Introduction: After ten years in Xi'an, no one told me such a beautiful place!

Travel Notes on Meibei Lake

--Spirit Escape

Strangely enough, I have been in Xi'an for nearly 10 years, but I didn't know that Xi'an had such a beautiful place-mei bei Lake. I just watched the warm spring and the flowers bloom, and I couldn't help but want to go out for a walk. So I searched the Internet for a one-day trip around Xi'an and saw this picture of Meibei Lake.

I live near Longshou Village, and Meibei Lake is only 48 kilometers away from me. When I set out, it was already past 12 o'clock in the afternoon. But the weather was very good and warm. I was riding a motorcycle and blowing the wind all the way, and I felt very comfortable.

At the beginning, I said, oddly enough, this is not an exaggeration. Because I have been to almost all the parks around Xi'an. I often go jogging in Daming Palace Park near me. There are also Hancheng Lake, Xingqing Palace, Cien Temple, Mudan Garden, Yuhua Lake, Qujiang South Lake, Labor Park, Kunming Pond... It's not that these parks have beautiful lake views, but I always feel that something is missing. After going to Meibei Lake this time, I finally discovered what these parks lacked, lacking mountains!

Including Meibei Lake, don't read the introduction. It is said that Meibei Lake is located on the bank of the West River in Huyi District, Xi'an City. It is a tourist attraction in the Qin and Han Dynasties and a tourist attraction in the Tang Dynasty. There are many cultural and historical relics. Du Fu, Cen Shen, Su Shi, Cheng Hao and other literati have boated here and composed poems, so it is known as "the best place in Guanzhong Mountains and Rivers." The meaty water that originates in the Zhongnan Mountain Valley joins Hugongquan and Baisha Spring to flow northward, passes through Jinxiu Gully and accumulates into a lake.

The Meibei Lake area is rich in cultural relics and has a long time span. King Huiwen of Qin set up Shanglin Garden, and Meibei is one of the Shanglin Gardens. There are more than 10 scenic spots and relics such as the Mausoleum of the King of the Zhou Dynasty, the Tomb of the Nine Nu of the Qin Dynasty, and the Kongcuitang in the lake area.

The reason why I say don't read the introduction is because all the park lake scenery I mentioned above were artificially restored after tomorrow. So we don't know how different it is from the scale and environment at that time.

But I think that the recovery of Meibei Lake after tomorrow is the best and the most unique conditions. As I said above, I went to so many parks, they were all beautiful, but they all felt that they were missing in the ointment. The shortcoming is that these parks have no attachment, just like a beautiful girl. She is beautiful, but she has no heritage or fairy charm. The absence of this fairy charm or charm does not affect her beauty, but it seems that we can see her all at a glance. The beauty of Meibei Lake is full of charm.

During this trip, I gained an understanding that I should have gotten earlier, that is, mountains are attached to water, and water is the soul of mountains. Water without mountains is water without power; a mountain without water is a mountain that is dry and unadorned. More generally, the same is true of the relationship between men and women. No matter how strong a woman is, it is a big pity to have no man behind her; similarly, no matter how successful a man is, he is alone, which makes people feel pitiful. All park lake scenery water is flat wave water, but if there are mountains in the distance, flat waves are also dynamic waves and thick waves.

I don't travel often, but I have the honor to have been to the West Lake. Why is West Lake known as the most beautiful lake in the world? It was late autumn when I went to the West Lake. There were dead leaves floating by the lake and red maple trees on the bank were red. Many photographers gathered around to take photos. The sun was beautiful that day, but the wind was strong, and the water on the lake almost surged onto the bank. So standing next to the West Lake, I actually felt a majestic feeling, as if I were seeing a "small ocean". I grew up on the Loess Plateau in the north. This was the first time I saw such a lake water. It was naturally extremely beautiful.

In the afternoon, the wind became stronger and the sun hid in the clouds. Bake clouds like incandescent lamps. There was actually a little drizzle in the sky, which really felt like "the mountains and the sky were strange with rain". I walked half way around the lake and I was tired. During this period, I also entered two exhibition halls. It took too long and I forgot the names.

Now I know that the reason why the West Lake is beautiful is not only that it is beautiful, but also that there are mountains and towers around the West Lake. In other words, the beauty of the West Lake cannot be seen at a glance. You also need to search along the West Lake. From near, from far away, from high places... This is why West Lake is known as the most beautiful lake in the world.

Yan Ermei, a poet of the Qing Dynasty, wrote in a poem: "Cien Temple overlooks the Qujiang Pool, and the Yanta Tower is high and looks at the Meipi." Can you really see Meibei Lake on the Wild Goose Pagoda? Obviously it can't. However, it shows the important position of Meibei in the mountains and rivers of Guanzhong.

Let's take a specific look at "Yu Hu County Qun Officials Fan Mei Bei" written by Cen Shen, a poet of the Tang Dynasty. The Yu County in the title is now Hu County. However, the county is now removed and established as a district, called Huyi District. The poem is as follows: Thousands of acres are immersed in the sky, and thousands of miles are exhausted. The boat moves the city into the trees, and the bank is wide and the water is floating in the village. The idle herons startled the flute pipes, and lurched near the wine bottles. Ming came to call for the small officials, and set a fire to return to the pavilion.

The first four sentences are simply amazing, and they are the same as how I feel standing in Meibei Lake. But I don't have the ability to recite poems and give them to the world, so I can only say that it's beautiful. However, it is obvious that the current lake scenery is different from what Cen Shen saw, and the current scenery is obviously insufficient. But for me, it is already very satisfied.

If I didn't tell you the title of this poem, everyone would probably think that it was describing the beautiful scenery of Jiangnan. Who would have thought that this was describing the beautiful scenery of Guanzhong?

No one has told me about this beautiful scenery in the past 10 years in Xi'an. When I saw Du Fu's poem "Journey to Meibei" in the Meibei Lake Scenic Area, I knew that he was lucky. Because after Cen Shen went to play, he felt it was beautiful, extremely beautiful. So I took Du Fu there.

So Du Fu came back and wrote a song "Journey to Meibei" and wrote: "Brother Cen Shen are all curious and brought me here to visit Meibei." Calling him brother is obviously a good relationship. Cen Shen and Du Fu both mentioned the "Wanqing" scenery in their poems. Obviously, the scenery at that time was far better than it is now.

The original poem is as follows:

Meibeihang

Brother Cen Shen was curious and brought me here to visit Meibei.

The heaven and earth are dark and miserable, and the waves are filled with glass.

Glass sweat drifted in the boat, and things were very prosperous and worried.

It is no longer known that the alligator tuko is swallowed by a whale, and how can I sigh about the evil wind and white waves?

The master's brocade sails open each other, and the boat is very happy.

The ducks and fou are scattered and the oars are chirping, and the silk pipes are chirping zhōu jiū from the sky.

The deep pole continues to be uncharted and deep, and the water chestnut leaves and lotus flowers are as clean as wiping.

Wan is clear in the middle of the river, and the river is clear, and the river is dark in the south.

To the south of Banpi, the pure immersion mountain is full of moving shadows.

Yunji Temple is dark on the side of the ship, and the moon rises above Lantian Pass on the water.

At this time, the Li dragons also spat beads, and Feng Yi beat the drum and the dragons rushed forward.

The female concubine of the Han Dynasty sang and danced, and the golden branches and green flags were shining.

I am so close that I am worried about the arrival of a thunderstorm, and I don't know the will of the gods in the vast expanse.

When you are young and strong, you have always had so many sorrows!

Many friends should need translation to understand more clearly how beautiful the Meibei Lake is in Du Fu's works. I found a translator for everyone to refer to and read.

Both Cen Shen brothers like to explore the mysteries,

Take me all the way here to visit Meibei.

Suddenly, the world became dark and showed a strange color.

Waves surged from thousands of miles, as clear as glass gems.

The water is vast, and waves like glass surge up. At this time, the boat is about to float in.

This matter is by no means trivial, but they (referring to the Cen Shen brothers) are extremely interested, which is really worrying. By then, we no longer knew how the alligator dragon became angry and how it was swallowed by whales.

In the face of the dangerous white waves, how can we have time to express our regrets?

The master ordered the sails to be opened one after another,

The boatman likes calm weather without dust and fog very much.

The singing burst out while sailing, shocking the wild ducks and water gulls in the water.

The silk pipes chirped together, calling in green vegetation and trees, creating a sunny scene.

It is difficult to measure the depth of the water by dipping a bamboo pole into the water or connecting silk threads.

The water chestnut leaves and lotus flowers on the water surface were as clean as they had been wiped.

Arriving at the center of the lake is like arriving at the empty and clear Bohai Sea.

Zhongnan Mountain Peak reflected in the endless lake also turned black.

The southern half of the lake in Meibei is completely filled with the reflection of Zhongnan Mountain.

The reflection shook gently between the calm water.

At dusk, the ship's side grabs Dading Temple on Tianji Mountain,

The moonlight reflected on the water of Meibei is the full moon rising from Lantian Pass in the southeast.

At night, the lights on the shores of Meibei Lake shine in the distance, like dragons spitting pearls.

The music is heard far away, like Feng Yi beating a drum, and the cruise ship crossing is like a group of dragons chasing after it.

The beautiful women on the cruise ship are like Xiang Consort Han women, singing and dancing for the people.

The light of the golden branch and the green flag twinkles with the moonlight, fading from time to time.

A moment later, I saw the low clouds, so I was worried that a thunderstorm would come.

In the vast expanse, I really don't know what the gods are thinking.

This shows how long life can be young and strong, and what should we do when we are old?

The alternation of sorrows and sorrows in life has always been like this, and such times cannot last much!

There is also a poet named Wei Yingwu who wrote a poem about Meibei Lake. The reason why he is mentioned. It's because he is the county magistrate of Hu County. This place he often goes to. The original poem is as follows:

Ren Hu ordered a tour of Meibei

--Wei Yingwu

The wild water is rolling in the long pond, and the fireworks are chaotic in the sunny day.

There are many green trees and green mountains.

When swimming, you can see that the new lotus is not yet dense.

I have always been alone and I hate being unreasonable.

Time passed quickly, and we went to the places where Du Fu, Su Shi, Cen Shen and others visited. The place is still the same, but the scenery is different. But I feel the same.

I explained at the beginning that I went by accident. On the way there, there were incidents. I saw signs along the road that all read "Hubin Town" in the scenic spot, also known as the Town of the Book of Songs. I just didn't have a destination to travel. When you see attractions, you naturally want to see them.

When you enter the small town scenic spot in the Book of Songs, you will have nothing else except to see the apricot blossoms blooming well. Probably because the seasons are wrong, there is little water, and the reed swamps are still winter. Coupled with the fences built everywhere, it looked chaotic. After walking for half an hour, I decided to leave the park.

After leaving the garden, the one you have to go to is naturally Meibei Lake. I was thinking, if Meibei Lake was like this, then today would be in vain. I was already a little tired when I arrived at Meibei Lake, so when I first entered the park, I found a place by the lake and rested for a while. There is a place with sand, children are playing, and there are ducks on the lake. The sky was as blue as washing water, and the wooden chairs around them were empty, so I just lay down.

When I walk around the lake, I always look at Zhongnan Mountain, which is also the Qinling Mountains. It is so high into the clouds that it makes people yearn for it from afar. When I walked to a round arch bridge, I was impressed by the scenery in front of me. The lake is sparkling, and the mountains in the distance are continuous, with a strong fairy atmosphere. The distant mountains and the nearby water, as well as the sunset, are so cleverly matched that they are made in heaven. At that moment, I understood why I felt that the lake scenery in Xi'an's city parks always made me feel that there was something wrong. It's just the lack of mountains. I told everyone from the beginning. And I should have gotten this understanding when I visited the West Lake. But at that time, I didn't think about it, probably because I only cared about the scenery of the West Lake and forgot the background and cultural scenery to set off the landscape of the West Lake.

Du Fu wrote in the poem above: "It's so close, but I'm worried about the arrival of a thunderstorm, and I don't know the meaning of the gods in the vast sky." He Cen Shen's:"Thousands of acres soak the sky, and thousands of miles are poor." Both represent the charm of a scene. The inspiration this gives people is endless and not one-stop.

Therefore, the restoration of Meibei Lake was successful. He stayed on the arch bridge for a full 20 minutes before slowly moving forward. I met a toilet, which was very poetic and a toilet in a farmyard. I didn't want to go to the toilet, so I went in too. As soon as I came in, I found that this toilet was the most humane toilet I had ever seen in a Chinese park.

There is the women's toilet on the right side of the door. I entered the toilet on the left side without looking. After entering, it was different. I hurriedly came out and looked at the sign on the door, which read: "Third Bathroom." When I came out, I realized that the men's toilet was in front of the third bathroom. After I went to the men's bathroom and came out, I was full of curiosity about this third bathroom.

There were very few people in the scenic area, and there was no one in the bathroom at this moment. So I went in and took a look. This is a toilet for children, the elderly, or people with injuries. Everything is divided into size and height. Large toilet, small toilet; high washbasin, low washbasin. And these facilities are equipped with guardrails.

After leaving the toilet, I had just walked a few steps. I heard music playing slowly. It was that kind of ancient Chinese music. Attracted by the music, I slowly approached the player on the grass and took out my mobile phone to record. The music slowly enters my ears, as if it has passed from the distant past to the present, or it is slowly flowing down from the top of Zhongnan Mountain with the flowing haze. I sat down, listened to this song, looked at the lake in the sunset, the towers not far away, and the mountains in the distance... I couldn't help but shed tears.

At this moment, my tiredness today is worth it. At this moment, it seems that all my past has been understood and supported. If the player on the grass was a soft thing, I would probably hug it. I lay down slowly, regardless of what the slowly walking person thought of me. I believe they can understand and they also enjoy the beauty of this moment.

The song lasted less than 4 minutes, and after the end, I was still not satisfied. Wait for the next song, the next song will still be beautiful, but not as good as the one just now. It was already past 10 o'clock in the evening when I returned to Xi'an. I quickly used software to identify the song I heard in Meibei Lake Park. The name of the song was "Still Water Flowing Deep". I listened to it again, and it was still beautiful and very pleasant. But I didn't have the heart-warming and excitement at that time. So I also understood that some songs should be suitable for the occasion. Only at certain times can you appreciate how profound it is and how deeply it is. From this, I think you probably understand that to listen to music, you must listen to the music in the scenery, and to love the people you love must love the present. Perhaps at this time, I can truly understand why Du Fu wrote at the end: "When you are young, you will be old. There are always so many sorrows and sorrows!"

Walking further forward, you can see the wooden railings built in the lake, which circles the lake about half a circle. As I walked along the railing, I was once again shocked by the beautiful scenery of the lake. At this time, the sunset is desperately giving off its last light, just like covering the lake with a red cover on the other side of the lake. There are wild ducks swimming slowly in the lake, and the water ripples with them. There were still two unknown beasts standing quietly in the lake. I asked the cleaning aunt and she said it was a lion. But I don't look like a lion. I thought it was the word "alligator" mentioned in Du Fu's poem, but at first I didn't recognize the word. But when I came back to investigate, I found that the alligator was an animal similar to a crocodile. Obviously, they were completely different from the two beasts standing on the lake.

Moreover, there are several such beasts in the garden. I remember there were two at the entrance of the park. There were two in the lake, and two were also seen in another place. So at least six. I don't know which gentleman it is, but I think there are differences in the given position.

However, I still can't accept the statement that this is a lion. Firstly, it is because lions are rarely placed in the water; secondly, my hometown Suide is known as the hometown of lions. The Stone Soul Square built in our hometown has the largest stone lion in Asia. Lions are all powerful and powerful, but the "lions" here are all "thin", belonging to the "reduced and gentle version of the Suide Stone Lion."

When I walked across the tower, the sun set right at the base of the tower. The entire pagoda is like a pagoda emitting Buddha's light, a peaceful and peaceful environment. It is set off by the dense atmosphere of Zhongnan Mountain in the distance, like a fairyland. This is the charm of Meibei Lake, which cannot be matched by the park lake scenery in Xi'an.

It wasn't until the sunset set and the lake returned from peace to tranquility that I slowly left the garden. Get on your motorcycle and walk all the way into Xi'an City. The wind blowing on your face was not cold, but even warm. The stalls selling strawberries along the road are still sparse and with lights on. This is also a kind of scene.

Perhaps for the vendors selling strawberries along the road of Meibei Lake, Meibei Lake is just like that. Once you get used to it, you don't feel beautiful anymore. But when they have been to other places, they will find that they are the most beautiful place. So when a person praises how beautiful his hometown is and how beautiful his hometown snacks are, I nod in agreement. On the contrary, if a person belittle his hometown and is unwilling to say anything about his hometown, I will actually think that person has a psychological problem.

Meibei Lake and I met too late, but it was not too late after all. I don't know when I will go next time. Because I don't really know how to repeat scenes from afar, nor do I repeat movies I've seen, I always feel that there is not enough time. But no matter when next time, I will remember the beauty of Meibei Lake.

Excerpted from the prose works of independent scholar and writer Ling Dunzhe