Summer vacation is over. Compared with the previous two years, when every time I went to school, the circle of friends would be filled with gongs and drums to bid farewell to the divine beast Xi Dapu, this year seems to be extremely quiet. Many parents, like their children, are still immersed in not having enough rest.

The reason for this contrast is probably because this year is the first summer vacation when free travel is restored. Although the heat wave of retaliatory tourism is scary, it also brings real happiness.

And I had been repeatedly jumping between the choices of not going out and the choices of going out, until the last moment of the summer vacation, before I could muster up the courage to face the challenge of others following the crowd.

This time, in order to stagger the flow of people and travel simply, we also tried our best to pick less popular cities and go to niche attractions. We went on a three-day rampage and immersively experience the life of local people.

Perhaps he was mentally prepared for the lack of success, and even a slightly special experience would bring surprises beyond expectations.

For example, when I came out from Yangzhou East Railway Station, I found that the road I was on was called "Chunfeng Shili Road". The first time I saw this style of road names, I instantly felt very interesting. Turning around, I found that another parallel road is "Fireworks March Road". These two road names are really only worthy of being owned by Yangzhou.

For example, downstairs of the hotel is the local time-honored brand "Bixiangju". You don't have to travel a long way to taste the affordable famous Yangzhou place.

For example, if you drink Internet celebrity Yangda yogurt at a small shop on Pishi Street, you will take a check-in photo of your visit here in front of a tacky road sign.

I also see shops and streets containing our last and first names here.

For example, we found the origin of the Cong surname on Dongguan Street.

For example, when I accidentally discovered the Marco Polo Memorial Hall on the road, I learned that this Italian guy had been an official in Yangzhou for three years. His Eastern gap year lasted for seventeen years, and then he returned to China to participate in the war. After being captured, he was imprisoned with a writer. He dictated it, and his fellow prisoners wrote it, and wrote "The Travels of Marco Polo", which influenced the world. Such ups and downs, rich and exciting life should have no regrets.

For example, when I was running on both sides of the ancient canal in the morning, I actually saw someone swimming in the river. This was on the route of canal tours. It was indeed a brave person.

For example, the Leaping Bridge is so photogenic during the day and night.

Here, pavilions, towers, ancient temples and towers can be seen everywhere integrated into the local urban construction without any disobedience. This is the temperament of the ancient cultural capital that can be low-key without making it public.

For example, although the Hanling Garden outside the city is small, it has the solemnity and righteousness of the Han Dynasty royal tomb, and it also allows people to understand the tomb system composed of yellow intestines.

For example, when you saw a dense lotus pond on the roadside, you traced it to a platform, and you could just overlook the sleeping pagoda of Daming Temple opposite.

For example, in Songjiacheng Sports Park, you can see Wutong Avenue with straight symmetry and the vanishing point.

Go around the plank road outside the park and check in four seemingly identical but slightly different gates in the northeast and southwest;

In the moat, there are black swans who are not afraid of tourists competing for favor with wild ducks;

Posting in the sun on the grass in the woods, without a camera, my mobile phone can only take a vague atmosphere.

For example, the Huaiyang Cuisine Museum turned out to be the ancient residence of the Lu family salt merchants. In addition to the exquisite Huaiyang Cuisine models, the progressive houses were also filled with eggs.

The long alleys on the outer wall of the ancient house are deep and simple, with unique caves.

After visiting all the exhibition halls, I found that there was a quiet tea house in the backyard and a hidden city study behind it.

There is a room for old things on the second floor of the ancient house, which once again stimulates the desire for creation.

For example, exploring Wu's residence and Zhu Ziqing's former residence at night and walking through the dark and winding alleys gives me a secret and exciting feeling, but I still feel at ease. This sense of security is because I am in China.

For example, if you walk along the bank of the canal, you can not only see outdoor karaoke on summer nights, but also discover many historic sites: Puharin Garden and Changshengge Temple. They are just there silently, but there are hundreds of thousands of years of stories.

If the joy of the city walk in the first two days came from small fragments, then the Grand Canal Museum on the last day brought continuous surprises.

Previously, she told her friend who is from Yangzhou that Hangzhou has the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal Museum. She replied lightly: Yangzhou is the word of the Chinese character...

Sure enough, the China Grand Canal Museum is worthy of its name, with advanced equipment, comprehensive content, diverse exhibitions, and rich body feeling. Almost every permanent exhibition hall has an immersive experience exhibition area of sound, light and shadow, giving people a wonderful feeling.

Entering the park early in the morning, we went against the flow of people to stroll around the special exhibition hall on the second floor, and then browsed the basic displays on the first floor after lunch.

The three most impressive exhibition halls are all multimedia interactive experience areas:

"River Love" uses a 360-degree VR screen to present the canal scenery in spring, summer, autumn and winter. The spring is soft and the summer is charming, the autumn is bright and the winter is quiet, and the beauty is so beautiful that it makes people linger.

There is a pleasure boat in the "Boat on the Canal". Tourists board the boat, as if floating on the canal. As the boat "moves", they can browse the flowing street scenery on both sides of the strait. Flowers sway in spring, and snow falls in winter, making the experience full.

The "Grand Canal Street Impression" simulates the historical landscape of the towns along the Grand Canal in various periods. At first, I felt that this place was no different from the antique streets and alleys in many places until I walked into the last exhibition hall.

It uses lights and images to vividly reflect different periods of day, evening, and night. The "day" we came in, it started to rain. The rainwater fell from the eaves and flowed into the river. That night, fireworks also appeared in the "air".

In order to experience this magical day again, we sat here and waited for a long time, spending one ordinary day after another, but we still couldn't wait.

Twelve years ago, I came to Yangzhou alone and checked in to collect the places I planned to visit. I had a lot of thoughts, but I didn't leave a single photo.

Twelve years later, I brought my family here again. Many things have changed. For example, the jade factory I once liked very much has been demolished and looks dilapidated. But most locations seem to remain the same.

The city still maintains its own slow pace, and even in a decade of rapid economic growth, it does not seem to have undergone significant changes.

According to the secular value system, slow development is a kind of decline. Even though it was once famous in history and had many important figures, it is now just an ordinary third-tier city. Despite this, it still has a pleasant self-consistency and adheres to the cultural bearing that runs through ancient and modern times.

From it, I suddenly saw the shadow of life: so what if you drive high and walk low? The ups and downs are normal.

This is still the case in cities that have been thousands of years old, and there is no need to persist in a short life. The most important thing is to find and stick to your true self through the ups and downs.