Henan Travel Notes | 7-day tour to the Central Plains for the first time

Today is the motherland’s birthday, but countless people have no choice but to celebrate the motherland’s birthday in the car. Unfortunately, I am one of them, so today is a highway day trip.

At five o'clock in the morning, Brother Peng picked me up and headed to Henan. Zhouzhou was originally going to go together, but as expected, this dove spirit did it again. Does this prove the saying: When you thought I could do it, I did it, which is also a kind of incompetence. The night before, Brother Peng checked the navigation and found that it was expected to arrive in 17 hours, so he chose to set off early in the morning, but the time spent on the road was not shorter.

Not long after leaving Hangzhou, we encountered a series of collisions on the highway. The number of accidents along the way was probably in double digits. Some cars had their fronts smashed to pieces, and some cars' rears were smashed to pieces. The cars caught in the middle were even worse, with both their heads and tails suffering. There were many cars on the road that had their shells smashed but could still be driven and were still trying to move forward, just like injured soldiers on the battlefield who were still fighting tenaciously. There were even more outrageous ones that were smoking and driving at the same time, so we had to stay away from them. Of course, most of them cannot drive the car that is installed in other cars, which is even more miserable.

Besides accidents, another cause of traffic jams is service areas and gas stations. A section of the highway we passed was under construction, causing servers and gas stations to be closed for a long stretch of the road. After that, every time I passed the service area and gas station, the cars queuing up would block the highway.

At noon, we arrived in Wuhu, Anhui. We were hungry and planned to have a meal, but it took more than three hours to eat. After dinner, Brother Peng drove out of the parking space and saw an Audi A6L speeding past and then hit it. Fortunately, it was only scratched, and the other driver was not difficult to talk to. In the end, we went to the repair shop to repaint it, and then called the insurance company to compensate, and that was the end of it. This is the first time for the three of us to experience this, so we have gained experience. Although it wasn't a particularly big deal, it still took up a lot of time.

Finally, before twelve o'clock in the evening, we crossed the border between Anhui and Henan, but we were tired and excited, and we didn't have time to take a photo of the phrase "The people of Henan welcome you", and we didn't dare to let Brother Peng go back and take a photo, so we had to give up. For the first time, I felt that Anhui was so big.

Not long after that, we arrived at my sister-in-law’s house. My sister-in-law’s parents made us a sumptuous dinner (which can also be regarded as a late-night snack). The pig’s trotters, beef and roast chicken were really delicious, as well as an unknown stew soup.

On the way, I was worried that Brother Peng was too tired, so I started driving for a while. However, I haven’t driven a manual transmission for a long time, and the clutch often releases too quickly, causing the engine to stall. Brother Peng, who was watching me from the side, felt more tired than driving myself, so he took over and went back soon. In any case, it can be considered that Brother Peng and I drove for 20 hours from Hangzhou, Zhejiang to Zhoukou, Henan.

The next day, Brother Peng and I got up early for no apparent reason and planned our trip there. Then I went to my sister-in-law’s house to have an authentic Henan breakfast: beef patties + fried dough sticks + spicy soup. After that, we drove to Zhengzhou and got off the car at Jianye·Huayi Brothers Movie Town halfway and started our journey to Zhengzhou.

The movie town is quite suitable for people who like movies to visit. There will be some exhibition halls introducing the history of movie development. Of course, there are more scenes of dressing up and taking photos, as well as various performances. The overall evaluation is that if it is not a holiday, it is an attraction worth visiting, because there are too many people during the holidays. There were so many people that I wanted to go out for a while, but was pushed back because of a sudden outdoor performance.

Putting aside the factor of people following the herd, let’s talk about something else. The open-air performances in the town are quite good, and there are many types, including sitcoms, sketches, acrobatics, Tai Chi, and in the evening there is also a disco. Of course, there are also special National Day programs, and they also introduced us to traditions such as foreign movies and shadow puppet shows. The connection between folklore and modern cinema.

The scenery of the entire town is also very beautiful. When you first enter, you can rent some film and television costumes, which is suitable for taking friends to pose for photos in various places (I cried bitterly when I went there alone). There are also some special scenes where you can go in and rent specific clothes for filming blockbusters, but there are so many people queuing that you have no idea. There will also be interactive programs that invite group performers to perform a scene together on stage, and you can actually see the whole process of hanging wire. The night view at night is also different, it feels like the night view of an ancient town.

There are also many literary and antique shops in the town, where you can go shopping between watching performances.

There is also a large-scale performance "Crossing Dehua Street" in the town, which can be purchased together with the tickets. A Dehua Street, a century of Zhengzhou history. "Crossing Dehua Street" is based on real historical events such as the Ping-Han Railway sabotage team's heroic efforts to blow up the railway to prevent the Japanese army from occupying the Beijing-Hankow Railway, and the Dehua bombing. It vividly reproduces the benevolence and righteousness of Henan merchants in the torrent of the times. It embodies the spirit of "transforming people with virtue" in Dehua Street, and is a magnificent epic that interprets the feelings of family and country and the righteousness of the nation. "Crossing Dehua Street" is rooted in the local characteristics of Zhengzhou and presents many brilliant cultural elements from the Central Plains region. The Henan opera form is used many times in the play to express emotions. The performance also invited veteran intangible cultural heritage artists to record cries in Henan dialect, fully demonstrating the characteristics of Henan, Zhengzhou and Dehua Street. Acrobatics and other folk customs are also mixed in. At the same time, there is also the beauty and moving beauty of a stage play. I highly recommend watching it.

When it was about to close, "There's a Play Along the Way" began. On the street just outside the exit, the staff either turned into drama queens and added drama to themselves crazily; or they put on beautiful poses and remained motionless like statues. Then the day's trip ended.

On the edge of the movie town, a new theater community called "Only Henan" was built. Many people asked me to give a review. I will give it 99 points. The 1 point deducted is not because I am afraid of its pride, but because its name is a bit annoying to explain.

"Only Henan" is a theatrical fantasy city with 21 theaters and more than 30 plays. It is China's first panoramic and fully immersive theater theme park and the largest theater community in the world. It is known as the "Historical Records" by the Yellow River. "Li Sao".

The overall performance is based on the Yellow River Civilization, uses immersive drama art as a technique, and uses the unique "Fantasy City" architecture as a carrier to combine tradition and modernity, past and future, flow and stillness, sound and picture, actors and audience, etc. Various organic connections were made, and the collision gave rise to a particularly wonderful participation experience. Anyway, I don’t think it’s too much to praise me! I have also given benefits to countless people.

When you first enter, you will see a huge wheat field, which echoes the theme of "land, food, and inheritance". It also makes the entire theater very down-to-earth and integrated into people's livelihood.

The entire theater is a checkerboard-shaped building. When you first enter, it's like walking through a maze. It feels the same everywhere you look. There are signboards marking the north, south, east, and west. At first, I thought they were for decoration, but then I couldn’t live without them.

If there is a shortcoming besides the name, it is that there are too many dramas to watch. Although the number of people is limited, National Day is still indispensable for large crowds. From "only Henan people" to "only Henan people". As someone who keeps rushing to the theater, I stand and watch almost every show, and I risk my life just to watch the show.

Let’s briefly introduce the show in chronological order (the following contains minor spoilers, so you can skip it).

This is a traditional local song "storytelling" in Henan. Although Yu Pu could understand it individually, he couldn't follow it when spoken together. It was roughly talking about a girl getting married. I just got dizzy after entering the theater, so I sat down and watched this, and then I felt that "Only Henan" was nothing interesting. But then he was slapped hard in the face.

Acrobatics are almost a must in theaters in Zhengzhou, perhaps because it is close to the Shaolin Temple. While watching, I was surprised and asked Brother Peng: "Does the average person in your province know how to do acrobatics?" There is no sense that the actors are superior here. In the end, they even performed in the audience, and when they left, they walked with the audience, which made people feel "Acrobatics is among the people."

This is the first serious drama. The whole drama revolves around the two characteristics of a loud voice and a scar on the face. It tells the story of the protagonist's three previous life experiences, which sounds nonsensical but is intertwined.

The plot is a bit cliché. A worker in a ruins pit fell asleep and dreamed that he had traveled through time. However, the transition between dream and reality, as well as the change in Zhou Tianzi's thoughts, are still very stage-effect.

Only Henan has three main theaters: Huancheng, Railway Station, and Lijiacun. For a single-day ticket, you can choose one main theater, and you can purchase the other two after entering; you can also buy a two-day ticket directly, and all three main theaters are included (if I had known better, I would not have gone to the movie town to buy a two-day ticket) . There were so many people during the National Day and I didn’t dare to buy a traveling theater, so I chose Huancheng.

Here, light and shadow technology is used to the extreme, as if traveling through thousands of years of history and meeting celebrities from different time and space. There are only two words for the feeling of watching the whole performance - shocking. Through the light and shadow that are both real and fake, the stage rises and falls suddenly, allowing multiple dynasties separated by thousands of years to slowly rise from the ground and dialogue with modern times. It is rare that historical celebrities from thousands of years are all in the same frame in Fantasy City.

As the theme song of "Only Henan" (which is also super nice) slowly sounds, the stories told in the fantasy city also tell us that time flies and the sea changes. As long as the Chinese traditional culture has a long history, they can survive forever. .

It's a waste to come here to watch the light show. It's better to work overtime on Tuesday night and sit in the office to watch it. And there were many children at the scene, chasing the laser like cats.

I was hungry and tired at the time, so I bought some food and sat down in a square. There happened to be a band performing. In the past, the bands I listened to were all in the hip-hop rock style, but the Farmer Brothers Band played some popular old songs, which had a unique flavor.

Another "storyteller", this time telling the story of Bao Qingtian. Compared with the previous pendant book, Heluo Dagu is more down-to-earth. The actors stand on the roadside and start performing in front of the onlookers.

Pieces of seemingly ordinary items floated slowly through the waiting hall. Some were mentioned in a few words, making people think about them; some unfolded a detailed memory, making people immersive. Among them, there are too many attachments that I dare not forget, and deep feelings that are constantly being cut and confused.

The theater has a rich scene. First, there was a performance by a band in the old warehouse bar. The music stopped suddenly, the lights suddenly went out, and the bar owner chatted with the "ghost" about representative stories that had happened in the old warehouse. Small stories can bear witness to the big times. Finally, the band comes on stage again, and you can dance in the middle of the stage.

Here we enter the nightclub. There is no drama or dancing on this stage, only the gracefulness of the young ladies from the Tang Dynasty and their heroic posture after putting on men's clothes. There is a quiet and leisurely beauty.

There are several rows of chairs on the wall, and then with the more passionate music, the lights hit from one end of the chairs to the other. If you are short on time, it is recommended to skip it directly.

We returned to the large wheat field where we first came in. At this time, the 328-meter wall turned into a 328-meter giant scroll. At night, the dynamic "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" and "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains" were transformed on the wall. Echoing the earth. At the end, there will also be barrages floating by, and the true feelings for this land are revealed between the lines.

I stopped watching the night show. I was really tired after watching it all day, and it was easier to get out early and take a taxi. After that, I went shopping in Zhengzhou city.

Commonly known as Big Corn, it is a check-in landmark building. The photos taken online looked very good, so I tried it too. Well, my good friend commented that the corn was moldy, it must be because the yellow light was not turned on. Fortunately, Brother Peng thinks these are more beautiful than the yellow light "big corn", and he is satisfied.

Another check-in landmark building is located in the center of "Erqi Square". This place was built to commemorate the February 7th strike in Zhengzhou. If you come early, you can visit it for free. The photos taken at night are quite beautiful.

After watching "Crossing Dehua Street" in the movie town, I was deeply impressed by this place, which happens to be right next to Erqi Square. I have long heard that Zhengzhou has a rich nightlife. Even at 23:00, this pedestrian street is still brightly lit. It is worth mentioning that there are at least 7 Mixue Bingcheng stores on this small street. After all, it is the birthplace of Mixue Bingcheng.

I originally wanted to go to Henan Museum the next day, but it was so popular that I only made an appointment for today's tickets. I happened to go to Brother Peng's house in the afternoon, so I took advantage of my free time in the morning to go there. As a result, I was fascinated as soon as I entered. After all, it is the birthplace of the Central Plains civilization.

The museum has a total of 4 floors. It is said that the first two floors are the most worth visiting. Time is limited (I think it will take a whole day to visit them all). I only went to exhibition halls 1-8 on the first two floors, from the Neolithic Age to the Sui and Tang Dynasties. There are 8 of the 9 treasures of the museum in the first eight exhibition halls (but I missed one). I will find a chance next time to make up for what I missed. All in all, it is a museum worth visiting.

I saw a fan that I really liked in the cultural and creative area of ​​the museum. Although it was a bit expensive, I reluctantly bought it.

Then I took the bus to Xinmi with Yirou and her boyfriend. There were a lot of things to prepare for that day, so I didn’t go to Chengxinmi Night Market (although Yirou went and the review wasn’t very high). I went to pick up Brother Bing in the middle of the night. The four members of the Kaifeng team were finally together, and someone finally took a photo of me (it’s good to have brothers to go out with).

It’s Brother Peng’s wedding in the morning. I wish Brother Peng and his sister-in-law a happy marriage forever. For those who didn’t come to the wedding, I suggest you take a look at the pictures. It’s really beautiful.

This is also the first time that I was invited to a wedding (in my own name) and directly became the best man. I felt that the whole process was quite interesting. The best man group felt like the nervous Brother Peng was responsible for all the laughter for the whole day, and then again I think of the sweat on Brother Peng’s face and his nervous request for help when his poem was answered. Many thanks to the little limerick genius Yi Rou for his help. You are welcome to invite me more in the future, after all, my ability to find shoes is still first-rate.

In the evening, we took a bus to Kaifeng. It happened to coincide with the severe temperature drop in Henan Province, which dropped directly from 30℃ to 10℃ (later, all of us who went to Henan got colds, and it is not ruled out that they were infected by Brother Bing). The Yellow River flows north of Kaifeng, and there is another Bian River in the city. River, it was windy and rainy, it was really very cold.

When arriving in Kaifeng at night, the first thing to consider is the night market.

Gulou Night Market is probably the most famous night market in Kaifeng, but the place you can visit is not very big and the items sold are all similar. Finally, I ordered Xiaohu stir-fried jelly, mutton steamed buns and Henan’s signature braised noodles. It is said that you can go shopping on the Drum Tower. It may only be open during the day, but we did not find the entrance.

Originally we wanted to go to Da Song Yuhe, but it was so cold by the river that we didn’t even have the courage to take pictures. There happened to be a night market nearby, so we checked it out and it happened to be the famous Xisi Night Market, so we went to have something to eat. I tried Shang Kee braised lamb kebabs, tripe and door-to-door squid. I also thought about using grilled durian and stinky tofu to hurt each other, but finally gave up.

Let me start with a little episode about breakfast. It was too cold, so we ordered takeout from the hotel. Kaifeng's fried mutton buns were 3 yuan a piece. Brother Bing thought it was 3 yuan a piece, so he ordered four. The small fried dough sticks were 3 yuan a piece, so he ordered two. As a result, two bags were delivered, estimated to contain more than 20 buns (Brother Peng said they cost about 1 yuan for 2 buns). In addition to these, there are also untouched soybean-flavored pancakes and the usual two portions of spicy spicy soup. As a result, the fried buns and fried dough sticks were given to Yirou and she didn't even finish them, so she was inevitably laughed at. Brother Bing was not convinced and asked everyone to comment. As a result, Chen Tianying said that if it were her, she would order 8 fried buns (even more outrageous).

It was too cold that day, so we gave up outdoor attractions such as Bao Gong Temple, Kaifeng Mansion, and Daxiangguo Temple, and chose the Kaifeng Municipal Museum. This museum is newly built, so it looks very grand, but as for the collection, it can only be said that it is incomparable with the Henan Museum. In comparison, only the Qingming Riverside Scene exhibition area and the ancient royal supplies exhibition area were decent.

As soon as he arrived at the museum, Brother Bing started to act: "This used to be my kingdom." Although he has a big surname, he has never been an emperor, so he can only watch quietly from the side. However, the most famous work in Kaifeng was created by my ancestor.

It was so cold that I couldn't even think about it, but I felt lonely after visiting Kaifeng, so I endured the severe cold and passed. Qingming Riverside Garden is a large-scale historical and cultural theme park of the Song Dynasty built based on "Along the River During Qingming Festival", a masterpiece by the famous Northern Song Dynasty painter Zhang Zeduan. We did not go to see "Song Dynasty: Tokyo Dream", and there were also large and small performances. I didn’t watch much, but I hope I can go there again when the weather gets warmer. You can rent Hanfu for free as soon as you enter the garden, but only Yirou's man wears it with me. Thanks to photographer Zhao Da for helping take pictures in the cold wind. I will definitely call you when I go out in the future.

Overall, the restoration of the garden is very high. Many small details can be found in the garden, and the quality of the few performances I watched was also pretty good. However, the road construction at that time forced us to go back the same way, which was a small dissatisfaction.

Return trip by train. When I returned to Hangzhou, I suddenly understood the meaning of "the warm wind makes tourists drunk and only calls Hangzhou Bianzhou". The wind in Hangzhou is indeed very warm.