Cloudy playing

It seems to be fashionable nowadays for people to go on trips during the weekends and holidays. Tourists of course are likely to swarm to the scenic cities nearby. The people in Guangzhou, for example, generally leave the big cosmopolitan city for Yunnan, Kunming and Guizhou, which are recognized as famous beauty spots by people all residents stay home to avoid the big crowd descending upon their cities by train, by car, or by plain.

I was in Guizhou a year ago on a holiday. The Huang Guoshu waterfall seemed to be congested by bands of people surrounding it. The pleasure of enjoying the serenity of the waterfall and the beauty of the mountains far ahead had become non-existent. The people milling around vied with each other for a chance to get onto the buses and, more often than not, great confusion ensued. My friend suggested me that I should go to another beautiful place, but it was impossible for me to get on the bus. Finally I had to ride back to the terminal and to start from there. Even so, I had great difficulty in getting on—I seemed to be so helpless in the big crowd. I hurried through my holiday and cut short my stay.

My friends complained about the tourists upsetting their placid city, but it just couldn’t be helped. These cities are indeed too beautiful not to attract tourists. The people are well-off and are keen on taking trips. Their holidays are few and short, so they rush to the nearby scenic spots whenever they can. But isn’t there any other place people can visit? A day in some suburban towns may provide the same closeness to nature; a day by the sea may make people refreshed; a day walking in the countryside, through villages and small country towns may likewise provide novelty. This doesn’t sound very difficult, nor does it?