The first time I saw the "red leaves of Fragrant Hill" should be in the primary school textbook of a certain year. That year, the article "Red Leaves of Fragrant Hills" buried a red romance in my heart. I am ashamed to say that I have been to the imperial capital for so many years and have not seen the Fragrant Hill in autumn. Last Sunday, I just finished what I was doing, so I just left immediately.
Departure and traffic jam
Get off the subway at Wudaokou, wait for 331 at the gate of Qinghua, and chew the pie at two stalls. Thinking that it should be an easy journey, I didn't even buy water, which also foreshadowed the future suffering.
Beijing's tourist peak season, that is the real peak season. Why do you say that? I wonder if you have seen the crowded Line 5 at 7 o'clock? But the bus to Xiangshan made me understand what it means to surpass others.
At half past one in the afternoon, I was finally crowded into the bus after waiting for three buses... Tsinghua students and tourists on the bus were chattering about something, and the crowd had no right to move. For a moment, I even doubted whether this Yutong bus could move this group of people. Fortunately, I underestimated the ability of advanced bus manufacturers.
If you think that getting on the train successfully means that you have completed half of the journey, you are totally wrong. This is the peak season! What is peak season? I think It has been blocked for 4 hours, nearly 5 kilometers, and hundreds of buses. They left in the morning and didn't move in the afternoon. The drivers got off to eat North Fifth Ring Road has something to say. Driver: "Please swipe your card and get off. It's estimated that the car won't be able to move before 5:00 p.m."
Then, a spectacular scene appeared: hundreds of bus passengers got off together and lined up in a long line of several kilometers, one by one, marching towards the Fragrant Hill, while the hawkers waiting at the roadside were selling "two pieces of mineral water! Two pieces of mineral water". Overhead, the sun is burning.
After walking for an hour or more, I can't hold on without a mouthful of water. If only I had a bottle of water, I thought as I looked at the sun overhead. Fortunately, I met a village in front and decided to go to the supermarket to buy a bottle of high priced water, which was more comfortable. Continue to walk and walk. With the passage of time, the walking ceremony of ten thousand people in Xiangshan has come to an end.
After passing the Botanical Garden, it is the way up the mountain. The roadside is crowded with various shops opened by local villagers. According to the seniors of the Post Bar, the restaurants here have two menus, one is the usual price, and the other is the price for tourists. I didn't dare to enter, but followed the crowd to the mountain. Anyway, there are so many people that there are shining big heads everywhere.
Ticketing and mountain climbing
Xiangshan Park is a scenic spot. Of course, you need to buy tickets. There are two kinds of tickets, one is a joint ticket (RMB 15) including Xiangshan Park and Biyun Temple, and the other is a separate scenic spot ticket. I bought a joint ticket and thought about it.
Enter from the north gate and go straight to the flagstone road leading to Biyun Temple. Pines and cypresses are planted on both sides of the road, which makes the atmosphere very quiet. Fortunately, I don't care much about these things. There was an old lady on the roadside who kept begging others to give her the empty bottle, but she was not like an old lady who used to recycle resources. Is this some kind of ceremony? I didn't ask in detail. But a pair of stone lions at the gate of the temple are very beautiful.
The emperor especially likes ginkgo biloba. He likes to plant several trees in the streets, parks and courtyards. In autumn, the golden ginkgo leaves are very beautiful. This yard is no exception.
Moving forward, there is a small pond in the temple, across which is a small stone bridge tied with prayer ribbons. Surprisingly, there are many small fish in this small pond. People like to sprinkle some bread crumbs in the middle of the bridge, and these small fish will gather together. The small fish in a circle looked at the reflection of the trees in the water and felt very interesting.
There is a loquat tree in the court. It was planted by my wife in the year of her death. Now it is as slim as a canopy. Somehow, when I saw this ancient tree, I thought of this poem. Think about the power of the sentence "Pavilion like a lid", although it is not a loquat tree. Buddha is tolerant. I think he will laugh even if the tourists quote the verses that are against the rules.
After seeing Arhat and worshipping Buddha statues, the visit to the temple ended. Go out and turn left and walk to the long-awaited Hongye Fragrant Hill.
There are artificially repaired walkways and two toll cableways on the mountain. Of course, I am short of money, so I have to climb the path step by step. Some roads are really difficult and dangerous. If you are not careful, you will fall down from the high slope, so you have to cling to the railing. Finally, I walked halfway up the mountain and prepared to see the beautiful scenery of red leaves in Xiangshan.
But! But! But! What about the fragrant mountain red leaves? Where are the red leaves? Where's Ye? The vendor selling a peeled cucumber for 2 yuan silently smiled at me. Looking at the green trees, I think that some people in the village said that "at the end of November, the leaves of Xiangshan became red by about 90%". I'm sure they were just making up a story and never came to Xiangshan. The mountain is full of forgiveness, and the red maple leaves are nowhere to be found.
Once you come, take it easy. I bought all the tickets. I'd better climb to the top of the mountain to have a look.
The climbing process is omitted, but every other section of the road there will be vendors selling old popsicles and cucumbers, which surprises me. Later, I thought that they should not only be peddlers, but also be non staff employees who shoulder the task of warning and rescue.
Climb and climb, climb and climb, finally before the last ray of sunshine fell, I reached the top of the mountain. The small trees on the top of the mountain have also become the objects of people's prayers, which are hung with blessing cards. The red ribbon swaying in the wind is really beautiful.
Let's go down, the sun is setting.
As the saying goes, it is easier to go up than down, and the wisdom of our ancestors is indeed correct. In order to prevent slipping off the cliff, I held the railing with my hands and moved down step by step like my aunts. At the foot of the mountain, it was completely dark and could not see the fingers. Fortunately, you can always walk when you look at the lights of the house in the distance and the fluorescent signs on the ground.
Most of the buildings in Xiangshan Scenic Area are wooden structures, which are very beautiful with warm lights. But I don't have a tripod, and I really can't leave any photos in the dark night.
Return trip and traffic jam
Do you know what's the scariest? Not that tens of thousands of people are waiting in line for the bus at night, nor that there is no place to stand on the bus after waiting for more than an hour! Blocking! Car! Yes! It's already 8:00 p.m., and we are still stuck in the suburbs. What's more, the traffic jam is much longer than in the morning
So, a group of people got off again, braved the cold wind, and started to walk from the suburbs to the city.
At 9:30 p.m., the Long March team finally walked from the suburb to the first subway station in the urban area... All the talk was tears. When I entered the station, I bought a bottle of warm Tongyi Assam milk tea from the vending machine. I almost cried when I held it in my chair and waited for the subway.
Postscript
Although there is no legendary red leaf, the climbing process is quite interesting. But the rumor that the red leaves are all over the sky in November may be that people's voices are gradually melting the gold. After all, this is a 4A scenic spot. In short, this is the travel notes.
By the way, the head picture is the capital (part) I took at the top of Xiangshan Mountain. A person seems really small in such a big city.
