After traveling from Miyun for two days and returning to Beijing, I still can't regard Miyun as the Miyun District of Beijing. How can a place that can see the surrounding Xishan Mountains a few hours after driving out of Beijing be a jurisdiction of Beijing? I was really exhausted from the long drive.
I started my two-day star-chasing trip in Miyun with the question "Is Miyun really still Beijing?".
Yes, we came to Miyun to watch the stars. There was a customer, a child, who wanted to take a portrait of the starry sky. Although I understand how difficult it is to take portraits of starry sky and night scenes, and you may not be able to get a good-looking picture after several hours of shooting, but the child still decided to take the photo, so I agreed.
The last bus we took arrived at a place called Jianyan Village in Miyun. Before we came, we planned to arrive at the place first and then choose a hotel based on the location. Otherwise, if we go out to shoot at night, it would be difficult to call the hotel if it is too far away. The car will be troublesome. But after arriving at the place, we found that it was still difficult to control the distance. We originally planned to take photos of the starry sky at Miyun Reservoir, but after asking the driver, it turned out that Miyun Reservoir was no longer accessible a few years ago and could only be accessed from the surrounding observation decks. Take a look at it, or take a look at it from a distance while driving on the highway. Well, this seems to be a bad start.
But fortunately, the children and I have a good mentality. Originally, shooting portraits of starry sky and night scenes was just for watching the sky and eating. We settled in a farmhouse-style family hotel in Jianyan Village.
The lady at the hotel was extremely enthusiastic and suggested a reasonable itinerary for us after hearing our plans. In the end, we plan to have lunch and rest for a while before going to the town of Vernon, and then from the town to the Sun and Moon Valley.
These place names sound very nice, but in fact they are.
The town of Vernon had attracted many people under the banner of Monet's paintings, but in fact it was just a community. It didn't look like the back garden of Monet's paintings, but more like the rich people. 's back garden. The residences here are combined with the so-called beautiful scenery, but there is really nothing to see. Apart from the large green lawn, I can't think of anything more attractive. Those so-called scenery are not as good as the security guard at the door. The flushed cheeks come at a fun time.
I first became interested in this place when I saw someone mention Monet's name, but in fact there is no element about Monet here, not at all. If I have to resist, maybe we can find the backwater ditch where the black swan lives. You can close your eyes and feel that it looks a bit like the place where Monet painted "Water Lilies". Is it really similar? Like his uncle.
But it can’t be said that this place is useless. There are two ponies, an elk, two lambs, an alpaca, two woolly rabbits raised in the pasture, two black swans, and two large white geese in the backwater ditch. At least they are cute, at least they are real lives and make people feel sincere. Other than that, I just think the town of Vernon is such a superficial and fake place. I don’t want to waste my time coming here again. .
After coming out of the small town of Vernon full of unspoken disappointment, we headed to Sunshine Valley.
What a romantic and poetic name it sounds like! Sunlight Valley, in imagination, there should be a very beautiful valley, with the sun rising from one side and setting from the other side. There is a long river flowing through the valley day and night, and the moonlight will shine freely into the valley during the full moon. People will find peace and harvest in such scenery, and then leave before the night completely covers the earth.
But actually, I won’t use swear words.
There is nothing here, nothing. Could the landscape architect not circle a small area of the mountain and build a few new European-style houses? Just treat this place as a paradise town in Switzerland, let alone euphemistically call it "Sunshine Valley". People who believe in words will because The name was tricked into getting here.
We didn’t give up and asked the security guard at the door where we could see the Miyun Reservoir. The uncle pointed to the mountain and said that it takes about thirty minutes to walk along a wooden plank road to the viewing platform. You can see the dense clouds of water. It was still early, so my children and I decided to take a look.
But after walking for a while, I found that there was no one else here except the two of us who were going to the observation deck. The road up the mountain became quieter and quieter, the steps up the mountain became more and more shaky, and the sun seemed to slowly fade away. I'm going to hide on the other side of the mountain.
Finally, after half an hour of climbing, we arrived at a 180-degree viewing platform, where we could have a sweeping view of the reservoir before sunset. A thin layer of mist rose above the reservoir, and the trees around the reservoir became mysterious due to the dim light. The horizon was dyed with a faint pink color. At that moment, we felt that we had walked a long way to get here. worth.
After the 180-degree view, we suddenly discovered that we could go to a higher viewing point, so we made a big effort and decided to climb to the highest point to have a look no matter what. When we finally found that we had reached the highest point, what greeted us was a scene of sunlight filling the wooden platform below the observation deck. I was instantly attracted by that scene and realized that the sunset was about to come. .
Sure enough, we went through a small staircase to reach the observation deck above. The sun was shining over the mountains not far away, as if thinking whether it was going to set at this moment. The sky was dyed golden yellow, and gradually spread higher and higher. The mountains turned dark blue, and the water in the reservoir below the mountains also turned blue. The sun was about to set a little bit, and the light in the whole world became extremely soft. The children stood on the viewing platform and looked in the direction of the setting sun. Their entire faces were shrouded in the glory of the setting sun, and their eyes were wrapped in the setting sun. It was so tender. I captured that scene in my camera, and when I look at it again, I am still moved.
At this moment, we felt that it was worth walking a long way to get here. We walked a long way and climbed very high mountains. If we could see such a beautiful sunset, it would be all worth it.
After we came down from the mountain, night began to cover the land, and the mountains became quieter. The moon has risen, a very round one, hanging not high above the mountain. It is so bright that it makes the surrounding sky appear faintly white. That day was the 14th day of the fourth lunar month. The moon was close to full and the stars were sparse. Our star-chasing journey seemed to have gone in the wrong direction from the beginning.
It was just past eight o'clock, but there was no car at the foot of the mountain. There was no car we had called for for a long time. No car was willing to stop when we stopped on the roadside. When we were at a loss, the children stopped one. He asked if he could take us back to Jianyan Village and how much it would cost. The driver said there were a few of you, and we said we two. He said come up. We asked how much it would cost, but he said no money. Ah, if you ask for money, I wouldn’t even dare to come, let alone if you don’t want money, I muttered to myself. But after confirming with the elder brother several times, the elder brother said that there was no need for money and his attitude was very sincere. We really couldn't find a car to go back. The Sunlight Valley was fifteen kilometers away from Jianyan Village, so we had no other choice.
I got into the car with a trace of doubt and a hint of gratitude that I could only feel at this moment. I admit that I was thinking the whole time that this was not a safe and suitable choice, but we seemed to have no other choice. I was very worried that this was not safe, so I found a topic to chat with my elder brother. It turned out that my elder brother had just returned from fishing and had a lot of fishing tools installed in the car. He said that the fish he just caught was very good, and a tourist wanted to buy it. He didn't sell to them. The navigation showed that we were getting closer to the destination, and I began to breathe a sigh of relief. When my elder brother smoothly delivered us to the destination and turned around to leave, I finally realized what a kind-hearted person he was . The fifteen-kilometer journey was not convenient for him. He sent us back on purpose without taking any money. I was also convinced of how I had just judged a gentleman’s heart with a villain’s heart. It is so difficult to build a bridge of trust between strangers. Of course I know that more people are kind-hearted, but when facing strangers, how can I put the flag of trust in my heart from the beginning?
After returning to Jianyan Village, we will start preparing for tonight's star-chasing trip. I packed up the equipment and discussed with the children how to get to the observation deck closest to Jianyan Village where you can see the reservoir. The four-kilometer journey is still We couldn't get a taxi, and we finally decided to ride the hotel's tricycle to the observation deck.
There was a gentle breeze in the mountains at night, and after the car started, a gust of wind blew in my face. There were cars passing by on the road. If I were a person in the car, I would be curious about the two girls riding a tricycle on the road at ten o'clock at night. What exactly do you want to do? The moon was bigger than when I saw it in Sunlight Valley. It hung steadily low in the sky. The surrounding sky and the mountain peaks under the sky were all illuminated. As we drove past, it seemed that we were getting closer and closer to the moon. , the sky was getting brighter and brighter, and finally we arrived at the observation deck, but this platform was really not suitable for shooting starry sky portraits, and the reservoir was now closed to entry. We began to think that the idea of shooting starry sky portraits in the reservoir was probably going to be given up.
But we still watched for a while on the viewing platform. We saw the moonlight of the very low moon reflected in the water, making a small piece of water sparkle. It seemed to be the entrance to the underwater world. Where the sky and the earth are connected, if you have a pass, you can go from the luminous water inlet to the graceful and mysterious underwater world, or even go wherever you want to go.
Ultimately, we decided to abandon tonight's shoot, which led to another decision, which was to stay here tomorrow night. Obviously this was not our original plan, although I know how difficult it is to photograph the starry sky at night, and it is not uncommon to not take it in a day.
As usual, we didn't take any photos the next day.
The next day we decided to go to Miyun National Observatory to shoot night scenes, but there was still a long day to spend before that. We decided to go to a local manor, but Miyun was so big! After we came out of Jianyan Village, we first took a bus for nearly two hours to transfer to another bus, and then took a bus for nearly an hour and finally arrived at the manor. Oh no, because you have to press the stop button on this bus. The car will stop only after pressing the button, but we didn't know this rule, missed our manor station, and walked two more stops. Ah, the journey of embarrassment seems to have already begun.
The Bailongtan Station where we got off was almost a place without a village or a store. All the people driving on the road were heavy trucks pulling stones. At this time, Bailongtan Station was two stops away from the manor we wanted to go to. It shows two kilometers. Do you think you can wait here for the bus back? No, some buses in Miyun stop very early, and some run every two hours. There are no buses, and we can't get a taxi. In desperation, we decided to walk the two kilometers to the manor.
Since our night destination is the National Observatory Miyun Station, which is farther than the manor, all my equipment and the items I need to bring for this photo shoot are packed in my 20-inch suitcase. , now they want to walk two kilometers with me to the mysterious manor.
Heavy trucks kept passing by on the highway, and the rumbling sound reminded me of that year when I was riding in Yunnan. I camped in a small open space beside the highway on the first night, so I spent the whole night listening to the sound of heavy trucks passing by. The sound makes it hard to close your eyes. It was too noisy, the road was difficult, the weather was hot, and the road seemed to be getting longer and longer. We tried to stop some small vehicles that looked "friendly", but no one paid any attention to us. Imagine a road full of heavy trucks. There are no homes on both sides of the road. Two girls are dragging their suitcases and walking under the scorching sun. They reach out to stop the fast-moving cars, but no one is willing to stop.
Why is the two-kilometer road so long? Two kilometers is too far. The weather is too hot. The suitcase in my hand keeps getting stuck by the stones thrown by the heavy trucks on the road. At a certain moment, I began to curse my stupidity, my incompetence, and why I What can you gain by enduring this hardship here, and what is its significance. Even though this was a profitable shoot, I am absolutely convinced that no other photographer would do this, or should do this.
Then, I feel like I am repaying this child, repaying her for having asked me to take pictures, and repaying me for taking pictures again, repaying her sincere encouragement and heart-warming words, repaying her for once saying: Among the photographers I know, I am the most like you.
But the road is still so long, what should we do? Finally, we saw an aunt riding a tricycle coming from behind. We reached out to stop her, but she stopped. The aunt stopped, and we described to her with a grateful and humble tone why we were here and where we wanted to go. Before we could finish, the aunt got out of the car and dumped the debris on the rear bucket of her tricycle. Gives us somewhere to sit and put our suitcases.
The aunt's car drove for about a quarter of an hour and finally brought us to the manor. We were also sure that the distance that showed only two kilometers on the map could never be only two kilometers. Just like the elder brother who specially sent us back the night before, my aunt didn't take the whole route. After she dropped us off, she turned around and went back to where she originally wanted to go.
The manor has nothing to say. It’s just that the security uncle at the door was kind and generous. When we asked for water, the uncle gave us the last two bottles of bottled water he had. Knowing that our next stop was to go to the National Observatory in Bulaotun Town, he also helped us check the bus route. , remind us where to wait for the bus, etc. Although the journey was a little embarrassing, fortunately, the people I met along the way were so warm and kind, which finally made me feel at ease.
In the end, we spent a lot of effort to get a taxi and headed to Bulaotun Town when we felt in desperation that we would definitely not be able to get a taxi.
This is the last chance we have for this shoot.
Before nightfall, we walked from Bulaotun Town to the National Observatory. During this period, we had to walk a long country road. Along the way, we met many local villagers who came out for a walk after dinner, a warm countryside scene. After a while, we saw the "cauldrons" of the National Observatory from a distance, which looked solemn and mysterious in the sunset.
It was approved and built as early as 1966 and was the main observation base for early radio astronomy in my country. Because it is far away from the city and located in the countryside, it has become the best stargazing venue for many astronomy enthusiasts and photography enthusiasts.
We are here for this too.
But what is embarrassing is that the sky is covered with clouds at this moment, and there is no sign that the stars will fill the sky. Even though we checked the weather before and said "it will be sunny tonight, it will be cloudy and clear tonight".
So we began to wait for the clouds to clear. During this period, I still plan to take some other photos, so that even if I can't take photos of the starry sky in the end, I can at least use other photos to prove that our trip was not in vain and that the long journey we took was not in vain.
Several observation instruments of the observatory are extremely huge. When you stand below and look up, you will feel very oppressive. The moment you look up, you feel very uncomfortable. I thought of the "phobia of giant objects" I heard before. I suspect I have macrophobia.
But after getting used to it for a while, the situation became much better. I tried to take a picture of what it looked like, but what I showed in the photo was not as shocking as the real thing. Seeing is believing, that’s absolutely true.
Time passed little by little, and many people who came to see the stars left one after another. We were torn between waiting or leaving, and we were also heartbroken. This means that our two-day star-chasing trip seems to have been a complete and utter failure. The stars will not come out. We spent a lot of energy to come here to see and take pictures of the stars, but we didn’t see anything, let alone take pictures. . What could be more frustrating for a photographer?
At about 11 o'clock at night, we finally collected all the tools and planned to leave. As we walked back along the country road with uninhabited land on both sides, a dark cloud above our heads was dispersing, and the small patch of sky suddenly became brighter. Gradually, we saw a few stars emerging. The head is hanging very high and far away, as if to tease us. Although those few stars that suddenly arrived comforted our disappointed hearts after waiting for a long time, their number was far from enough to take a portrait of the starry sky. We just looked up for a while and decided to go back.
What sounded like it was supposed to be a romantic star-chasing journey ended in failure mixed with many embarrassing moments.
Do you think the embarrassment ends here? Returning to the hotel entrance, we found that the door was closed, no one was in the courtyard, and the front hall deep in the courtyard where guests were received was in darkness. Called, but no one answered. Fortunately, a young lady in the next room heard the sound and came out to open the door for us.
I thought the embarrassment would end here. but no.
There were no pillows in our room, and the owner was nowhere to be seen, along with the stars in the night.
