I have been to Changsha three times. When I visited Changsha again this year, it was just after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month and the air was still slightly cold.
In the past, I either passed by or looked for food, but this time my goal was to have fun. I finally went to some famous Changsha attractions and had a cultural trip.
In the past two years, I have taken a lot of casual trips. I wandered around alone and enjoyed a lot of high altitudes and vast seas.
On a cold spring weekend, I temporarily booked a high-speed rail ticket and traveled lightly. Although it was only one weekend, I could be considered as having visited all the places I wanted to visit: Yuelu Academy of Hunan University, Juzizhou, and the Hunan Provincial Museum that I longed for. As for "famous places" like the Fire Palace, I had already eaten there a few years ago, so I skipped it this time.
After taking the high-speed rail from Shenzhen to Changsha, you can transfer to the subway and go directly to Hunan University. The transportation is very convenient. After exiting the subway, we entered a road with tall dense forests on both sides, which welcomed pedestrians in an orderly manner. There were already campus buildings of Hunan University on both sides, which means that the subway station where I got off was within the university.
After walking for a short time, you can turn left and enter a snack street less than 500 meters away. There are all kinds of special delicacies. There are long lines of students waiting in front of each shop, as if they were in the backstreet of the school back then. I ate stinky tofu and drank tea for my first meal here. The students of Hunan University are so happy!
The academy is not far from the snack street and located at the foot of Yuelu Mountain.
There are several rooms inside that display the history of Yuelu Academy. From the Tang and Song Dynasties to modern times, culture has never been interrupted. The academy itself is also a well-preserved architectural monument. When you are in it, you can already feel that for more than a thousand years, those top students who are among the top students in Hunan have gotten up early every day in the academy to listen to the masters and answer their questions. situation.
At that time, the students all had the desire to sell their talents to the emperor. They only hoped that once they were in high school, they could display their ambitions in the court and make a living for the people. What touched me the most was what I saw in the exhibition hall of Yuelu Academy. Wu Daoxing, the last mountain chief in the Ming Dynasty, after hearing that Emperor Chongzhen hanged himself in Beijing, he chose to go on a hunger strike in his 80s and died , preserving his intellectual integrity. How much courage and grief and indignation it takes to make such a determination to end one's life is admirable!
Aiwanting
After passing a long corridor covered by bamboo trees, you arrive at the back door of the academy. Once you go out, you can see the Aiwan Pavilion after walking a few hundred meters. There was an inscription on a stone tablet in front of me, and I realized that the name "Ai Wan Pavilion" was actually chosen by Bi Yuan, the maniac who built monuments. Sure enough, there is this governor/governor who loves ancient culture everywhere...
In Aiwanting, I gradually felt that winter had passed and the new year had finally arrived.
Because the willow trees by the pond began to sprout, the peach blossoms gradually sprouted shy petals, and the azaleas were already blooming among the trees. The spring water was calm, but nature has begun a new round of excitement. For people who have stayed in Shenzhen for a long time and cannot feel the four seasons, this scene is really nostalgic.
You can take a sightseeing bus from Yuelu Mountain to the foot of the mountain, and you can walk to Juzizhou Bridge in a short distance (you can also take a taxi). The Orange Island in my memory was not that big, but this time it took me a long time to reach the statue of young Mao Zedong, which lasted from dusk until dark, but it was finally a worthwhile trip to see the high-spirited Chairman Mao again.
The reason why I arranged my second visit to Orange Island was because I saw a piece of news on Weibo saying that the peach blossoms in Orange Island were in bloom. After arriving, I did not choose to take the sightseeing bus directly to the statue, but walked there in order to find Orange Island. I visited the peach blossom scenic spots, but unfortunately I didn’t see them all the way. On the contrary, I encountered more magnolias and plum blossoms...
Finally, I found a peach forest in front of the mansion. The peach blossoms here are more prosperous than those at the foot of Yuelu Mountain, and they can withstand macro photography. Haha. I have always been obsessed with peach blossoms, and I was so excited to finally see them again after so many years, as if I had accomplished half the purpose of my trip!
The ultimate goal is of course the Xiangbo Museum, and the Mawangdui Exhibition Hall is a must-visit for history lovers! It provides a good reference for people to study the secular culture of the Han Dynasty, especially the imagination of the T-shaped silk paintings. It made me, a person who has no interest in religion, want to study the faith culture of the past. The Mawangdui Han Tomb also unearthed more than 130,000 characters of silk scripts and slips, many of which were lost after the Han Dynasty and have not been handed down.
In particular, the final light and shadow exhibition uses a dynamic form to show us the religious beliefs and culture of that era. When we see each symbolic animal come to life, we lament the piety of that era that entrusted its thoughts to dreams and bubbles.
I didn't know this place existed at all. After visiting Orange Island, I met a good sister from Changsha that night. After her introduction, I learned that there are many similar food streets in Changsha. The daily schedule here is somewhat similar to that in first-tier cities. People are still bustling at 9pm, making it feel like a "city that never sleeps".
The food here is dazzling. In addition to local Hunan specialties, there are also many special foreign food. We ate at a kebab shop at the end of the street that left a lasting aroma on our lips. What's even worse is that there is a tea shop every few dozen meters here, so you don't have to worry about not being able to buy it. This is also very tough among online celebrity teas. Compared with those drink shops that use scarcity to create queues, it is completely Don’t worry about customer numbers.
Say goodbye to Changsha again.
Although it was only a weekend, it was because of regret that we maintained our love for every place and left a chance for our next visit. I went to all the places I wanted to go and ate delicious food that I didn’t expect (especially a plate of unforgettable toon scrambled eggs at a friend’s house). This trip was perfect!
What is your impression of Changsha? In addition to Yuelu Academy, Juzizhou, and Xiangbo, what other places have made you linger?