2018-08-24

【Aiden in English】

        Well, it's the final day. I can't say I'm glad to go home, but YouTube and Snapchat and Instagram do have a large hole that food can't fill. In addition, I miss air conditioning and not being sweaty all day. I would say Philadelphia is a rather hot city temperature-wise, but the air feels crisp and refreshing, not a massive wet towel plastered to your skin. Speaking of which, a cool shower would feel great right now.

        So back in Beijing for a 25-hour layover. That gives mom and me almost a day to run around, and three meals to fill last cravings. Unfortunately, the first ended up being filled on the plane, so really the quality could only go up from there.

        The other two days previously spent in Beijing were accommodated by Air China, resulting in hotels an hour away from anything reasonably relevant. Tonight, we stayed at a friend’s house, my mom's good friend of course, and lived to smack dab in the middle of a few major attractions. Fifteen minutes’ walk one way lies the Qianmen (Front Gate) we visited on our second day. Fifteen minutes the other results in Tian-An-Men Square. Those fifteen minutes are without traffic and photos, so these walks generally double in length. Therefore, after thirty minutes of stuttering along, we passed through a security checkpoint, entering the most famous square in all of China, and perhaps even the entire world. 

        The most annoying part of coming to China every few years is sometimes, you forget places you've already been to. It's safe to say I've been to Tian-An-Men Square at least three times, but I can only slightly recall waiting in line on a heatwave week from three years ago. Today hopefully would refresh some memories without actually spending three hours wandering the Forbidden City, which it did. Instead of heading through the front entrance, we took the back square, holding Monument to the People's Heroes for the civil war, as well as crossing over the alabaster bridges. Now the Forbidden City walls are its own attraction, marking many postcards ever since tourism has been a thing. 

        First of all, the Forbidden City is massive. No doubt about it. Even for monarchy standards internationally, Chinese people really have the skill for building enormous structures stapled into their resumes. It's walls, intimidating; it's terrace, looming; it's archways, a Disney movie in the making. What might need some working on color schemes? Hazy sunlight brought out the dull red walls, yet contrasting with and emphasizing the gold roofs and blue highlights, all very bright and eye-catching colors. It also clearly pointed out the renovation scaffolding all over the Gate of Heavenly Peace or Tian-An-Men, apparently for the upcoming National Day on October 1st.

        And that was it. The last major attraction this year. Granted, China shouldn't be a tourist place to me, as it is somewhat a second home. There is just much more to see at home than any other place in the world. But I doubt I'll make this trip any time soon, and you don't just fly across the world on a year-to-year basis... unless you want to. The other 194 countries (I looked that up) all hold something to offer, something worth my time. However, China always holds a piece of my heart, and that alone is worth a return.

【紅霞譯文】

        對，今天是最後一天，我倒沒歸心似箭，但既看不了優兔，又無法快照聊天，還鑽不進照片牆，吃得再好也不覺得香。此外，我想死空調了，有它哪至於整天汗如雨下，費城固然夏季很熱，但空氣乾燥清爽，毋需用大塊濕毛巾擦拭全身，說到這裡，真想馬上沖把涼水澡痛快一番。

        返回北京後繼續逗留25個小時，這樣我和媽媽幾乎可以再逍遙一整天，也好好生攛掇最後三頓美餐。遺憾的是，第一頓交代給了飛機，所以真正夠味的只能算下面兩頓。

        剛回國頭兩天住的酒店均由國航安排，前不巴村後不着店，上哪兒都要耗上個把鐘頭。今晚我們索性到朋友家落腳，當然是媽媽的好朋友，恰巧位於幾個主要景點之間，距離上次抵京第二天逛的前門只需步行十五分鐘，同樣時間朝另外方向便走到天安門廣場，這十五分鐘不包括等紅綠燈及停下來照相，一般情況下都得打出雙倍時間。因此，經過卅分鐘走走停停，我們通過安檢進入全中國乃至全世界最著名的廣場。

        每隔數年回國有時挺傷腦筋，你會忘記曾經來過的地方，可以肯定地說，我親臨天安門廣場不下三次，但至今只隱約記得三年前熱浪來襲那周我排着長隊，希望這次能長點記性，大可不必像上次參觀故宮再豁出仨小時。這回我們沒從正門入場，而選擇背面的人民英雄紀念碑並直穿金水橋，現在連故宮城牆也備受推崇，自從開展旅遊業以來，它被翻印成不少明信片。

        故宮場面壯觀已是不爭的事實，即使按照國際上君主制標準，中國人確有實力建造獨一無二的雄偉建築：它的城池，威風凜凜；它的城樓，氣勢軒宇；它的御道，成就了迪斯尼蒙太奇創造業績。色調上需要搭配什麼？朦朧的陽光照射到暗紅色牆壁上，與金色琉璃瓦和湛藍色天空形成了鮮明對照，絢爛奪目的古城景色令人痴迷陶醉。天安門前到處設立腳手架，顯然是為即將到來的十·一國慶節做準備。

        全部行程到此結束，這是今年最後一個重要景點。當然，到中國來不只是為了旅遊，畢竟它是我第二個家鄉，這裡的一草一木都比地球其它任何地方耐看得多，但恐怕我要再過陣子才會故地重遊，你哪能每年滿世界飛來飛去……除非樂意，世上另有194個國家（我查過）值得花時間去經歷，然而中國永遠在我心中，單憑這一點我就會回來。

Today in History(歷史上的今天):

2017: Alpine Waterfront Towns, Swiss(瑞士阿爾卑斯山寨水鄉)

2017: Einsiedeln—Abbey & Cheesemaking, CHE(瑞士艾因西德倫—修道院與奶酪工藝)

2017: Alpine Potpourri, Swiss(瑞士阿爾卑斯山旅行見聞)

2017: Lucerne—Pilatus the Dragon Mtn,  CHE(瑞士盧塞恩—龍山皮拉圖斯峰)

2017: Lucerne—Heart of the Country, Swiss(瑞士盧塞恩─大地原點)

2015: Great Wall, Beijing(北京萬里長城)

2014: Reunion w/ Old Friends(老友重逢)

Crosslink(相關博文):

China(出遊中國)