Contributor: Patriotic Noble Son (Disclaimer: This article is not my own experience, but the real experience of the contributor)
My name is Lin Xiao, my parents are businessmen, and I have good economic conditions since I was a child, so I went to Spain to study abroad after the college entrance examination, where I had a good time with a local girl, and after graduation, I invited her to have the opportunity to come to China to play.
Later, the girl really came to China to look for me, and it was this trip that opened her eyes and told me that I always thought that China was very backward, but I didn't expect China to be so powerful.
However, when she saw the scene of cars still coming and going on the street at three o'clock in the morning, she exclaimed, "China is terrible!"
01
During my study abroad, I was an extrovert and good at dealing with people since I was a child, and I quickly made some friends, including a local girl, we were opportunistic and often traveled together.
I told her a lot of Chinese stories, and gradually she became interested in China, and later asked me to give her a Chinese name, and I said that you are so beautiful and energetic, just call it Pengpeng.
She asked me why I was called this name, and I said, "The name comes from the Book of Songs in China more than 3,000 years ago, and Peng Peng means lush wheat field, symbolizing beauty and abundance", and she liked it very much, so I will call her this Chinese name in the future.
Later, when I graduated, before I went back to China, I said to her, "You love to travel so much, you can come to China to play." ”
Who would have thought that two years later, Peng Peng really contacted me, saying that she had just finished a project and was on vacation, and asked me if I was free and wanted to come to China to play.
I quickly said welcome, because I worked at my dad's company, and when he heard that his Spanish friend was coming to play with me, he said that he would take me a few days off and let me entertain them.
When Peng Peng dragged his luggage out of the airport exit, he quickly recognized me from the crowd, and we hugged excitedly, and we complimented each other on how beautiful they were.
Because I had already told her about the itinerary before, so I got off the plane and took a taxi straight to the high-speed rail station, when I was studying abroad, I told him that the speed of the high-speed rail was as high as 350 kilometers, Peng Peng was very surprised, and said that if there is a chance, I must take the high-speed rail.
But when I got into the taxi, she was very puzzled and asked me, "How did the Chinese taxi arrive so quickly", and I said, "I booked it online in advance before you came out, and you got out of the car".
When we checked in and got on the bus, she praised the environment as good, spacious and clean, the passengers were very quality, not noisy at all, she was embarrassed to say, "I really didn't expect China to be so good." ”
This sentence reminds me of when the two first met, she said that she had relatives who had come to China on a business trip in the 80s, and the evaluation was not very good, and she was a little hesitant when she said it, probably because she was afraid that I would be angry.
I said frankly, "Our country has only been developing for a few decades since it came out of the war, so although it has been much better in the eighties and nineties, it is certainly still not comparable to the comprehensive strength of European and American countries." ”
Peng Peng saw that I was not angry, so she relaxed a little, she said, "After that, that relative has never been to China again, and the news we see on TV is that China is very poor."
I hurriedly explained, "This is the prejudice of the media, ordinary people will have a stereotype if they see too many negative reports, and now our country is not what it used to be, full of high-rise buildings, high-speed rail and subways, and cities are very prosperous." ”。
I showed him a photo of the Huangpu River in Shanghai, as well as the Oriental Pearl Tower, and she was shocked to say that it was indeed beautiful, and I also took out a photo of me in my hometown for her to see, saying that this is a third-tier city in China, or an ancient capital, a place with a very rich cultural heritage.
Peng Peng was very excited, said that there was a chance to see what my hometown was like, and then I returned to China, she returned to her hometown to work, maybe because there were more things, she told me that she was not free for the time being, until now, she had the opportunity to play with me.
02
We took the high-speed train for about an hour, and we arrived in my city, and we took a taxi to her hotel, and I said let her eat first, take a break, and then take her to play.
Peng Peng was very excited, saying that she wanted to eat Chinese food, I turned on my phone again, looked at the dazzling food pictures, let her see what she wanted to eat, she flipped through for a long time, or ordered dumplings, sweet and sour tenderloin and other dishes.
I am from the north, even if I went to Spain to study, I still have to find a Chinese restaurant to eat dumplings, noodles, buns and the like, and after I got acquainted with Pengpeng, I took her to eat a few times, and since then she has liked Chinese food.
But I told her that this is an improved version of Chinese food, and I will have the opportunity to take you to eat authentic food in the future.
It didn't take long for the meal to be delivered, Peng Peng didn't expect it to be so fast, watching her eat in a big gulp, it seemed that she had a good appetite, and when she rested, I came to her early in the morning the next day, and took her to the city to play first.
Looking at the endless flow of vehicles on the street from the bus and the high-rise buildings next to it, Peng Peng couldn't help but sigh, the buildings are so high, and the streets are so clean.
I said, "Yes, our sanitation workers get up at four or five o'clock in the morning to work", Peng Peng looked at me embarrassedly and said, "What I see between them is always China's dirty and messy environment, but I didn't expect to see it with my own eyes is not the same thing at all, I'm sorry for saying that about China before!"
I smiled, and seeing her reaction, I knew that this leave was not in vain.
Behind the seat is an old couple, who seem to be tourists, and they asked me where my friend came from, and I said it was Spain, and the old man said, now that life is better, foreigners have come to China for tourism.
I smiled and said yes, Peng Peng looked confused, asked me what I was talking about, I said that the old man asked me to entertain the "foreign guests" well, after getting off the car we were about to go to the park for a walk, she suddenly asked me, why don't you see homeless people here?
I proudly said, "Our civil affairs department here has a special aid station that is responsible for helping the homeless, so it is good to find them when you are in trouble, so it is rare to see homeless people on the street." ”
Peng Peng sighed, "We don't care there, everyone is afraid of such people, so they all hide away."
Hearing this, I proudly said, "Most of our people are enthusiastic, like to help others, see someone in difficulty, they can't help but help, from ancient times to the present, my mother once saw a woman lose her mobile phone, she didn't have any money, so she bought a ticket, our ancient novels, there are always chivalrous righteous people, always on the side of the road to pull out a knife to help, this is our tradition." ”
When she arrived at the park, Peng Peng was very curious about everything, there were many people in the park, some gathered together to play and sing, some were dancing, some were practicing calligraphy, and some were exercising on the open-air fitness equipment.
Some old people are singing, babbling, Peng Peng is very interested, and asks me what I am singing, fortunately, there are old people at home who like drama, I know some. said that they were singing Henan opera, called "Qin Xianglian".
The content is a village woman named Qin Xianglian, her husband abandoned her in order to get promoted and make a fortune, and after marrying the princess, he was afraid that people would find out, so he sent someone to assassinate Qin Xianglian, she escaped death and went to the capital to complain.
03
Seeing an old man "hanging the golden bell upside down" on the horizontal bar, she couldn't help but open her mouth wide, saying Are all your old people here so powerful?
I couldn't help but laugh and said that when the elderly are retired, they usually take the initiative to help take care of the next generation, and in order to reduce the burden on their children, they will also exercise to make themselves healthier.
Seeing the pavilions and pavilions built in the park, the small bridges and flowing water, and the beautiful scenery, I hurriedly stepped forward to explain, "We have a culture of 5,000 years, so we have a very good aesthetic and taste, but the war has made us fall into poverty, but after decades of development, the changes are earth-shaking." ”
At lunchtime, I took her to the restaurant I frequented, there were many diners, many people were talking warmly, Peng Peng envied "It seems that everyone is very happy, unrestrained, don't think too much." ”
I said that I smiled and didn't speak, and it was better for her to feel the fireworks by herself, so we chatted while eating, and left the hotel for a few hours.
In the evening, we were not idle, I said to take her out to see the night view, she said would it be unsafe, I said no, there are people everywhere at night, there is nothing dangerous.
We drove to the street near the university for a long time, there was a fruit and vegetable market nearby, various night market stalls, and after a long turn, I took her to eat barbecue stalls.
ordered skewers, vegetable skewers, and set up a big table, Peng Peng was very happy, because in the past few days, I have also taken her to eat hot pot and enjoy all kinds of delicacies, and when I finished eating, it was already two or three o'clock at night.
Looking at the endless stream of vehicles on the street, Peng Peng said in surprise, "Why are there so many people in China at night! Aren't you afraid of encountering robbers or some bad guys? This is terrible!"
I laughed on the sidelines, "Our security in China is very good, this is our night market culture, you see all kinds of shops, stalls are closed until night, as for whether it is safe or not, you see that the streets are full of patrol police, there will be no danger." ”
When she heard me say this, there was a look of envy in her eyes, and she said that there would be no one in their country at night, and everyone was afraid of accidents, let alone any night market culture!
I told her, "In our place, some restaurants and shops are not closed 24 hours a day, which is very convenient, even if you don't want to go out, you can also order food online, if you drink alcohol, you can find a substitute driver, there is an almighty errand boy." ”
The next day, I took her to climb the mountains and visit places of interest, and after Peng Peng played in my hometown for a few days, I accompanied her to Beijing to sign up for a tour group, and the two of us played for several days.
We climbed the Great Wall, took a commemorative look at the stone monument that said "If you don't go to the Great Wall, you are not a hero", and we also went to the Forbidden City and the National Museum.
Looking at the full cars in the parking lot, Peng Peng said with a smile, "In my memory, you are still in the era of cycling, if you don't come to China by yourself, you may always be blinded, then backward China will become her final impression of China!"
Peng Peng had a great time, and when she was about to leave, she told me, "I didn't expect China to develop so well, I will come again in the future." ”
I waved goodbye to her, believing that this trip to China would be an unforgettable experience for Pengpeng.