2024-10 Hailun city

This Fourth of July vacation is very different from previous years. Instead of “traveling the world”, I went back to my girlfriend’s hometown in the Northeast - Helen.

First of all, I have never seen the fall in the northeast. Secondly, it was the time of fall harvest (I have a fall harvest at home), so I was able to experience the countryside life first hand. I finally had the chance to experience the scenes that I had previously seen in the “乡村爱情” TV series.

This trip was full of anticipation and excitement.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

About the Trip

2024-10-01 Day1

At six o’clock in the morning, I sleepily picked up my luggage and rushed to Pudong Airport. The sky is not yet bright, the street lights are dotted with stars, and even the air is permeated with a hint of the night color.

All the way around, nearly ten o’clock landing in Harbin Taiping International Airport. Out of the airport, the cold came, taxi straight to Harbin East Railway Station, take the train back to Helen.

Funny enough, I’ve never been on a train much, but this short train ride has given me a different view of the action. In the compartment, young voices, almost all of them Harbin college students, chattering like a nest of sparrows. I and the passenger next to me while chewing snacks, while casually chatting, southern accent, but also do not feel the long ride.

The luggage rack was surprisingly high and out of reach, so I took off my shoes and stepped onto the seat, shoving my suitcase painstakingly upwards. It was then that I realized why the term “ southern small potatoes ” had been bandied about in this part of the world.

After running around all day, I can’t remember what time I arrived home. I only remember that when I pushed open the door, the dining table had already been filled with steaming dishes, and the familiar smell came to my nose. Made a hearty dinner, unloaded fatigue, fell asleep.

2024-10-02 Day2

It’s 6:00 a.m., the alarm hasn’t even gone off yet, but my eyes are open first. I had to go back to the village today, driving back to the countryside from the city, a journey of about 40 kilometers or so, but the road was in good condition and it took less than forty minutes to reach it easily. The trees on both sides of the road stood quietly, as if waiting for someone to return, and the golden leaves were colored a little warmer by the newly risen sun that poured down on them.

Around eight o’clock, we arrived at our destination. This is the place where my girlfriend grew up. On weekdays, grandpa and grandma reside in this hut. They usually return here from the city after the Chinese New Year when the temperature warms up. In addition to raising seedlings, they tend to their own chicks in this familiar garden until the fall harvest.

There are three bungalows, arranged in a concave shape from north to south. The front and back yards are dotted with all kinds of fruits and vegetables. A few days before our arrival, the first frost had already fallen in the village, and the vegetables in the yard could not withstand the cold dew, so they had all been picked and neatly stacked in the lower house.

We rested in the house for a while, during which the grandfather and the milk busy feet, constantly giving snacks, fruits we eat.

Grandpa left us a bundle of TianGan, which we have been munching on for the past few days.

TianGan this thing, I have never seen before at home, far look like sugar cane, but better than sugar cane peeling, bite, sweet juice, meat than sugar cane much softer, is the sweetness is almost meaning, but chewing more energy, the more you chew more have a light fragrance.

The cabbages in the garden are growing happily, each one stronger than the other, breaking off a few slices at random, which is perfect for making “rice packets”.

After eating TianGan, with the slightest hint of sweetness still in our mouths, we followed Grandpa and headed for the river - to collect the fish. Fishing and casting nets were Grandpa’s daily entertainment in the village

Collected the fish, set foot on the path home, the daylight is just right, the river behind the shimmering light. On the road, the oncoming tractor, the car is piled up with grass, the smell of autumn in the air slowly wafted. One of the car’s grandfather, body sitting straight, face is carved by the wind traces of age, but the eyes penetrate a kind of free spirit, especially stylish.

Start eating, northeastern food, these days eat very good, simply can not stop chopsticks. The potatoes are golden and bright, chopsticks a clip, sugar pulled out of the old long; pickled vegetables stewed bones, gently sucked, bone marrow instantly melt in the mouth; pepper dry tofu, with a little bit of spice, chewing tendons and strong; and stewed chicken, meat, firm, every bite is the taste of home. With the finest rice, two bowls of this dish are enough for every meal.

Eat and drink enough, rest for a while, then set out to pick corn. In fact, to pick corn is not a big place, the guys work together to pick two days of the afternoon, almost finished the corn.

Don’t look down on picking corn, really do it to know, picking corn also pay attention to the skills. I am a layman, not much technology, all by their own feelings picking corn, hands twisted, very hard to pick a corn down. Those who have experience, holding a smooth polished piece of wood, gently pick, corn will fall into the basket. If you look at the efficiency, when I picked one, Grandma had already picked four.

While a few of us specialized in picking corn, Grandpa became the hauler, and the tractor was his old buddy, rumbling through the field. After the first field of corn was harvested, my brother and I hopped on the tractor and waddled off to the next field of corn.

It was about 3:00 p.m. The sun was a little fierce and we were all sweating. The second field of corn was just half picked when my girlfriend’s mom said, “Take a break, go home and get ready for dinner. Pick the rest of the corn tomorrow.”

My girlfriend’s mother and grandmother were busy cooking in the house, but I lazily leaned against the elm tree in the yard, the wind blew over, comfortable and sleepy, so I quietly launched into a daze. In a daze, the familiar “da da da da” sound in the distance - the sound of the tractor, I raised my eyes to see, and it was really my grandfather, driving the tractor loaded with corn slowly approaching, under the setting sun, the gray body is like wrapped in a layer of golden light, and steadily driving towards me! I was driving steadily toward my side.

I couldn’t help but turn on my cell phone camera to freeze the moment. He was older, but still strong.

After sitting for a while, Grandma greeted us and picked tomatoes.

Freshly picked tomatoes that taste so good you can’t stop talking about them.

At this time, the master is still outside the door busy with the soybeans picked just a few days ago.

After picking tomatoes, it was getting dark and the sun was slowly sinking to the west, so I went home for dinner.

2024-10-03 Day3

Early in the morning, just after sunrise, after breakfast, we step into the cornfield to start the morning’s battle. The air was cool in the fall, and when I stepped into the field, there was loose soil under my feet and heavy corn in my hands. Before I knew it, the last corn was picked, and when I looked up, it was already noon.

It’s time to start eating, and today’s lunch is very hearty.

Today, my girlfriend’s sister came to the house for a visit, and after the meal, they lazily sat on the tractor’s trailer in the yard, bathed in the warm autumn sun, and each of them nibbled TianGan in their hands.

It was a moment when the days slowed down, the sun was just right, and the years were frozen in the beauty of the moment.

This is an authentic northeastern kang, spacious, sturdy, and with a smell of earth and firewood. It was my first time to sleep in a kang, and I was quite fresh in my heart. When I first lay down on it, the heat poured into my body, as if my whole body was wrapped up in the fire of the kang, and it was so warm that I couldn’t stand it.

I finally finished picking all the corn today, and the work in the field came to an end, so my heart was a lot lighter.

In the evening, everyone gathered in front of the yard, set up a small stove and started barbecuing. The air was filled with the aroma of charcoal and seasonings. The most surprising is just picked fresh peppers directly thrown on the stove, grilled skin slightly charred wrinkled, gently bite, burnt outside and tender inside, a light smoky flavor, very tasty! Freshly picked and roasted, with a mouth full of fiery satisfaction.

2024-10-04 Day4

Today still got up early, just at dawn, began to pack, ready to move back to the city. The yard is quiet, with the occasional sound of a few chickens crowing.

The fire burned a bit fiercely, the lid of the pot lifted, the hot air rushed out, the flavor of the steamed buns came to my nose. Take a closer look, the edge is slightly yellow, the bottom of a few more charred out of the hard shell. Tear off a piece of taste, the outer skin crispy, with a firewood incense, but also a unique flavor.

In the village in the early morning, the air was very fresh, with a hint of fresh scent mixed with earth and crops, inhaling a breath, the whole person was comfortable.

The cornstalks and corn leaves in the backyard were still lying still, the morning dew hanging on the golden corn leaves, bright and shiny when the sunlight sprinkled them.

The days of the village are coming to an end. Near noon, the sun warmly sprinkled in the yard, we packed our bags and stood in front of the door waiting for the car, the wind blew through the elm tree, the branches gently flicked, as if saying goodbye to us. While there was still some time, I casually took a picture of my girlfriend and brother under the tree.

2024-10-05 Day5

Today it is rare to sleep to wake up naturally, the sunshine through the curtains sprinkled into the house, can not get up. Slowly cleaned up, followed by girlfriends out shopping, randomly wandering, shopping tired point dried a bowl of spicy hot pot. In the afternoon to go to my sister’s house as a guest, familiar hospitality, once inside the door was urged to sit down to eat. Northeastern hospitality, never leave the meal, great. After the meal to eliminate food, the evening playing mahjong.

2024-10-06 Day6

Today, I still got up early and embarked on the return trip. Planned to stroll in Harbin on a day, specially booked a hotel near the Harbin train station, easy to take the high-speed train back to Shanghai tomorrow morning.

Dumplings on the car, off the noodle. Before leaving, naturally, a hot meal of dumplings. Eat and drink enough, lift the luggage, set off to the Helen train station.

Standing on the platform, surrounded by people who are about to travel, everyone’s destination seems different, but the same – to Harbin.

It was as if all roads would eventually intersect in that familiar city.

We arrived in Harbin by noon. This time to Harbin, there is no specific plan. The journey to here, in contrast to the birth of a few points of random, so in the hotel to rest, to feed the spirit of the afternoon and then slowly go to the Central Avenue around.

Central Avenue – known as “Asia’s first street”, a variety of European-style buildings lined up, different styles, the sense of history is a few points. There are quite a few people on the street, tourists in twos and threes, all holding an ice cream in their hands and eating it as they walk. To put it bluntly, it is still essentially a commercial street, clothing brands, specialty stores, restaurants, and other cities of the pedestrian street is much the same.

Sofia Church, one of the landmarks of Harbin, is a Byzantine building built in 1907, with a brick-red dome that looks impressive against the blue sky. If you haven’t been here before, you can take a look at it. Photographers can be found everywhere on the square, and there is also a service to rent clothes, mainly in the dark style, which will probably give you the mysterious feeling of the heroine of “Maleficent”. The interior of the church is also open, spend ten dollars on tickets to go in to take a look.

Flood Control Victory Memorial Tower, built in 1958 to commemorate Harbin’s victory over the 1957 flood, stands on the banks of the Songhua River at the end of Central Avenue. Designed by Harbin’s own Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, the tower stands silently as a testament to the city’s history.

By the Songhua River – the river wind blows with a slight coolness, and in the distance is the bridge across the river.

On one corner of the street, a row of painting teachers set up their easels and set up stalls to make a living.

After strolling around, my feet were a bit tired, so I found a barbecue restaurant to have a feast. Charcoal fire crackling, meat aroma overflowing, a few bites down, the whole person is warmed up. Eat and drink enough, back to the hotel to rest, this day, so in the cold wind and charcoal fire intertwined, slowly come to an end.

2024-10-07 Day7

Today, I have spent the entire day on the high-speed train. The train has been speeding along, and the scenery outside has been constantly changing, but I have been feeling quite drowsy, sleeping and waking up intermittently, as if trying to make up for the fatigue I’ve accumulated over the past few days. I didn’t take any photos, but that’s alright. The images of this journey have already been etched into my heart - the morning light in the village, the warmth of the kang, the gentle breeze under the elm tree, the sweet fragrance of the mayflower… all have become the souvenirs of this trip. The seven-day holiday is neither too long nor too short. Next time I come back, perhaps there will be new changes in the courtyard, but those familiar people, familiar flavors, and familiar rural accents will still be there.