2021 Northeast Travel Notes – Overview

From May 1st to 26th, 2021, my husband and I completed a 26-day self-driving tour of 6,901 kilometers of "Root Searching Journey to the Northeast". This northeast trip started from Chengdu and headed northeast along the G5 Beijing-Kunming Expressway, passing through the four provinces of Shaanxi, Shanxi, Hebei, and Liaoning, and arrived at his hometown of Anshan, Liaoning, on May 6. It started from Anshan on May 14 and continued northward, passing through Shenyang and Changchun, Jilin Province, and arrived at the farthest point of the trip, Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province, on May 19, covering a distance of 3,377 kilometers.

The return journey started on May 20, starting from Harbin via Songyuan in Jilin, Chengde and Shijiazhuang in Hebei, Zhengzhou and Luoyang in Henan, Huayin and Hanzhong in Shaanxi, and returned to Chengdu on May 26, with a return journey of 3,524 kilometers. For details of the itinerary, please see the attachment "Itinerary Record of the Northeast Trip in May 2021".

1. Overview of the Northeast Trip

This trip lasted 26 days, including 8 days from May 6th to 14th in Anshan’s hometown to visit relatives whom I had not seen for 35 years, especially my 89-year-old aunt who is highly respected by everyone in Zhangjia De. During her stay in Anshan, she paid homage to her ancestors and met with her. Cousins ​​and cousins ​​recalled childhood memories and traced their roots; the remaining 18 days were spent sightseeing along the way. The total journey of this self-driving trip to the Northeast was 6,901 kilometers, with a total cost of 11,986 yuan. Among them, gasoline is 4,067 yuan, accounting for 33.93% of the total cost; tolls are 1,742 yuan, accounting for 14.53% of the total cost; accommodation fees are 2,738 yuan, accounting for 22.84% of the total cost; attraction ticket fees are 1,818 yuan, accounting for 15.17% of the total cost; dining fees are 573 yuan, accounting for 15.17% of the total cost; The total cost is 4.78%; supermarket shopping (supplementary food) is 570 yuan, accounting for 4.76% of the total cost; other expenses are 570 yuan, accounting for 3.99% of the total cost. Among them, driving on the expressway from May 1st to 6th coincides with the "May Day" holiday, and the expressway is free of tolls, saving about 2,000 yuan in tolls.

2. Main provinces, cities and scenic spots to visit

Since this trip from the southwest to the northeast of the motherland spans many provinces and is rich in tourist attractions, the main provinces, cities and attractions visited on the way, as well as the records of visits to relatives in hometown are as follows:

3. Preparation before departure

1. Read the posthumous works of "Vicissitudes of Life" and "Zhang Jinyu's Family Tree" left by my uncle, and bring the old photos of my ancestors from more than 60 years ago that my father left. Check out the starting point of our ancestors' journey to Guandong 350 years ago - today's Zhangjiazhuang Village, Luanzhou County, Tangshan City, Hebei Province. The Amap collection is the first stop on the journey to find roots;

2. Tableware, food and long-distance travel equipment

Tableware: ⑴High-power rechargeable power supply, used for steamers and rice cookers on the road, ensuring that you can enjoy delicious and hot food at any time along the way; ⑵Car refrigerators, electric ceramic stoves, electric pressure cookers, frying pans and other tableware; ⑶Storage of condiments portable storage box;

Food: Home-made steamed and frozen dumplings, pies, red bean paste buns, Wuren buns, steamed buns and other pasta; dry rice noodles, noodles, bacon, mustard, meat sauce, vegetables, etc. (semi-finished food can be replenished at the local supermarket at any time);

Clothing: Clothes and sun protection items suitable for the climate of the place you are traveling; casual wear, travel shoes, storage bags, trolley cases, and trolleys;

Medicines: cold, anti-inflammatory, diarrhea, trauma first aid and other medicines;

Tools for temporary vehicle troubleshooting: traction ropes, tire replacement kits, etc.;

3. For accommodation on the way, we mainly choose chain business hotels. Among them, GreenTree Inn Business Hotel is moderately cost-effective and has its own free parking lot. The hotel rooms are larger and the bedding and bathroom conditions are better. The room prices of other hotels during the May Day holiday were as high as more than 200 yuan. After the May Day holiday, the prices of rooms in the same category were all below 200 yuan.

4. Visit provincial museums in provincial capital cities, which are the preferred places to visit

Museums in various places bring together the essence of local Chinese culture, with a huge amount of knowledge, a good visiting environment, and an elegant and solemn visual experience. Free admission to museums is a benefit measure for the country to improve the quality of the people. We can enjoy the great benefits provided by the government. Some regional special museums are chargeable and can be visited optionally. This time we visited the Shanxi Provincial Geological Museum, Liaoning Provincial Museum, Jilin Provincial Museum, Heilongjiang Provincial Museum, Hebei Provincial Museum, Henan Provincial Museum, etc. Each museum has different characteristics, and I feel deeply that the motherland has a vast land, rich resources, and diverse cultures;

Visiting a museum is strenuous work, takes a long time, and is quite strenuous on foot. It is recommended to check relevant information online before visiting to learn about the key cultural relics in the exhibition hall. Try to arrange your visit in the morning, and be in good physical and mental condition. Take a 15-20 minute break after visiting each topic in the museum for about 40 minutes, and then arrange to visit the next exhibition area to avoid excessive fatigue.

Please note that the museum is open six days a week (excluding holidays) and is normally closed every Monday.

5. Plan for writing series of articles

Because this trip is long, rich in content, and has a rich history of tracing roots and ancestors, a lot of information needs to be consulted. It is planned to compile the essays of this trip to the Northeast into two series, namely the "Travel Notes" series and the "Searching for Roots and Asking Ancestors" series.

The "Travel Notes" series focuses on important attractions and culture in major cities in eight provinces; the "Roots and Ancestors" series focuses on the 350-year history of the Zhang family that has been visited, and talks about the family's reproduction and development based on the country's historical development and socio-economic background. History.

This article will serve as the prelude to a series of essays, outlining the overall overview of the trip. More than 20 special essays will then be formed to introduce in detail the cultural landscape, background stories, etc., as well as what was seen, heard, and thought. The manuscripts will be in the form of pictures and texts. Each manuscript will be accompanied by about 10 to 20 photos taken during the trip, and the text will focus on introducing the scenic spots.

Starting from today, we will strive to write a draft every day and complete all the travel notes (essays) of this trip, so stay tuned!

June 21, 2021