Text: Li Li
Edited by Wood Coconut
Preface
My name is Tang Ruoshui, a college student from Xi'an. Just after the final exams last summer, my classmates and I bought a plane ticket and flew straight to picturesque Italy.
From Florence to the markets of ancient Rome, from the noisy streets to the quiet shops, I felt the literary atmosphere of this country. In addition to the unique view, I drank a good Italian coffee in the café on the street and ate a variety of Italian food in Naples.
Not only that, but I also met a passionate and beautiful Italian girl, Minassi, there. At the end of my trip to Italy, Minasi also came to China with me and started her China Travel Experience Card.
During that time, Minasi had a lot of fun, we saw a lot of beautiful scenery and tasted a lot of beauty. However, in the past 15 days, a lot of funny things have happened.
Once, Minasi once asked me on the street, "Why do Chinese like to eat pizza directly?"
As soon as this remark came out, I was confused as a Chinese, when did we eat pizza and only eat the side of the cake? After two days, I understood the reason for Minasi's misunderstanding, and quickly explained the reason for the incident to her.
[This article is a fictional story, the names in the article are pseudonyms, and if someone carries it, they will be held responsible]
A tour of the capital
When we returned home, thinking that Minasi was coming to China for the first time, we set our flight destination in Beijing, the capital of China.
As soon as we got off the plane, we took Minasi straight to the must-see "Peking Duck" in Beijing.
We arrived just in time for dinner, and there were quite a few people, and the blonde Minasi was very conspicuous among them, and many people were secretly watching the two of us. Faced with such a situation, Minasi told me that she was not very comfortable and felt that these Chinese had no sense of boundaries.
When I heard Minasi's words, I told her it was because people thought she was beautiful. Sure enough, after a while, a petite and cute girl came up to us, greeted Minasi in fluent English, and gave Minasi a "Beijing Donkey Rolling", and the shy girl before turning away told Minasi that she thought she was really beautiful.
Minasi was embarrassed to receive such a blunt and enthusiastic compliment from strangers, feeling that she had just maliciously speculated on them.
Hearing her sorry, I told her not to care too much, understandable, this is because of the cultural differences of the country, in China everyone is a family, everyone will not hesitate to praise others, for foreign friends we are full of infinite goodwill and warm friendliness.
After a long wait, we finally ate this long-awaited bite of Peking duck! The freshly baked roast duck has a golden and crispy appearance, attractive luster and aroma. The tender and refreshing duck meat is served with a crisp cucumber and secret sauce, wrapped in a soft dough cake, and it is a real compliment to take a bite.
Not only that, but we also ordered a lot of dishes full of Beijing flavor, charred and sweet pine plate meat with delicious sour plum juice, every bite is fragrant and people applaud!
Early the next morning, I took Minasi to climb our "Badaling Great Wall". Climbing the steep stone steps, Minasi looked at the magnificent Great Wall, and on the winding mountains, she couldn't help but admire the wisdom and diligence of the Chinese over and over again.
At night, accompanied by the setting sun, we strolled through the popular but quiet Houhai, listening to the emotional singing of the resident singers.
Prosperous Chang'an
From morning to night, from south to north, after five or six days of playing in Beijing, we left this ancient city with rich heritage.
After leaving Beijing, Minasi went with me to my hometown, Xi'an.
As soon as we arrived in Xi'an, Minaxi fell in love with this city wrapped in a strong historical atmosphere! Along the ancient city wall, we walked to the "Big Wild Goose Pagoda" that had stood for many years, as if in an instant we had traveled back to that glorious era and entered the prosperous era of the Tang Dynasty.
After seeing the magnificent Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Shi Huang, we took a car to Huaqing Pond, where Yang Guifei's footprints were once left, and at night we also went to the bell tower and drum tower with brilliant lights. Everywhere she went, Minasi would tell me that she was really surprised that the Chinese had been able to have these buildings that surpassed human intelligence so early.
In addition to traveling through millennial cultural buildings, I also took Minasi to eat many irresistible Xi'an delicacies. Early in the morning, we rushed to the Sanding Bridge at sunrise to have a sweet and soft glutinous cake, and then a solid and refreshing bacon sandwich bun.
At noon, I followed the old man of Xi'an into the humble old store and had a bowl of mutton steamed buns with a lot of ingredients. After eating this big bowl of hot steamed buns, I went to the next door to have a crystal clear cold skin, accompanied by authentic oily spicy seeds and sour and smooth sauce, as if the heat just now was gone.
Even though there was a huge difference in diet, Minasi still had a lot of fun eating. Only once, Minasi suddenly came to me and asked me why Chinese eat pizza only on the side of the cake?
Hearing this, I was still confused, and after asking for a long time, I didn't understand which kind of pizza Minasi was talking about. It wasn't until a few days later, when I took Minasi to experience Xi'an barbecue, that Minasi pointed to a piece of Xinjiang naan on the street and asked me - is this pizza delicious?
It dawned on me that Minasi had seen Xinjiang naan on the Internet before, and there was too little information from the photos, so Minasi always thought that we were their Italian pizza side.
I was so anxious that I hurriedly explained that this was not pizza, this was Xinjiang's special delicacy "naan". This bite goes down, but the crispy and soft are mixed with tenacity, and the thick fragrance wafts between the mouths, with all kinds of fillings in the middle, it is more fragrant than meat!
Fortunately, I happened to encounter Xinjiang naan on the road, and this oolong incident was finally explained. That day, under my introduction, Minasi also became interested in this Xinjiang naan, not only waited for the barbecue to buy a piece, but even ordered a barbecue naan for our barbecue, which was enough to eat.
After eating, Minasi directly said that this Xinjiang naan is really more fragrant than pizza, and it seems that under the simple appearance, it contains such a full taste.
epilogue
Due to her work, Minasi could not stay in China for a long time. After a few days in Xi'an, Minasi set out on her way home.
Before returning home, Minasi told me at the airport that if she had the opportunity next time, she would definitely bring her parents to China so that they would also have the opportunity to see this developed country and taste all kinds of human delicacies.
Naturally, I was very happy to hear Minasi's words. He even said directly that when Minasi and his family come, I will still be their guide and bring them a great experience.
Not only that, but I also hope that in the near future, more foreign friends can come to China, so that the world can see our fast-growing country and let more people know the beauty of China.