Zhang Zhaohong – The world has left no trace, but we have been there (1)

Zhang Zhaohong – The world has left no trace, but we have been there (1) Photography/Written Zhang Zhaohong has longed to read thousands of books and walk thousands of miles in his life. So...

I aspire to read thousands of books and travel thousands of miles in my life. So I travel around the world every year, regardless of the hardships of the journey. In early December last year, we set off for Zhangjiajie, Furong Town, Xiangxi Hunan, and Fenghuang Town, Shen Congwen’s hometown, and then returned to Guangzhou, Panyu, Xiqiaoshan, Zhongshan, Shenzhen and other Pearl River Delta regions, and then to Hong Kong and Macau. After returning to the United States, we returned to the Grand Canyon of Arizona on New Year’s Day in 2012. The nearly month-long journey was full of wind, frost, snow and rain, and the scene changed. After I came back, I wrote a travel special, which I would like to share with you all. 1. Zhangjiajie 1. Shock on boarding The trip to Zhangjiajie was booked online in the United States. In September last year, I booked a round-trip flight from LA to Guangzhou in December, and received a half-price round-trip air ticket from Guangzhou to Changsha, Hunan, totaling $900. On December 5, I took a China Southern Airlines flight from LA Airport to Guangzhou, China. At that time, we had already exited the airport waiting room and took the airport bus to the aircraft boarding stairs but then turned back. We were told that the aircraft's oil pump failed. It took us three hours to repair it and the flight was cancelled. If we find out after taking off, we are not going to Zhangjiajie, but to heaven. It was not until three o'clock in the evening that everyone was arranged to rest in the airport hotel. However, they were woken up after only three hours of sleep and had to wait at the airport until late the next night before boarding the plane. Throughout the whole day, no leader came to comfort the passengers, so everyone started booing. In a fit of anger, someone showed the reporter's business card and said he wanted to take photos and publish them in the newspaper. The last holdout was China Southern Airlines, which reluctantly paid a compensation of US$200, and the matter came to an end. The plane arrived at Guangzhou Baiyun Airport in the early morning and took a domestic flight to Changsha at noon. We had a meal of authentic Hunan cuisine at the "Old Diner" restaurant, which was spicy even in the soup. It was very enjoyable. In the evening, I took an overnight bus for 4 and a half hours to Wulingyuan, Zhangjiajie. The mountain wind blew up suddenly on the way, but I felt freezing cold. Overnight in Wulingyuan. 2. Encountering a magic stick on Zixia Mountain The next morning, we started our trip to western Hunan. The first scenic spot arranged to visit is "Zixia Mountain". I heard that some Taoist temples in Zixia Mountain were built during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, with a history of nearly 500 years, but were destroyed by war during the war. As time goes by, there are few people who know. Until 1992, due to the boom in tourism in Wulingyuan, people saw that the mountains and rivers were unique and the cultural landscape was inferior. As a result, people nostalgic for the past, and the local government allocated funds to expand the Zixia Mountain scenic spot with donations from believers from all over the place. However, most of the mountains are artificial scenery, such as Laozi, the statue of the Eight Immortals, etc. After going up the mountain, someone was casting lots in front of the Taoist temple, chanting: "There is no money for drawing lots." Passengers are asked to smoke one. Since I have been to some places and been deceived before, I know what "don't be greedy for cheap" means, so I waved my hand and didn't smoke. Sure enough, after entering the Taoist temple, the tourists who got the visa were charged RMB 300 for the "sign release fee". Some of my friends and relatives who were traveling to China for the first time were given 200 US dollars when they signed the visa because they did not exchange enough RMB. They were also asked by the Taoist priest to add 100 yuan and asked why the currency was not red but green. Because asking for signatures is everyone's preference, we were careless and did not inform our relatives and friends that there might be a scam, and we sincerely apologize. In the future, if you meet a magic stick, a Taoist priest who says you believe in Buddhism or a monk who says you believe in Taoism, if the Taoist priest and monk come together, just say you believe in Jesus. Don't believe in greedy words and be deceived and lose your money. The Eight Immortals on Zixia Mountain are a bit murderous