slow

I have long heard that there is an international slow city in Gaochun District, Nanjing. This time, taking advantage of the east wind during the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, I was invited by friends to come here to play. The start of this trip was the opening of the Lotus Festival in Gucheng Lake and Slow City.
First of all, let's talk about what an international slow city is? You can understand it as a new urban model; you can also understand it as a relatively slow pace of life here. There are many rules and regulations for becoming an "international slow city". Let me tell you simply, there is probably more space for people to walk and more green space for people to relax. It is worth mentioning that Gaochun District is China's first "International Slow City" awarded by the World Slow City Alliance and the location of the China headquarters of the International Slow City Alliance.

Next, follow my photos and words for two days and one night to experience the charm of Gaochun's "slowness"!

trip route

If you like self-driving travel, it is not difficult to feel how great Jiangsu's highways and rural roads are! The road is wide and flat, and it is still a plain area with almost no ups and downs, making it very easy to drive.
I drove from Changzhou to Gaochun, which is about 145 kilometers, and almost 95% of it is high speed. Of course, the theme of this trip is "Slow", and the rural roads along this road are beautiful, such as Rainbow Highway 1 in Liyang, Changzhou and the Shijiu Lake Bridge in Gaochun, the "Sky Land".
(If you are taking public transportation, you can take Line S1 from downtown Nanjing to Xiangyu South Road, transfer to Line S9 to get off at Gaochun Station, and then transfer to the tourist line "You 2" to reach the Gucheng Lake Slow City Scenic Area.)

DAY1: Changzhou-Gaochun, stay at Gucheng Bay New Century Resort Hotel and visit Gucheng Lake Slow City at night (watch the opening ceremony of the Lotus Festival);
DAY2: Gucheng Lake Water Slow City Scenic Area, return in the afternoon.

Night tour of slow water city: Lotus Festival opens

Gucheng Lake Water Slow City Scenic Area covers an area of about 8000 acres. It is a recreational lakeside living resort integrating ecological breeding, ecological tourism, science education, water entertainment and sports, and leisure vacation. In layman's terms, the place is large and there is abundant play. Arriving at the hotel on the first day, after having dinner with friends, I drove to the scenic spot.

Why come at night? Because this day is the opening of the Lotus Festival, with wonderful performances. How can I miss someone who loves to join in the fun? Only when I came did I realize that there were really many people who liked to join in the fun. I felt that all the villagers from all over the country were here. There is no doubt that the annual Lotus Festival is a major event in the local area.

The entire opening ceremony was in an orderly manner. It turned out that the Lotus Festival here had already reached its 13th, and the organizers could be said to be quite experienced. The content is convenient. There are leaders 'speeches, song and dance performances, etc. on the main stage. I also learned from the leaders' speeches that this year's Lotus Festival is characterized by night tours, lively night market stalls, and colorful lighting effects. It can be said to be a fantasy place for a walk on summer nights, which lasts until August 31.

In addition to the wonderful performances on the main stage, there are also folk performances such as iron-forging flowers on the water stage next to it. A large drone array appeared in the sky, which was combined into various patterns and words that were constantly changing, which was extremely visually impactful. At this time, the opening ceremony was further pushed to a climax.

When I was tired from playing, I bought some snacks at the night market stall next to me, and then reluctantly returned to the hotel. Summer nights always don't want to fall asleep, and the wind in summer nights is exceptionally cool. Visiting Shuishancheng at night is definitely a good experience!

Traveling in the water and slowly in the city: appreciating flowers and taking photos

The night tour of Shuimancheng the day before didn't make me enjoy myself, and I couldn't experience the daytime fun at night, and I hadn't taken portraits of Huahai yet. No, we entered the park together early in the morning, and Nan Zhi also changed into beautiful Chinese clothes. As a beauty for this trip, she asked me to take a photo.

Shuishancheng is really big. You can choose a variety of transportation vehicles after you come in, but they are all energy-saving and environmentally friendly. There are battery sightseeing buses and bicycles. Of course, you can also walk around purely on foot. It can also be seen simply from the mobile phone map that it is divided into multiple areas such as Golden Beach, Lakeside Flower Sea, Wetland Zoo, Reed Dish, and Baihe Garden. In summer, there are bayberry picking, go-karting, horse riding, archery, golf and other small projects are worth in-depth experience. Remember the word "slow" and feel it carefully is the best way to visit the scenic area.

The first stop after entering the park is Jinsha Beach, which is a parent-child space built based on Yongsheng Lake (Inner Lake) in the park. Lying on the beach and looking at the blue waves and green waters in front of you, it seems to feel like "Nanjing Bali". It's not just the golden beach, there's also a "Internet celebrity" pink beach. However, Nan Zhi was wearing Hanfu, so taking photos inside seemed very inappropriate. If the young lady can wear a white dress or bikini and take photos inside, it will really hit the circle of friends.

Then we came to the lake and the sea of flowers and we had a good meal. There are patches of purple verbena sea and a yellow sea. Wearing Hanfu to take photos in a place like this is really too dramatic. It is recommended that girls can also wear light-colored clothes to take photos, which will have a clearer contrast with the colors.

Of course, the thousands of acres of lotus flowers in Baihe Garden are the top priority of the trip. As the saying goes,"The lotus leaves connect the sky are endless green, and the lotus flowers reflect the sun are particularly red." Lotus flowers have been deeply loved by literati and literati since ancient times, and there are too many praised poems and masterpieces worth mentioning. I also take photos of lotus flowers every day, but I can't take enough photos.

The lotus flowers in Shuiman City Baihe Garden have their own unique advantages. In addition to the total area of nearly a thousand acres, there are also many lotus varieties here. There are nearly a hundred kinds of precious lotus flowers such as "Beautiful Girl","Friendship Peony Lotus" and "Sword Dance Lotus". The flowering period of lotus flowers is also very long, and can last from mid-June to early September. In Baihe Garden, tourists can not only walk on the trails and have intimate contact with lotus flowers, but also take a wupeng boat, bamboo raft, etc. to enjoy the beautiful scenery.

Lotus is a kind of flower with a very "Chinese style", so it fits well with Han costumes for portraits. Some people may think that lotus flowers are very common, even in parks near their homes. Why bother looking far away? But let me say that there are not many places as large-scale, diverse and perfect as Gucheng Lake and Mincheng. After more than ten years of Lotus Festival, lotus tourism has long been achieved to the extreme. So hurry up and bring your girl to take photos!

There is another area in Shuishuan City worth experiencing in depth, that is the Wetland Zoo. Before I came here, if I said there was a zoo here, I definitely didn't expect it. What I didn't expect was that there were really many animal species here, including crocodile halls, beast halls, primates halls, herbivore halls, flamingo gardens, etc. So along the way, I saw many parents bringing children to play.

My favorite place is definitely the Beast Museum. Since I came here at noon and thought the tiger would take a nap, I didn't expect that I actually caught a photo of a big tiger walking. From a safe distance and facilities, you can take photos with confidence and courage.

There are also many birds in the wetland zoo, the most popular of which is the "hot" and brightly colored flamingos. These little guys seem to be quiet and can sleep standing on one leg, attracting tourists to stop and stop.

There are many interesting animals in the Wetland Zoo. If you bring your children with you, it will undoubtedly be a wonderful study experience. The most important thing is that the Wetland Zoo does not charge additional tickets. As long as you buy a big ticket for Shuiman City, you can see it, which is very cost-effective.

When it comes to experience, there are also many people in Shuishuan City. This time we experienced horse riding, archery, go-kart, golf, etc. The ones who ride on horses are gentle little short horses that are suitable for children to play with. Of course, Nan Zhi, who is only about 80 kilograms, can also be ridden. Archery can also be divided into adults and children. A bow is a real bow, but an arrow is not a real arrow. Its front part is not a sharp iron, but an oval rubber arrow, which does not affect the experience but is also relatively safe.

Next to horse riding and archery, there is also a winding go-kart track. After taking an aerial photo, do you think this difficulty factor is high? At least it's not too exciting for someone like me who drives a lot, so in addition to single ones, there are also double ones, allowing girlfriends or children to sit in the passenger seat and experience the fun of driving together.

"Look, there is a Merlin in front of me..." This is not because I want to comfort my friends and learn Cao Cao's method of seeking plum blossoms to quench thirst. There is really a piece of Merlin to pick in Shuisong City. Because we tried it and it was big and sweet, we also went in and picked a few boxes. Basically, everyone ate while picking. It was so happy in summer, which was the icing on the cake of this trip to Shuishou City.

Tips：
Attraction address: No. 9 Yinghu Road, Gaochun District, Nanjing City;
Tickets: 50 yuan/person (Internet discount price), 30 yuan/person for night tickets;
Business hours: (during the Lotus Festival) 8:30-20:30 (night time 16:00-20:30).

As the saying goes,"Before the three armies move, food and fodder come first." Before we came to Gaochun, we had already arranged accommodation and food! I stayed at Gucheng Bay New Century Resort Hotel. After all, Nanjing is the capital of Jiangsu Province and the ancient capital of the Six Dynasties. Tourism hardware places such as hotels will never disappoint. There should be no need to introduce the Kaiyuan brand. All in all, this is a ultra-high quality resort hotel.

It is not too much to say that it is of high quality, as can be seen from the configuration of the room alone. I found high-luxury items such as Dyson hair dryers, RE fragrance room toiletries, and Kohler bathrooms. A luxurious fruit plate with cherries, lychees and loquats is also provided. It is no exaggeration to say that in order to use the nearly 3000 yuan hair dryer more times, I washed my head twice a day, and even sprinkled bath salts and took a bath at night.

The luxurious twin-bed room with lake view on the first floor where I live has a large balcony that allows you to enjoy the beautiful lake view. Gaochun Old Street, which has a history of over 400 years, is close at hand and adjacent to modern urban living areas. It is convenient to order a cup of milk tea at night, and the delivery staff delivered it to me in more than 20 minutes. The hotel is only about 4 kilometers away from Gucheng Lake and Slow City Scenic Area, which is undoubtedly an excellent choice for visiting Gaochun.

Food: Special Lotus Banquet

This time I came to Gaochun and had two dinners in total. Dinner on the first day was eaten at Gucheng Bay New Century Resort Hotel, and the second day was a special lotus banquet at the restaurant of Gucheng Lake Water Slow City Scenic Area.
This game in the hotel is perfect in terms of the restaurant environment and the exquisiteness of the dishes. It is suitable for tourists who pursue quality and business travel. Take the fruit before dinner for example. I thought I had a dressing box and put makeup before eating. Haha…

The dishes we ate were mainly based on our local dishes, and most of the ingredients were taken from local areas. There are braised big fish heads, stuffed fresh abalone with lion head, flavored diamond-head, iced crayfish, etc., which shows how rich Gaochun's aquatic products are. The dishes taste very good, and it can be said that it is very dignified to come here to treat you to dinner.

I was also deeply impressed by the special lotus banquet I had in Shuimancheng Scenic Area. I never expected lotus flowers to make so many ideas. There are lotus pond chicken rice lotus seed soup, lotus flower crisp, lotus lotus fragrant braised pork, lotus leaf vermicelli, etc., which is really a treasure all over the body. There are also creative dish names such as "Harmony with Harmony","Two Lotus Becomes One", and "Lotus Fated to You". They sound very interesting, so you might as well guess what they are? Come and interact with me!