"Suppose there is a medieval old city in your fantasy, with a large sleeping tower, a narrow ancient stone road, and a wide stone city wall. There is a clear stream flowing around the city, reflecting the shadow of the mountains, and squatting on the bank. A girl in a red robe and green trousers. If this is the realm in your fantasy, it’s Jinan.”
——Lao She's "Autumn in Jinan"
Before I came to Jinan, Jinan was alive in books, essays written by famous writers. When I came to Jinan, the ancient Jinan in the books disappeared, replaced by a lively, green, full of literature and art. I still like the fresh taste of the new city.
The hotel where we stayed on the first night in Jinan had spring water for drinking directly by the bedside. It really felt like we were in the city of springs.
The next day I had a bowl of local specialty snack "Tianmo" for breakfast. Tianmo is a traditional popular porridge food in Jinan. It is a salty porridge mainly cooked with millet noodles. Jinan people also commonly call it "Five-flavored sweet foam". Among the many snacks in Jinan, Tianmo is the most affordable and high-quality "signature" famous snack. The porridge is obviously salty, why is it called sweet porridge? It is said that it originated from a porridge shop owned by a family named Tian who often gave alms to refugees. Someone later wrote a poem: "I mistakenly called Tian Mo Tian Mo Tian, just because I had gone through a lot of troubles at the beginning; I have experienced the vicissitudes of the world, and after the bitterness and spicyness, I always It’s sweet.”
"This pavilion on the right side of Haiyou is ancient and has many famous people in history." Since ancient times, literati and elegant scholars have had a special liking for Jinan.
Checking in to the scenic spot Qianfo Mountain, the most impressive thing is "Don't ask outsiders" in the "Xingguo Zen Temple". Is this the Buddha's instructions to me?
In the evening, I went to Kuanhouli Food Street to look for food. I couldn’t eat much by myself. I ate a paper bun that was delicious, and then I just watched the people coming and going on the street. There is also an internet-famous old food street in Jinan called Furong Street. The houses are older than those in Kuanhouli, but the food is very homogeneous. If you only have one chance to visit the food street, then I recommend Kuanhouli because it is large in scale and has many varieties. , somewhat similar to Kuanzhai Alley in Chengdu.
Next to the hotel is this old fast food restaurant. It is cheap, high quality, and convenient. It serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. In the morning, there are big buns with various fillings. The meat tastes better than those in big hotels!
"Baotu Spring" has small bridges and flowing water, with willows leaning on it. The spring water splashes out lively without panting.
When you come to Jinan, you mainly come to appreciate the cultural scenery. The highlight is the memorial hall of the two great painters in "Baotu Spring". One of them is the Li Kuchan Memorial Hall in Wanzhu Garden.
In front of the master's authentic pen and ink, you can feel a hearty and hearty spirit rushing towards your face, the spirit of simplicity, masculinity, boldness, and majesty...
The garden architecture of the Bamboo Garden is also very charming. It has the elegance of the winding paths of the gardens in the south of the Yangtze River and the openness and clarity of the gardens in the north.
When you come to the first spring in the world, how can you not have a big bowl of sweet tea brewed with spring water.
A large bowl of refreshing tea paired with a portion of crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, fragrant onion, and golden and moist Jinan oil spin, is the most delicious taste in the world!
The memorial hall of another master Wang Xuetao is in "Cangyuan". Mr. Qi Baishi's "Blue is Already Green" is a sincere appreciation of his disciple Wang Xuetao.
Mr. Wang Xuetao's paintings draw on a wide range of materials, are exquisitely conceived, have charming shapes, are fresh and beautiful, and are full of interest in pen and ink.
After returning from Baotu Spring, we passed Shangri-La on the way and went in to look at the interior decoration design, but unexpectedly encountered a "warm encounter".
Although there are not many exhibits, they are all eye-catching masterpieces. Each piece is derived from the artist's life experience, and each piece contains the artist's inner expression. The empty exhibition hall became my exclusive private space.
"Three rafters thatched house, two small bridges, a few weeping willows, and a bay of flowing water." I strolled around Qushuiting Street for several hours, from when the sun was rising in the afternoon to when the sun was setting in the evening, I still lingered there.
"Wangfu Pond" - a very impressive name, but it is hidden deep in an old one-story house. "In the old days, the pond in the palace courtyard was used by ordinary people." It is said that many people used to swim in it. Now the pond is covered with green algae and is deserted.
Qushuiting Street connects Daming Lake , Baihuazhou, Wangfu Pond , Furong Street , and has a strong cultural atmosphere. On one side are old houses with bricks and tiles, and on the other side is a clear spring with swaying green algae, where Linquan people wash rice and wash clothes. Today's Qushuiting Street still completely retains the spring city style of "every house has spring water and every house has weeping poplars" in "Lao Can's Travels".
The folk cultural and creative market in Baihuazhou is just like the slogan on the poster: "The national trend goes out, young and stylish"
Dinner is a portion of Jinan's famous straw buns, plus a bowl of spring water tea soup. The tea soup is not big, and contains the universe. It uses millet flour, the first of the five grains, and boils it with hot tea, plus green and red silk, brown sugar, white sugar, and black sugar. Sesame seeds, raisins, crushed peanuts, etc. have a rich aroma and are as sweet as glutinous rice.
On my last morning in Jinan, I went to Hongjialou Church, the largest Catholic church in Jinan and even North China. The church is right next to Shandong University, so I went in to take a look at the century-old building inside.
