With three days off on weekends, I plan to go to Xiling in Zhengding and Yi County with my family to play. It's been a long time since last year because of the epidemic that I didn't go out to play. I wanted to go directly to the train station after get off work on Friday afternoon, and I was notified shortly that I needed training. I only found out on Thursday that I would have an exam on Friday, and I would be too late to catch the train. I had no choice but to change my ticket. Because of the shortage of tickets, I had to take a first-class seat at an increased price. Anyway, for the past two days, I have been devastated by this. Fortunately, finally the best of both worlds.
D1 (Shanghai-Beijing)
I rushed to Shanghai Station in a hurry. I didn't have time to prepare dinner, so I bought some casually. First class seats have free bottled water/citron tea and snack packs. Maybe the model is a bit old, and it doesn't feel very spacious. I am getting older, my waist is bad, and I am very uncomfortable to sit on. In the future, I should wear a waist support for a journey of more than two hours. Ordered a takeaway in advance to the front desk of the hotel. Transferring from Beijing South Railway Station to West Railway Station, the subway is still very convenient. You don’t need to unload your luggage for security check, just go through the security check gate. Get out of the North Square to Home Inns and just walk through the parking lot. It's past 11pm, the room without window, the smell of smoke, the bed is soft, not cheap, the only advantage is that it is close to the train station. Make do with one night.
D2 (Beijing-Gaobeidian-Yixian-Gaobeidian-Zhengding)
Departed early in the morning, too late to eat breakfast. Ordinary train takes one hour to Gaobeidian. It's been a long time since I took the green leather train, and I didn't expect there to be a smoking area, which made my chest tight and flustered. Really take the transportation that has to be non-smoking.
Get out of Gaobeidian and go to the bus station, store your backpack, and the bus to Yi County at nine o'clock costs 13 yuan. The driver smokes a lot, and the car is a bit old and shabby. It feels like I have been in such a car more than ten years ago. Because he wanted to solicit customers, the driver didn't take the expressway. Unfortunately, he caught up with the traffic jam after school and it took him two hours to get to Yi County. It was supposed to be only one hour. There is a lot of dust on the road. Then change to the No. 9 tourist line to Xiling, and get off at Tailing for 7 yuan. It may be the off-season, or there may be a lot of self-driving cars, and the passengers of the special bus are more locals. Bring your own food.
The weather is very good, 15-27 degrees, a little sun, the wind is very cool, the vegetation is very lush, refreshing. Tickets are free with a doctor's certificate. Yongzheng's Tailing Mausoleum is full of spirit. It's a pity that the building is dilapidated and is now under maintenance. Then go to Chongling of Guangxu. The sculptures and buildings are very exquisite. The statues of the eight stone gates in the underground palace are wonderful and lifelike. Jiaqing's Changling Mausoleum is not open. I went to see his Queen's Mausoleum. There is an echo stone, which is quite interesting. Daoguang's Muling and Long'en Hall are all made of golden nanmu, wow~ my mouth is watering. There is also a white marble archway, with a low-key sense of luxury. In general, Xiling is still worth a visit. The traffic is a little bit inconvenient. The shuttle bus departs on a regular basis, and it will take some time to wait for the bus.
The last train of No. 9 at 4:30 was just because it was a little slow to send local passengers, and I missed the last train back to Gaobeidian. The passenger cars in the two places seem to be contracted by individuals, and the quality is uneven. Anyway, I didn't catch up, so I had to spend 80 yuan to call a taxi. In short, the experience of the traffic between the two places is not good, and the management is chaotic.
For dinner at Laosun Restaurant in Gaobeidian, donkey meat pancakes and meat are not as delicious as those in Shanghai. The food is full and the price is very high. After that, take the G1 road to East Railway Station, thirty or forty minutes. Then take the high-speed train to Zhengding Airport Station in about 40 minutes. The nearby Paiboyun Hotel provides free pick-up and drop-off to the airport and high-speed rail station. There is no ventilation fan in the bathroom of the room, and the configuration details are not user-friendly, but the bed is very comfortable and I slept well.
D3
There are no places to eat nearby. No. 156 goes to the county seat, get off at the north gate, and go south all the way. Later, all the scenic spots we are going to have a doctor's card for free. First is the Rongguo Mansion. Although it was built in the 1980s for the purpose of filming a dream of Red Mansions, it is still very old-fashioned, and the ticket is 40. Then there is Longxing Temple, which probably ranks in the top three among the temples I have visited in China. Not only is it old, but it is even more rare that it is well maintained. The perimeter is glazed screen wall, across the road. Entering the door is the Hall of Heavenly Kings, with a wood-carved Maitreya Buddha with a big belly. Then there are the inverted Avalokitesvara in the Mani Hall, the murals, the double-faced Buddha on the precept altar, the Zhuanlun Zang, the wooden Maitreya in the Cishi Pavilion, the Avalokitesvara with thousands of hands and eyes in the Great Compassion Pavilion, and the four-faced Buddha in the Pilu Hall (the name may be wrong in the order). It's stunningly beautiful. We probably went around for nearly two hours, and even thought that we would have a chance to do it again in the future. In fact, most of them are not allowed to take pictures in the temple, but there are always people who don't realize it.
The lunch was really authentic, roasted duck with orange, butler stewed vegetables, noodles with fried sauce, watermelon juice, donkey rolling, it was clean and satisfying. Then go south along Yanzhao South Street all the way, the Sumeru Pagoda and Shibixi in Kaiyuan Temple, the Yanghe Tower ruins, Linji Temple (closed, Chengling Pagoda from a distance), and Huata in Guanghui Temple are all very interesting. Chic. A pass would be cheaper. It was a little hot and tired after shopping until two o'clock in the afternoon, so I went back to the hotel. Buses range from one yuan to three yuan, and some depend on the health code. The hotel I live in is too far away from the county seat, it takes about 40 minutes one way, and the neighborhood is relatively desolate, so I bought some watermelon drinks at the supermarket to make do with dinner.
D4
27 degrees during the day and 15 degrees at night, which is quite comfortable. Going to the county again, go to Wang’s Shaomai near Longxing Temple for breakfast. Beef and scallion Shaomai are 17 yuan/cage/25 yuan. Then go to the Zhengding Museum, which is relatively new and relatively small, mainly porcelain and Buddha statues. Then there are Lingxiao Pagoda and stone lions in Tianning Temple. Then there is the Town God's Temple, which was rebuilt. Finally, there is the Confucian Temple, just take a stroll. I didn't go to the Confucian Temple when I ran out of time. There are many restaurants on Zhongshan West Road, all of which are very popular. I ordered beef and mutton radish siu mai at the Wangjia Shaomai main store. The mutton is also delicious. I chose beef cheek and mutton cheek for the mixed vegetables. The beef cheek is more tender and delicious. A kind of thin and crispy sesame cake sold by the biscuit shop next to it is quite delicious. In the afternoon, the hotel will send you back to Shanghai for free.
In general, it's a bit tiring, but it's worth the trip. Both Xiling and Zhengding Ancient City are worth recommending. At present, it seems that there are not many tourists who are not well-known. Anyway, I'm considering a second brush in the future. The total cost is 3500/3 people.
