Taiwan trip (3)

Taiwan trip (3)

 

 

 

Nantou Zhongtai Zen Temple
Nantou Zhongtai Zen Temple is located in Nantou County in central Taiwan. It is the most unique Buddhist temple in Taiwan. However, the inscription in front of its door reads "Zhongtai Mountain Museum" instead of "Zhongtai Zen Temple", which is touching. Puzzled.
Zhongtai Zen Temple is built on the hillside of a mountain. It is different from the usual Buddhist temple buildings. This is a place that surprises many tourists. First of all, it changed the cornice-style architectural tradition of our common temples with yellow walls and red roofs, absorbed the straight-line block architectural features of Western architecture, changed the common Buddhist temples' deep hidden architectural layout of one floor and one entrance, and adopted the Western garden style. The style architectural structure gives people a refreshing feeling. It is said that the architectural design here was designed by the famous architectural designer Li Zuyuan. Another of his architectural design masterpieces is the famous Taipei 101 building. By the way, the design of the buildings of the two major mouthpieces in mainland China (CCTV and People's Daily) are very vulgar, erotic, and have the color of wealthy people. They look like nouveau riche. In comparison, they are really uneducated.
Entering the gate of the "Zhongtai Mountain Museum", your horizons suddenly broaden. What comes to you is not the majestic and vast Mahavira, but an open area. Through a wide area, you can reach the lotus pond. There is also a lotus pond. The small arched bridge, named "Yuanyuan Bridge", was presented by Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou. The lotus leaves in the pond are green, and most of the lotus flowers are in bud, but only a few have bloomed. There is also a small fountain in the pool, which is spraying water tens of centimeters high, which has a certain decorative effect. Many tourists stopped by the lotus pond to enjoy the scenery and take photos. However, the lotus pond is not the focus of viewing.
The focus is on the two major building groups. One is the entrance to the mountain gate (let's call it the "Zhongtai Mountain Museum" gate) and there is a tall hall-style building on the right. There are battlements on the top, much like a city wall, and a square gate in the middle below. The building stands on dozens of steps, much like entering the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. I believe many tourists have detailed descriptions of the interior of this building, so I will briefly say a few words. Entering the door of the hall, the first thing that catches the eye is not the Buddha Tathagata, but a naive Maitreya Buddha. Walking in, the top is very wide and bright, unlike the four heavenly kings sculptures in many temples. It's a hall with some Buddhist sculptures around it. You still have to climb dozens of steps before you enter another hall. This hall also looks very grand. There is a statue of Bodhisattva in the middle. There are ear chambers on the left and right ends, where sculptures of Bodhidharma and another Buddha are placed for people to worship. Many Buddhist pictures and text descriptions are also displayed on both sides of the hall.
From the right side of this castle-like building, there is a building with a high tower on top. This tower is different from the shape of the Buddhist towers we are accustomed to. The lower part is in the shape of a lotus, and the upper end arches a golden spherical object. Walk further to the right, pass the lotus pond and continue up a gentle slope. There are many flags planted on both sides of the slope, among which the flag of the Republic of China is particularly eye-catching. Some mainland tourists are not disgusted with this kind of flag, and some hold it in their hands. Hold a corner of the flag and take a photo with it.
When you reach the top of the slope, you have a particularly wide view. You can see a golden Buddha statue built on the lush mountainside in the distance, opposite the Zhongtai Zen Temple here.
After admiring the mountain scenery, we turned around and came to the mountain gate. We saw a towering tree on the right side of the gate. The sign in front told us that this was a Bodhi tree. Legend has it that the Buddha attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree. . So many people took photos with the Bodhi tree. Facing this scene, I thought, how many people can realize something under this tree? In fact, as long as each of us has a certain level of intelligence and can calm down our mind, we can realize something anywhere, and we don’t have to be limited to a certain place.
After visiting the Zhongtai Zen Temple in Nantou, I couldn't help but compare it with temples in mainland China. In addition to the different architectural styles and layouts, the most important thing is that the Buddhist places here do not need to sell tickets, and there are not many tourists burning incense. The scene is full of smoke, filled with wax, and bustling with people. There are no many vendors selling various souvenirs and incense candles, no fortune tellers or fortune tellers sitting along the street, and no merit boxes for people to donate money everywhere. There is no hustle and bustle of loudspeakers selling goods (for example, there is a loudspeaker in the Wuye Temple in Mount Wutai, Shanxi). The whole place is quiet and clean. Once here, everyone's heart will calm down, and only when people calm down can they take into account the soul of the album and cleanse their own spirits.

 

Fo Guang Shan
Fo Guang Shan is probably the largest Buddhist site in Taiwan, located in the south-central part of Taiwan. I have known a little bit about Fo Guang Shan for a long time. Because Master Hsing Yun of Fo Guang Shan is from Jiangdu, Yangzhou, he often comes to Yangzhou. Once, Master Hsing Yun gave a lecture at Jianzhen College, and I went to listen to it, so I learned about Fo Guang Shan from the introduction to Master Hsing Yun. Compared with other temples, Fo Guang Shan is not only large in scale, but also extraordinary in momentum. Even Nantou Zhongtai Zen Temple cannot compare with it. Far away from Fo Guang Mountain, you can see the round tower standing in front of the gate. The tower is more than 20 meters high and has the word "Fo Guang" on it up close. The tour bus drove into the mountain gate a hundred or two hundred meters before stopping at the parking lot. After getting off the car and looking forward, you can reach a building similar to the "Mahatma Palace" after passing through a square. It is a palace-style building with golden glazed tiles and flying eaves. There are three conjoined buildings with two shorter ones beside them, forming a symmetrical and majestic structure. When we got closer, we saw that the one in the center was not the "Mahatma Hall". The plaque had the four official characters "Salute Hall" written on it. There are four golden seal characters "Salute Hall" on the wall below the plaque. I don't know what the difference is between this hall and the common "Main Hall", but after I went in, I realized that there is no Buddha statue in it, but a place for tourists to buy souvenirs, Buddhist objects, and a place to eat (on the second floor) and rest. The place. After passing through the hall (you can also enter through the doors on both sides outside the hall), your vision suddenly opens up. A few hundred meters ahead is another tall building. On top of the building is a golden statue of Buddha Tathagata. The open area in the middle is a wide road that goes up a gentle slope. There are corridors on both sides leading to the buildings in front, and there are five square towers arranged in front of the corridor. The towers are all in the traditional Chinese style, with layers upon layers, square eaves, and covered with red glazed tiles. After entering the hall and seeing the inscription above the round door on the front, I realized that this was the "Guanyin Hall of Mount Putuoluojia". The temple is rich in content. We first went to the right to visit the Christmas of the Bodhisattvas corresponding to the twelve months of the year. Since my birthday is in September, I was interested in the September one. What I saw was the "Christmas of the Medicine Buddha". According to the introduction, this Buddha is the Buddha who protects people's health and was born on September 29th. From here on, some people gathered there. When I looked closer, it turned out that modern technology was used to test one's luck. The person being tested stretched out his hands with the palms of his hands facing upwards. In front of a fluorescent screen, two words were soon projected. When I got it on my hand, I took a test and found that the word "good luck" was projected on my hand. Some of the words on my hand were "auspicious" and some were "health". All the words I saw were satisfactory, but There is a certain degree of randomness in who gets what words. In fact, this is a game for tourists to enjoy. Going further forward is a large projection of Buddha's life and enlightenment, with explanatory text. If you watch it in detail, you can understand the life and enlightenment of Buddha Sakyamuni. I visited the first floor as well as the second and third floors. If you look carefully, time will not allow it at all. So I can only take the elevator to the third floor to take a look. On the third floor, you can go through a door to the outside platform to enjoy the distant view. Looking from the direction of travel, there are winding green mountains on the left, and there seems to be a lake in the distance in front of the left. The mountains on the right are closer. New buildings are being built on the mountain, and what is under construction is also part of Foguang Mountain. When you look at the Buddha statue from the platform, you have to look up. The Buddha is looking down at me, but I look very small. I feel like I am just an ant. There is a tower on the left and right of the platform. Both towers are square, but they are not the traditional cascading cornices. Instead, they are modern buildings that are slightly smaller at the top and larger at the bottom. In addition to the gate on the lower floor, each of the seven upper floors has a protruding Z-shaped decoration. There is a Buddha statue in the middle of each word, and the two ends of the word are decorated with small squares, which appear lighter. A golden ball is placed on the circular pedestal at the top of the tower, shining in the afternoon sun.
The doors on the ground floor of the tower are all open. I entered the pagoda on the left to take a look. It was a small temple with only a few staff members. When I arrived, there were no other guests. They greeted me warmly and offered to give me Master Hsing Yun’s works for free. Just fill in a form with your personal data. So I quickly filled it out, and they presented me with "The Poor Monk Has Something to Say" and "The Echo of the Poor Monk's Speech". Later, I went to the tour bus and browsed these two books. The former is Master Hsing Yun’s teaching of Buddhism to ordinary readers, and the latter is the evaluation and understanding of Master Hsing Yun by Chinese people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait (mainly scholars).

 

 

 

Kaohsiung love
Kaohsiung is located in the southwest of Taiwan. It is the second largest city in Taiwan, and it is the place that I miss the most because a bunch of my friends from "The Ocean" live here. In 2001, I attended the annual meeting of the Chinese New Literature Society in Chengdu, Sichuan, and met Zhu Xueshu, Zhang Hang and other friends from "Big Ocean" from Taiwan. "Big Ocean" is a poetry publication founded by a group of retired navy officers and soldiers in Taiwan. Since Kaohsiung is an important military port in Taiwan, this group of retired officers and soldiers of the National Army have been living in Kaohsiung since they retreated to Taiwan with the Kuomintang. Therefore, Kaohsiung has become the base camp of Ocean magazine. Since I met them at the Chengdu conference, I have kept in touch with them and often contribute to their magazine. They also publish poems or essays for me in every issue, and sometimes publish my essays. Sometimes, when they come to the mainland, we will meet at conferences. What impressed me most was that in the early winter of 2007, I had a meeting with them in Wuxi. This time he introduced many of his friends from "Big Ocean" to me and also introduced me to them. They are Li Youhu, Li Vietnam, Li Chinan, Zi Feng, Lan Haiping, Pan Lei, Kang Jingwen, etc. This time we visited the Three Kingdoms Film and Television City on Taihu Lake and Huaxi Village in Jiangyin, gave each other gifts and took some photos. When leaving, Mr. Zhu Xueshu said two things to me: first, write more manuscripts for "The Ocean"; and secondly, have the opportunity to visit Taiwan. Unfortunately, they don't have email, so they don't communicate as frequently as other friends, but our friendship is very deep. Mr. Zhu Xueshu sent me his book "Visiting the Literary Monk - Interviews with Senior Writers". After my poetry collection "Water Carnival" was published earlier this year, I sent him a copy. At the beginning of this month, I saw in the "Big Ocean" magazine that I just received that he had published the prefaces written by Mr. Liu Jun and Ye Lu from the collection of poems. In this way, I developed a deep friendship with Kaohsiung.
When traveling to Taiwan this time, I really want to meet Taiwanese friends, especially Zhu Xueshu and others. However, because the mainland tour guides have repeatedly emphasized that they are not allowed to leave the group for free activities, and because most of my Taiwanese friends are elderly people in their late 80s, it is difficult to invite people to brave the scorching heat to come to my hotel, so it is almost impossible to meet with Taiwanese friends. So, I called Zhu Xueshu after arriving in Taiwan (because Zhu’s phone number is printed in every issue of "Ocean" magazine, and other friends gave me business cards before I came to Taiwan and never found them), but I called many times. No one picked up every time. However, I never gave up and dialed Mr. Zhu Xueshu’s number whenever I had time. No one answered the call until the evening of the 14th. The person who answered the phone was Mr. Zhu's son. Mr. Zhu’s son is Zhu Xiaoming, who graduated from National Sun Yat-sen University with a doctorate. A few years ago, when Zhu Xiaoming graduated from the Central University, Mr. Zhu also sent me a photocopy of his degree certificate. I am still deeply impressed. Zhu Xiaoming told me that his father was not at home. I felt very sorry that I could not speak to the old man in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, so I had to ask him to convey my cordial greetings and best wishes to Mr. Zhu. I wish the old man a long and healthy life and a happy life! When I was on the phone with Zhu Xiaoming, I was wandering around the "Golden Diamond Tourist Night Market". After making the call, I continued to wander aimlessly, and this time I ended up at a small playground. A small stage was set up on the playground, with dozens of plastic chairs placed in front of the stage. A staff member was adjusting the sound. I thought it was some kind of party, so I asked him what time it would start. He said it was a karaoke concert in the evening. I asked how much it cost to order a song, and he said it was free. , so I thought about my friends who could not see "The Big Ocean" and could not talk to Mr. Zhu Xueshu on the phone, so I sang a song for them in their place of residence to express my feelings. I thought for a moment and ordered the Taiwanese song "Grandma's Penghu Bay". I am tone-deaf, but my voice is not strong enough. I rarely sing. I can only hum a few lines in places where no one is around, and I rarely go to karaoke bars to sing karaoke. This time I mustered up the courage to open up the mulberry tree and sing a song for Mr. Zhu Xueshu and other friends of "Ocean". After singing, I used the microphone to loudly express my greetings to my friends in "The Big Ocean".
In fact, when I arrived in Kaohsiung, I still fantasized about visiting a certain scenic spot in Kaohsiung and maybe meeting a friend from "The Big Ocean". For example, there may be a gentleman on the seaside promenade in Xiziwan who turns around and is a familiar face; it is possible that in the director of the British Dog Fighting Consulate, a gentleman patted me on the shoulder and said: "Isn't this the case?" Someone from Yangzhou in Mainland China? When did you come to Taiwan?" Or perhaps on a street in Zuoying where they lived, a certain gentleman from Dahai met me and we were excited about each other. Handshakes and hugs... But after all, this is just a fantasy, just a thought passing through my mind. I returned to reality, checked into the hotel to rest, and left Kaohsiung with melancholy the next day.

 

 

 

 

Maobitou and Baishawan
Maobitou and Baishawan are said to be the southernmost scenic spot in Taiwan (another saying is Eluanbi). The Taiwanese tour guide told us that this is also the dividing line between the South China Sea (Taiwan Strait) and the Pacific Ocean. That is, facing the sea to the south, with the Taiwan Strait on the right and the Pacific Ocean on the left. If we go straight south, we will reach the Philippines.
In the afternoon of the 15th, we braved the scorching sun and arrived at Maobitou. The so-called cat's nose does not refer to the place where we step on, but to the right, a reef or hill on the seaside about three or four kilometers away. It looks like a cat's nose, stretching towards the sea, so it is just a line. A distant and unreachable landscape. At your feet is a breakwater that stretches slightly toward the sea. You can reach the top by walking about two to three hundred meters from where you get off the bus. At this time, there was almost no wind and there were no waves on the sea. There were a few people surfing in small boats in the sea on the right, and a few others were playing on the yacht parked not far from the shore. Along the seawall on the left is the drainage outlet of a nuclear power plant. The water is not only very clear, but also brighter than sea water. It is like flowing liquid emerald. I don't know whether the water is poisonous or contains radioactive elements. But we should believe that under the strict supervision of the Taiwanese government and media, what is discharged into the sea will not cause pollution.
Many tourists stepped over the short concrete wall and sat or stood on the cement stones outside to take photos. I also felt that taking photos here was a bit of a souvenir, so I sat on the cement stones and asked someone to help me take one or two photos. .
After visiting Maobitou, everyone got on the bus. The tour bus took us to a place and stopped after about half an hour. The Taiwanese tour guide told us to visit the Stone Sailboat first and then visit Baishawan. The so-called stone sailing boat turned out to be a small island standing in the sea. The island is very close to the shore, only about 200 to 300 meters by visual inspection. The low rocks on the shore are almost connected to it. However, the distance from my location to the small island is about 1 kilometer. Due to time constraints, I cannot go close to see it. It can only be viewed from a distance. The island is not undulating like other mountains, nor is it in the shape of a vertical cone, but a huge cube. From a distance, it looks a bit like a sail raised on a ship, so it is named "Stone Sailboat"; however, in my opinion, it is more It looks like a giant head facing the sea, with a very obvious protruding nose. The effect of shooting this lonely "stone sailing ship" with the vast sea as the background is also very good.
After admiring the beach for a while, we returned to the tour bus, but instead of getting on the bus, we walked a few hundred meters back to Baisha Bay. This sandy bay is a seaside bathing beach. Many people play in the waves and step on the sand on the shore. Some people ride speedboats to travel through the waves. Some people swim in the waves. Many people rent parasols and deck chairs and lie down under the parasols. While resting or chatting, some people buried their lower bodies in the sand, and a few children picked up shells where the waves washed. Some of my companions and I came mainly to enjoy the scenery and take photos. In my opinion, the most interesting thing here is the chasing game between people and waves. The waves rush up to the shore and recede at other times. Sometimes the waves come very hard and strong, and sometimes they come slowly, as if there is no pattern. When the waves receded, the tourists chased them downwards, but when the waves receded, they turned around and ran toward the shore. At this time, people rushed to the shore shouting. They couldn't outrun the waves, so they were caught by the waves. Some fell into the sea water, and some had their pants and even clothes wet by the waves. However, although people's clothes and pants were wet, they still enjoyed it and played with the waves. Moreover, many of these people playing in the waves were adults or even old people. They seemed to have returned to their childhood.
I accidentally got my shoes and socks wet while taking pictures. What is more uncomfortable is that the sea water here has a relatively large sand content, so as the sea water surges, a lot of sand is filled in my shoes. This makes me miss the beach on White Sand Island in Pattaya, Thailand, where the sea water is not only very It was clear and sand-free. Even though my shoes and clothes got wet, it was very comfortable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"birthday"
I didn’t expect to celebrate my “birthday” during this trip to Taiwan. My birthday falls in late September on the lunar calendar and November on the Gregorian calendar. However, when I started applying for an ID card in 1988, the public security department made a mistake and changed my birthday to July 15th. Later, due to the change of birthday and ID number, The procedures were complicated and the birthdays were not very different, so I didn’t go through it. On July 15th, in the evening, we braved the heavy rain and arrived in Taitung County. Before checking into Zhongyue Hotel, the bus took us to the "Tianbalo" greenhouse restaurant for dinner. Opposite the greenhouse restaurant, there is a small karaoke bar with a small dance floor in front of it. When we arrived at the greenhouse restaurant and took our seats, songs and music played by karaoke bar musicians were playing on the speakers, but there was no dancing or singing on the dance floor. He then said hello to friends from Shanghai, Shenyang and Chongqing and welcomed friends from these places. Come here for sightseeing.
Suddenly, the loudspeaker broadcast: "Today is the birthday of Mr. Sun Dexi from Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province. Happy birthday to him!" I felt very sudden and moved to spend my birthday on this treasure island of the motherland. How does the karaoke bar here know my birthday? Needless to say, the Taiwanese tour guide must have read each of our information, remembered my birthday, and came to the karaoke bar to order the song "Happy Birthday to You" for me despite the fatigue of the journey after arriving here, which made me happy. I felt very warm, and at the same time, I felt that this "birthday" that was not a birthday was very meaningful. Although there were no candles and wine, this birthday song made me fascinated. The guests at the same table learned from the radio that this day was my "birthday", and they also congratulated me and gave me the first fork of Taiwanese noodles.
After staying at the hotel after dinner, I also took a dip in the hot spring in the hotel on my "birthday", which not only relieved the fatigue of the day, but also eliminated the fatigue of life.

 

 

 

 

Taroko Grand Canyon
Taroko Grand Canyon is located in the coastal area of ​​central and eastern Taiwan. On July 16th, we came here. Before the car stopped, the Taiwanese tour guide told us that this Grand Canyon is famous far and wide. After we came back and checked online, we felt that it was indeed the case, but it was not as comparable to the Colorado Grand Canyon in the United States as the Taiwanese tour guide said. I have never been to the United States, so I can't compare, but judging from the pictures, the two are different types of canyons. The one in the United States looks like a long and huge crack in the ground, and there are few plants in that canyon; while the Taroko canyon is In the canyon, two mountain walls rise up into the sky, and the entire mountain is lush and lush with vegetation. Unfortunately, there is very little river water in this Grand Canyon in Taiwan. It was a pity that I did not see the waterfalls and springs that I was looking forward to.
We first got off the bus in front of a bridge, and the Taiwanese tour guide led us to the river to take pictures with the bridge as the background. In fact, this bridge has no special features. Instead, there is a huge stone one, two or three meters high standing in front of it, with the inscription "Entrance of East-West Crossing Highway of Taroko National Park". There is also a gate tower next to the bridge with the words "East-West Crossing Highway" written on it. We I took a group photo with this boulder and the gatehouse behind it as the background.
After taking photos, we boarded the bus and continued on, crossing the bridge and driving west-northwest along the road on the north side of the valley. The tour bus took us through a tunnel, passed a red bridge, and then entered another tunnel. After traveling a few hundred meters in the tunnel, we stopped. The Taiwanese tour guide took us out of the car and walked back close to the wall. We were asked to walk on the red bridge, then go down the ladder at the other end of the bridge, and then along the half way You can walk upstream along the river along the pavement dug into the mountainside. When we returned to the other side of the river from where we came from, we realized that what we had just passed was the "Shakadang Tunnel". This bridge is called "Shakadang Bridge", and so is the valley under the bridge. Named after "Shakadang". Before visiting the bridge, the Taiwanese tour guide told us not to pick up stones from the river valley. These stones are national property. If found at the customs, we will be fined NT$600,000 and the stones will be confiscated. Because this valley is in an earthquake zone, the stones here contain precious stones and are very expensive. We descended the ladder from the bridge about 50 meters above the river. After reaching the ground, we walked along the gravel road beside the stream. Due to the lack of river water, many huge rocks are exposed in the valley. These rocks are leaning against each other, as if they are fighting for territory on the river bed. What is pitiful is that the river water passes between the stones and is squeezed into thin and winding strips by the stones. The river water could not compete with the stones, and could only make a dull and aggrieved cry, which seemed quite helpless. The various branches and leaves on the river bank watched the river water and rocks fighting, just like watching a play, and they also took a bit of schadenfreude. And the "Shakadang Bridge" is high up, like God, overlooking the entire valley, including us tourists who seem very small.

 

 

 

 

 

Shopping

 

Participating in tours organized by travel agencies often requires shopping, and many people are happy to do so. Tour guides usually encourage tourists to shop, and they hope to buy better and better. Therefore, what is originally a sightseeing and cultural tour often mutates into a shopping tour, because in the mainland, it has become an unspoken and unspoken rule for tour guides to take kickbacks from tourists' purchases.

In the contract signed with the travel agency, shopping is not specified. But before we left, the travel agency sent us documents via email adding shopping terms. These terms stipulate the number and time the tour guide will take us to shopping stores during the tour, but do not stipulate the amount of shopping or the amount of money spent. So, I didn't take it seriously. In fact, after paying money and signing a travel contract, all unilaterally proposed terms are invalid. However, considering that it didn't have to be unpleasant, I didn't take it seriously. Fortunately, during the entire trip, the CITS tour guide never mentioned shopping. Although the Taiwanese tour guide encouraged everyone to shop and hoped that everyone would contribute more to Taiwan's economy, she did not ask tourists to buy because she said: "When in Taiwan, "I came here to enjoy freedom." She really respects everyone's freedom to buy or not and to buy more or less. But some people in the Mainland are different. It is their own business to shop for themselves, but they still have to urge others to shop. I really don’t know who gave them such rights. A man of the same age as me said something unpleasant to me, and I responded rudely: "What right do you have to ask me whether I buy it or not?" I also told him that Chinese aunts went to Japan to buy toilet seats and toilet seats. The rice cooker, which was charged with a lot of money, became a joke in China, and it became dizzy after only a few small amounts of money! The guy was in a bad mood. There was another guy in the Porsche Watch Store in Taipei, and he said proudly: "We have all bought it, now it's your turn to take action!" I asked him: "Is this your rule? Who are you?!" After all, some people have a little money in their pockets, buy a few expensive items, and develop a strong sense of superiority. They want to show it, but forget to respect others.

In fact, it’s not that I don’t want to shop, it’s just that the items I want to buy are different from them. It only makes sense to buy items that you or your friends need, otherwise it is a waste. The shopping stores I visited during my trip basically sold luxury goods (red coral stores, silk quilts, jewelry, watches, etc.), and what I wanted to visit most was the bookstore, especially the books I published in Taiwan. I came back to see a friend off, but I didn't see it in the bookstores at Kaohsiung and Taoyuan airports. There were few other books I needed. In the end, I only bought one copy of "The Biography of Ni Kuang" at the airport bookstore.

 

 

 

Yeliu
The "Yeliu" mentioned here is not a plant, but the abbreviation of the last scenic spot we visited in Taiwan. Its full name is "Yeliu National Geopark".
Speaking of "Yehliu National Geological Park", I didn't know much about it before. In fact, I had seen relevant photos, especially the boulder that naturally formed the Queen's head. It is very similar and it is amazing the uncanny workmanship of nature. It's just that I haven't associated it with "Wild Willow" for a long time.
On the afternoon of the 17th, we came to "Yeliu" for a tour. When I came to the seaside, I was once again shocked by the natural beauty there. Not to mention the beautiful picture composed of the blue sky, white clouds and blue sea in front of me, I was amazed by the strange-shaped stones on the seaside. As for the hill that stretches into the sea, it is just a strange-shaped stone. The entire hill is high on the left and low on the right, as if it is about to leap into the sky. Under the hill are exposed white stones covered with green plants. There is also an iron tower erected on the top of the mountain, which may be used for communication or ship navigation, but it plays a good decorative role.
The most exciting thing about Yehliu's scenery is the stones. Due to the effects of weathering and erosion, these stones have formed wonders of various shapes. The most prominent one is the well-known Queen's head, but some people say it is the Queen of England. However, in my case She looks more like the queen of an African tribe. Her slender neck, high bun and thin face are very similar to those of African women. In addition to this "Queen Statue", there are many mushroom stones three or four meters above the ground. The "mushroom stones" here are named after me because they are large on the top and small on the bottom. Not only do they resemble mushrooms in shape (some are like conjoined mushrooms), but the earthy yellow color of the "stem" and the dark brown color of the top are also similar to those of mushrooms. similar. What's even more wonderful is that these mushroom stones generally resemble mushrooms, with different specific shapes. If Taiwanese people who retreated with the Kuomintang saw these mushroom stones, they might have a different feeling from experts. In their eyes, these mushroom stones are like busts, gazing towards the sea and overlooking their hometown. . There are also some stones that stand on the foundation stone with their unique shapes. There are some shallow or deep holes on them, and some holes penetrate the entire stone, forming a moon in the stone. At the far end where I went, there was a strange stone stacked on top of a huge boulder (three to four meters high), which looked like a deer looking back. I also asked someone to help me take photos with the stone as the background.
During my visit to Yehliu, I felt like I had returned to a fairy tale kingdom. Nature, with its perseverance over thousands of years, carved out an artistic world for us, which made us linger and inspired our endless imagination. When our souls collide with nature's works of art and create sparks, we enter a poetic world and feel the beauty of the universe.

 

Integrity
During my few days traveling in Taiwan, I deeply felt the integrity of Taiwanese compatriots. These days, I have been living in the same room as my mainland tour guide Mr. Shen, so he is responsible for picking up and handing over the keys every day. After two or three days, I gradually felt something different from the mainland. When traveling in the mainland, tour guides often tell us that when entering a room, we must first carefully check whether the facilities in the room are intact and whether all supplies are complete. If there is any damage, report it immediately, otherwise you may be responsible for the compensation for the damaged items. Must be compensated. Therefore, the first thing you do when entering a hotel room is to act as an inspector and check the entire room carefully and meticulously. Now when I arrived in Taiwan, the tour guide handed me the room key without explaining anything about it. At first I thought he had forgotten it, but I checked it again. When he left the room the next day, he took me away without closing the door. I reminded him that the door was not closed. What if something went wrong during the ward round? He said that Taiwanese hotels have absolute trust in their guests and are very particular about integrity, and they also believe that their guests are very particular about integrity. So, don’t worry about losing anything or damaging anything. This made many people in our group feel very emotional. It is pleasant and a blessing to gain the trust of others.
After leaving the hotel and boarding the tour bus, the Taiwanese tour guide once again reminded everyone to check if they had left anything behind. She also told everyone that even if you leave something behind in the hotel, it doesn't matter. You can call the hotel and leave your name and address, and the hotel will send the leftover items to you, but the postage costs will be borne by the leftover items. bearer. Therefore, you don’t have to worry about losing anything in Taiwan.
There is another thing that made me feel the integrity of Taiwan compatriots. It was to visit the British Consulate in Kaohsiung. We went in to visit, and the Taiwanese tour guide gave each of us a small NT$20 coupon. In the Mainland, there are many coupons like this, mainly for promotions. I didn’t take them seriously and just put them in my pants pocket. After visiting the British Consulate for a while, I felt thirsty in the hot weather, so I went to the canteen and bought an iced drink. The drink was priced at NT$105. I first took out a NT$100 note, then looked for coins in my bag to pay the bill, but it was open for business. The lady asked me if I had a coupon. If so, just pay NT$85. Only then did I remember the coupon given by the tour guide. At that time, it would have been understandable if the sales lady had directly charged NT$105. I had forgotten it myself, but the other party’s reminder made me feel the integrity of the entire scenic spot and even Taiwan. In our mainland, from the "Conspiracy" to the "Great Leap Forward" and then to the "Cultural Revolution", integrity has been completely destroyed, the relationship between people is complicated and tense, and incidents of extortion, deception, and blackmail often occur. Every time I think about it, These things make me envious of Taiwan compatriots and respect them even more.

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