novelhk Chapter 285 Day 3 of the Beijing Tour
Chapter 285 Day 3 of the Beijing Tour
On the morning of the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, the sky over Beijing was exceptionally clear, and sunlight filtered through the old locust tree in the courtyard, casting dappled shadows on the ground.
Yuan Bao opened the window, took a deep breath of the fresh air, and felt exceptionally relaxed.
"Honey, hurry up and wash up and have breakfast!" Aunt Yuan's voice came from the kitchen. "The tour guide said we're going to the Summer Palace and the Old Summer Palace today, so we need to leave early!"
"Okay!" Yuan Bao replied, quickly tied her ponytail, and changed into a light down jacket.
Last night, Boss Chen treated them to hot pot. The whole family sat around the copper pot, enjoying the steaming hot mutton slices dipped in sesame sauce.
Grandpa even made an exception and drank two glasses of Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor). His face was flushed, and he talked a lot more than usual.
Breakfast consisted of millet porridge and freshly fried dough sticks cooked by her aunt. Yuan Bao quickly finished eating and then checked her backpack again—water bottle, snacks, camera, and the business card that Dean Lin had given her yesterday.
She carefully put the business card away, thinking that she must visit him after the start of the semester.
At 8:00 AM sharp, the minibus departed on time.
Our tour guide, Xiao Wang, had specially changed into sportswear today and said with a smile, "Today we'll start at the Summer Palace, then go to the Old Summer Palace in the afternoon, and if we have enough time at the end, we can stop by Peking University."
"Really?" Yuan Bao's eyes lit up, and he turned to look at his elder brother Bao Guo. The two smiled at each other.
In September, they will become freshmen at Peking University. It would be wonderful to be able to take their families to see one of the top universities in the country.
After about forty minutes by car, we arrived at the Summer Palace.
In winter, Kunming Lake is covered with a thick layer of ice, and from a distance, it looks like a giant mirror, reflecting the blue sky and the distant Longevity Hill.
"Wow! There are people skating on the lake!" Xiaoshan exclaimed excitedly, leaning against the car window.
The tour guide explained with a smile, "Kunming Lake opens an ice rink in winter, where visitors can rent ice skates or ice sleds. But let's explore the park first, and if we have time later, we can take you to experience it."
Entering the Summer Palace through the East Palace Gate, Yuan Bao and his family walked slowly along the long corridor.
The vermilion pillars are painted with exquisite paintings, depicting landscapes, flowers and birds, as well as scenes from stories such as "Journey to the West" and "Romance of the Three Kingdoms".
"Each of these paintings is different, and there are quite a few in total," the tour guide explained.
"So many!" Pingping exclaimed, tilting her head back as she walked, counting as she went. But she quickly became dizzy. "Oh dear, I can't count them all!"
Yuan Bao smiled and took her hand: "Stop counting, let's go see the Fragrant Buddha Pavilion."
Upon ascending Longevity Hill, the Fragrant Buddha Pavilion stands majestically, its magnificent glazed tiles gleaming in the sunlight.
My grandfather stood in front of the pavilion, gazing at Kunming Lake and the Seventeen-Arch Bridge in the distance, and sighed, "Empress Dowager Cixi misappropriated naval funds to rebuild the Summer Palace, resulting in a crushing defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War... No matter how beautiful this garden is, it cannot cover up that humiliating history."
Yuan Bao nodded, his heart heavy.
The Summer Palace is beautiful, but behind it lies a heartbreaking story.
After descending the mountain, the tour guide took them to Suzhou Street.
This is a commercial street built in the style of a Jiangnan water town, with small bridges, flowing water, and numerous shops. Although there are not many tourists in winter, you can still feel its exquisite charm.
"Sister, I want to eat candied hawthorn!" Xiaoshan shouted, pointing to a small stall by the roadside.
Yuan Bao bought a skewer for him and Pingping each. The bright red hawthorns were coated with a glistening sugar coating. One bite revealed a sweet, sour, and crispy texture.
"Shall we go ice skating later?" Baoguo asked the tour guide.
"Time is a bit tight, we still need to go to the Old Summer Palace." The tour guide glanced at his watch. "But if you really want to visit, you can have a ten-minute session."
"Great!" Xiaoshan and Pingping cheered.
In the end, Yuan Bao and Bao Guo took the two little ones to the ice rink to rent ice sleds and skated around on the ice for a few laps.
The ice sled is made of wood with iron bars underneath. People sit on it and slide along using two iron rods for support.
Xiao Shan was having so much fun that he almost bumped into someone, but Yuan Bao pulled him back, making the surrounding tourists laugh.
After a simple lunch of bread and braised food they had brought with them, the group drove to the Old Summer Palace.
Unlike the exquisite beauty of the Summer Palace, the Old Summer Palace gives people a sense of desolation and tragedy.
Although the winter sun shines on the broken stone pillars, the charred marks and broken carvings still silently tell the story of the calamity that happened back then.
"This is the site of the Western-style buildings," the tour guide said, pointing to the ruins. "In 1860, the Anglo-French allied forces burned down the Old Summer Palace, destroying this 'Garden of Gardens' in an instant."
Standing before the ruins of the Great Fountain, Yuan Bao gazed at the exquisite stone carvings and felt a pang of pain in his heart.
These stones were once part of a fountain, from which water spouted from the mouths of the animal heads, creating a spectacular water feature.
Today, only a few lonely stone pillars remain, stubbornly standing as if denouncing that atrocity to the world.
“These robbers!” Bao Guo clenched his fists and cursed in a low voice.
Grandpa sighed: "Backwardness invites aggression; this is a lesson learned in blood. Your generation must make our country strong and never let history repeat itself."
The children nodded emphatically, secretly vowing to study hard and do something for their country in the future.
At four o'clock in the afternoon, the tour guide checked the time and asked with a smile, "Shall we go to Kyoto University now? It's on the way anyway."
"Okay!" the whole family answered in unison.
Peking University is located in Haidian District. As the car entered the campus, Yuan Bao's heart began to race.
The quaint teaching building, the wide lawn, the students riding bicycles back and forth... all of this felt both familiar and strange to her.
It felt familiar because she and her older brother had visited before, and she had seen it countless times on TV and in books; it felt unfamiliar because she was about to become a member of this community.
"This is Weiming Lake." The tour guide led them to a frozen lake. "In the summer, the lake sparkles, and many students read and stroll here."
"Cousin, you can read here too!" Pingping said excitedly, holding Yuan Bao's hand.
Yuan Bao smiled and patted her head: "Okay, when you and my parents come to visit me, I'll show you around the campus."
"I want to go to Peking University too!" Xiaoshan suddenly announced loudly. "I want to go to the same university as Baojie and Baoguo!"
"Good ambition!" The uncle patted his son on the shoulder. "But you need to study hard first, don't just think about playing all day."
The family strolled slowly along the campus paths, passing the library and teaching buildings, and finally arrived at the famous "One Tower, One Lake, One Library"—a classic landscape composed of Boya Tower, Weiming Lake, and the library.
"Baoguo, Yuanbao, come on, let's take a picture together!" Yuan's father raised his camera. "After you go back to school, we'll take another one and see how you've changed."
Yuan Bao and Bao Guo stood on the shore of Weiming Lake, with the majestic Boya Pagoda behind them.
She took a deep breath and silently made a wish: "Kyoto University, wait for me!"
On the minibus back, Xiaoshan and Pingping were so tired that they fell asleep leaning against each other.
As Yuan Bao gazed at the darkening sky outside the window, his heart felt exceptionally bright.
Today's journey has strengthened her resolve for the future—to study hard at the best university, to live up to her family's expectations, and to live up to her own dreams.
"Baby, what are you thinking about?" Aunt Yuan asked softly.
Yuan Bao smiled and said, "Mom, I'm thinking that once my older brother and I start school, our family will be settling down in Beijing permanently, and our lives will only get better and better."
"Of course!" Yuan's mother pinched her daughter's cheek. "As long as you two work hard, we'll both be able to enjoy a comfortable life!"