? This instructive sentence made my eyes suddenly light up. Why didn't I think that when my father came here, he would definitely find a famous scenic spot to take photos. Jianchi is one of the famous scenic spots in the Stone Forest, and there seems to be a pool in the background. There was really no way out, and there was only one village after another. I finally found the stones in the photo in the vast stone forest. They were still shouting like a giant beast with its mouth open, shouting "Rise up, people who don't want to be slaves", arousing the people's awakening and stimulating anti-Japanese patriotic enthusiasm. It inspired the Chinese people to fight for the ideals of freedom, equality, and fraternity. A foreign tourist took a new photo of me based on old photos

I returned to Stone Forest in 2012

My parents took me to visit Stone Forest seventy years ago

The child in the photo has become a gray-haired old man. The changes in the world and the various aspects of life have brought endless memories. I also recalled the nurturing and love my parents gave me. They paid attention to me every moment of their lives until the last moment of their lives. I feel that my parents are still protecting me...their most beloved son.

Leaved the Stone Forest and had lunch at a duck restaurant in Yiliang Street, a small town called Dog Street. Dog Street's roast duck is the best in Yunnan. According to legend, during the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, a student went to Beijing to take the exam in Sumi City Hutong. His entourage learned the skill of roasting duck in a stew oven at the "Bianyi Fang" in Beijing. After returning to Yunnan, he opened a roast duck restaurant, which was deeply loved by local diners. During the construction of the Yunnan-Baiji Railway, French engineers often visited the shop and praised the roasted duck. Mr. Long Yun, who was the chairman of the Yunnan Provincial Government during the Anti-Japanese War, even gave a plaque "Kyoto Roast Duck" to commemorate his business achievements, and the store became famous. There is an endless stream of people from all over Yunnan taking trains to satisfy their cravings. I remember tasting it with my parents when I was a child. It was a great fashion in the difficult environment of wartime. I came here again today, and I still feel very warm when I hear about Dog Street Roast Duck. The roast duck master is the fourth generation, and his craftsmanship is still very exquisite. A roast duck only sells for 38 yuan, less than five dollars. In the United States, it is eighteen dollars in Phoenix City, and it is even more expensive in Quanjude, Beijing, at one hundred and eighty yuan. It is said that the dogs in Dog Street like to chase ducks, so the duck meat in Dog Street is particularly chewy.

In the year of the fashionable mustache, visiting old places and reminiscing about the childhood fun of the past is one of the great pleasures in life. But life can't always stay in beautiful memories. After a three-day trip to find my roots, I reluctantly boarded the flight to Beijing. Goodbye Yunnan! Goodbye Kunming! Goodbye Zaig Village! If God gives me another chance, I will come visit you again in five years.

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