Day 0#
The trip to Shenyang was decided suddenly, when chatting with Xiaomage, I suddenly thought of it. I thought I would wait for the tickets first, and if 12306 was reliable, I would go. The result was that the railway sent me a message saying, "Go and have fun!"
Shenyang North Station#
Eight hours on the high-speed train was really unbearable. I watched the sky outside the window go from bright to dark until it was completely dark. I arrived at Shenyang North Station after 7 o'clock in the evening, and it was already pitch black. With the sound of the arrival announcement, I also began to worry about my first reunion with Xiaomage after graduation, feeling a bit nervous.
Xiaomage hasn't changed much, of course, it's only been a few months. Neither have I, except that the day before departure, I wanted to get a good hairstyle, so I went to the barber shop downstairs and ended up with a short haircut that looked out of place (don't be greedy for cheap deals, especially when you have expectations for your hairstyle).
When I arrived at the hotel, I was glad that I brought my own pajamas and slippers. But I felt that the best preparation for facing myself in front of me for three nights should have been to bring a sleeping bag. Fortunately, it was cheap enough and it was an independent room, which was its only advantage. It was enough to block all complaints, but the hygiene conditions were really worrying. I secretly joked that it was to the extent that you would get sick just by looking at it, of course, this statement is greatly exaggerated.
Zhongjie Street#
Xiaomage said that Zhongjie Street is the first commercial pedestrian street built after the founding of the People's Republic of China, but I have never heard of it. Unlike the pedestrian streets I know, Zhongjie Street has wide roads with small stalls in the middle. The road is divided into two, and each side is as wide as a regular road, with various well-known brand stores on both sides. Occasionally, when you turn into an alley, you will encounter statues, closed ancient courtyards, wells with smoke rising from the small pavilions, which is interesting.
The first time I played a VR game in my life was in a small "space capsule" in the middle of the street. I was securely strapped to a seat, with my hands gripping the control lever in front of my chest. It was a space spaceship shooting game. When the spaceship flipped in the game, we would also be turned upside down. It was nine parts real and very interesting. I couldn't help but think of the world of the movie "Ready Player One".
Day 1#
Xiaohelian Morning Market#
We agreed to meet at the morning market in the morning. According to Xiaomage, it was because of the internet celebrities that the market became crowded. It makes sense, it's just a small section of the street selling breakfast and vegetables, which should have been the main venue for uncles and aunties, but now the vegetable stalls on both sides are at a loss in the crowd, and there is a long line in front of the entrance of the popular snack shop.
We walked into the market from both ends of the street and didn't stay long. After meeting, we walked out together. Along the way, we met an old lady distributing Catholic propaganda leaflets. She handed us two, but Xiaomage threw them into the trash can not long after. I joked that Jesus would come down and strike him with lightning, saying that he was a Marxist. But in the afternoon, we still went to the church. As the preachers said, the Lord will forgive us 🤣.
Shenyang Imperial Palace#
Before this, I didn't know that there were other imperial palaces besides the one in Beijing. It turns out that Shenyang used to be called Shengjing and was the birthplace of the Qing Dynasty.
As soon as we entered, there were several side halls displaying various cultural relics. After looking at them all, I couldn't help but be confused: why are there so many boxes? Boxes for jade seals, lunch boxes, cosmetic boxes, gift boxes, stationery boxes... all kinds of boxes 😂, they are all exquisitely made.
When we started, we didn't visit the main hall in the middle first. We entered from a small door on the right side of the main hall. The houses inside were of the same layout, similar to those in the TV series "Empresses in the Palace", but of course, they were not as colorful as they were on TV.
After walking around the palace, we returned to the front of the main hall. There were still many people waiting in line, so it can be said that the flow of people in this hall is difficult to reduce. Unfortunately, it was almost time for dinner, so we had to join the long queue. The wind was strong at times that day. When we were queuing, Xiaomage's umbrella accidentally hit the face of a big brother behind him. The funniest thing was that he pulled it a few times but couldn't pull it out 🤣. Xiaomage's umbrella is not as good as he boasted "never flipped" in the past.
Dashuai Mansion#
In the afternoon, we continued to visit another person's home, Zhang Xueliang's mansion. The visitors' attire changed accordingly. In the Imperial Palace, you could see various "imperial concubines and princes", but in Dashuai Mansion, you could see students in the Republic of China period.
The various furniture was very exquisite, and the layout of the rooms clearly showed the style of the Republic of China. The place where they lived was a square courtyard. Facing the entrance of the courtyard was the room of the second lady, on the left side was Zhang Xueliang and his first lady, and on the right side was the room of the fourth lady. The rooms were all square, and when you entered, they were also square. The layout of the three rooms was not much different. While visiting, I heard a tour guide say, "They are all replicas" 🤣
The large and small brothels should be the places to entertain guests. After queuing in the crowded line, we visited the first floor of the large brothel. The upper floors were not open during the holidays. We waited in line for a long time to see two banquet halls. I can only say that if you can avoid visiting during the holidays, you should avoid it. After seeing the large brothel, I lost interest in queuing to visit the small brothel, so we left.
Xiaonan Catholic Church#
Fortunately, these attractions are not far apart (building the mansion next to the Imperial Palace is enough to show the power of Dashuai). We wanted to find a place to rest, so we walked to Xiaonan Catholic Church. Unlike the red churches I saw in Luohe, this church was all gray, with typical pointed roofs and a golden statue of Jesus in the center of the roof.
To my surprise, when we entered the church, there was a sermon going on. Love, the Lord, and using oneself as an example were mentioned. We sat for a while, flipped through the Bible for a while, and a staff member came to ask if we were students studying here. It seemed that they had intentions to recruit us 🤣. The sermon didn't last long, and we didn't rest for long either. After the sermon ended, we had to leave this resting place.
Northeastern University#
When it was almost time for dinner, we happened to visit Xiaomage's Northeastern University and eat at the cafeteria. Although there was access control, we took a shortcut with an insider and successfully entered the campus.
This year is the 100th anniversary of Northeastern University. A few days ago, they just celebrated their anniversary, and you can see many anniversary commemorative exhibits in the campus. In the cafeteria, you can choose the dumplings you want to eat. We took two of each filling, which was just enough to eat. This is great, but the only downside is that the taste of frozen dumplings is always discounted.
In the evening, it was dark in the campus. Xiaomage took me for a walk around and I found some unique styles in those old buildings. It feels special to stroll around the campus as a non-student.
Xita Food Street#
We were ready to go to Xita Food Street, but it started raining heavily as soon as we got on the bus. We thought it was over and prepared to sit until the subway station to go back, but fortunately, the rain stopped just as we passed by the food street. We got off the bus and started exploring according to the will of heaven.
This street is full of Korean and North Korean things, and the shop signs are also in Korean. After walking for a while, it was almost time, so we ended the day's journey.
Day 2#
We were undecided whether to go to Qipanshan or the two mausoleums, but the heavy rain the night before made the decision for us.
Beiling Park (Qing Zhaoling Mausoleum)#
There were not as many people in Beiling Park as in the Imperial Palace. As a park, there were more elderly people here. According to Xiaomage, there is a sunflower field here. We first headed towards the central island of the lake.
When passing by the lake, I thought that the "flower field" on the sign actually referred to the lotus flower field here. The lake was full of lotus leaves, indicating the beauty of summer. We marveled at how uncles and aunties chose places to take photos, but seeing them standing on the edge of the lake, we reminded them to be careful.
The sunflower field was not as big as I imagined. My imagination of a sunflower field is based on the one in Clannad where Nagisa lost her toy. However, it is still a good place for taking photos. It's just that with more people, the photos always look messy and it's hard to get a good effect.
Qing Zhaoling Mausoleum is the tomb of Huang Taiji. It is built on a mountain. Since he had not become emperor yet, its scale and style are slightly different from Beiling. After climbing 108 steps, we entered the square city. Compared to Qing Zhaoling, it lacked the side halls and the accompanying halls were not open. The tablet in the central hall was covered.
After visiting two Qing Dynasty mausoleums in a row, you will quickly understand the structure of Qing Dynasty mausoleums: square city (east and west accompanying halls - east and west accompanying palaces - main hall) - crescent-shaped city - treasure city. The two mausoleums are very similar, but perhaps due to the scarcity of visitors, Dongling has not been extensively renovated like Beiling, and it has largely remained in its original state. The wooden doors are peeling, and the buildings have weathered over time. There are no explanations at each point, and if you visit Dongling first, you probably won't know which is which. Only some major points are explained on the bulletin boards around the buildings, not set up around the buildings themselves, preserving the original appearance. Perhaps because of the lush trees or the approaching evening, Dongling was relatively dim, and with the experience of visiting Beiling, we quickly finished exploring Dongling.
Dongling Park (Qing Fuling Mausoleum)#
Dongling Park is located in the outskirts. After taking a bus for a long time, we found that there were few people around and the mountains were lush. Since time was not abundant, we didn't spend much time in the park, but went straight to Qing Fuling Mausoleum.
Qing Fuling Mausoleum is the tomb of Nurhaci. It is built on a mountain. Since he had not become emperor yet, its scale and style are slightly different from Beiling. After climbing 108 steps, we entered the square city. Compared to Qing Zhaoling, it lacked the accompanying halls, and the accompanying palaces were not open. The tablet in the central hall was covered.
After visiting two Qing Dynasty mausoleums in a row, you will quickly understand the structure of Qing Dynasty mausoleums: square city (east and west accompanying halls - east and west accompanying palaces - main hall) - crescent-shaped city - treasure city. The two mausoleums are very similar, but perhaps due to the scarcity of visitors, Dongling has not been extensively renovated like Beiling, and it has largely remained in its original state. The wooden doors are peeling, and the buildings have weathered over time. There are no explanations at each point, and if you visit Dongling first, you probably won't know which is which. Only some major points are explained on the bulletin boards around the buildings, not set up around the buildings themselves, preserving the original appearance.
Bird Island#
Bird Island is said to be next to Dongling Park, but it takes another half an hour to walk there. We entered the park before it closed, passed the wide Fenghuang Bridge on the Huanhe River, and entered Bird Island. It seems to be a bird zoo here, but the peacocks and swans are free-range. Peacocks can be seen everywhere, foraging like chickens. The first time I saw the swans, I thought they were ducks. It wasn't until they flew up that I realized they were indeed swans, and their wings looked even bigger when spread out.
The red-crested pochard is very interesting. They often bury their heads deep in the water to search for food, with their bottoms sticking up, and their feet paddling backwards non-stop. Xiaomage said that if they don't paddle their feet, their heads will float up, which makes sense. However, if you watch them for a long time, their posture becomes more amusing. The cormorants are also interesting. When they are far away, you can't see any movement. But when you get closer, they all suddenly stretch their necks high and flap their wings non-stop. I inexplicably thought of an episode of "Crayon Shin-chan" that had cormorants in it.
The long bridge in the wetland was very peaceful in the twilight. Different birds flew back and forth in the sky, and the treetops were full of small black dots. The geese landed in the lake from the sky, which was a rare natural scene.
Departure#
The return train tickets were not as easy to get as the ones we took to Shenyang. We waited for all the high-speed train tickets until the last day, but still couldn't get them, so we had to buy plane tickets back to Nanjing. After a classic hug and goodbye with Xiaomage at the airport, my first trip to Shenyang came to an end.