Travel Notes to the Southeast | Xiamen: Reminiscing about the past at Jimei University

I feel that I was so innocent when I was a student...

For tourists, the impression of a place ultimately depends on the people they meet and the places they visit.

On the road, JF and I would have arguments and even unpleasant conversations about the same place we had been to. For example, in Taiwan, I think the people there are "gentle, courteous and thrifty" and have many good qualities; JF but I feel that the people there are indifferent and there is nothing special about them. Although I feel uncomfortable hearing different opinions, especially when you have a good impression but others have a low evaluation, but actually think about it, your impression does not represent hers, because the experiences are different. Even though it is the "worst era" that is "recognized" by 99% people, it is still the "best era" by 1% people, because their incomes are different and their understandings are also different. .

I stayed in Xiamen for two days. On the first day, I thought, "Why is Xiamen like this! A third-tier city is pretending to be a first-tier city!" On the second day, "Well, the people in Xiamen are quite friendly and the environment is good and livable." My impression changed over the two days. It’s also because what we encounter and what we receive has changed.

After getting out of the high-speed rail station, Didi ordered a taxi to the hotel. The driver sat lazily in the car and neither helped us load nor unload our luggage. I had to give him a bad review. The "Singapore Hotel" I booked was not good value for money. The lobby looked decent, the room was very different from the pictures on the booking website, the breakfast was also very sloppy, and there were mold spots on the edges of the tablecloths. JF said, you have to write this on the Yilong review later.

Then we went to Overseas Chinese History Museum . The museum is quite good, and it was also the first time we visited the Overseas Chinese Museum on this trip. Although it is a special museum built in the style of Tan Kah Kee's fusion of Chinese and Western architecture, it has many visitors. As soon as we stepped into the museum building, a student volunteer came over and took the initiative to provide guided tour services. He said humbly or awkwardly that he was "still a student and not very skilled yet. Please bear with me if I don't speak well."

Mr. Tan Kah Kee, an old overseas Chinese, is very low-key. Although he funded almost half of Xiamen University, Jimei School Village, museums, libraries, hospitals, primary and secondary schools and kindergartens in modern times... The Museum of Overseas Chinese History, which has made great achievements, only has a statue in the courtyard and a photo of an elderly man in the exhibition of his personal collection on the third floor of the building. And, Tan Kah Kee seems to be everywhere - when you see those square buildings and eaves roofs, you will say, oh, those are Kah Kee buildings! When you see those campuses with beautiful environments, you will say, oh, that was founded by Mr. Tan Kah Kee! There are also those hospitals, stadiums, gardens, science fields...these are the souls of Tan Kah Kee, Tan Kah Kee...

Coming out of the Overseas Chinese History Museum, JF felt that the street in front of me seemed familiar. He also said that he lived nearby the last time he came here. He seemed to have walked to this museum. Xiamen University seemed to be nearby. A series of "like"……

She has been to Xiamen twice on business trips, just like she has been to many cities on business trips. She can't remember when she came, she doesn't remember who she came with, she can't remember which street she walked on, and she can't remember almost anything. A while ago, she applied for a visa for the second time and was asked to go for an interview. The visa officer expressed doubts about the Iranian visa on the passport and asked her: "What are you going to Iran for?" The answer was: "Tourism." Then they asked her to tell her, and she told her how she found our other two companions. The visa officer asked: "Go back and bring your two companions' passport pages and copies of their Iranian visas. Also have photos of your travels in Iran." JF went back dejectedly, complaining about the United States There were so many things to do with the visa this time, but she was glad that the visa officer didn’t ask her where she had been, “I completely forgot which cities she went to. If I couldn’t answer the question, I would have been rejected at that time. "So, she often said that she likes to travel with people like me who love to write travel notes, and she can keep my travel notes and recall them later. However, it is such a person who can't remember where he went, who can bring the technical data about the restoration of cultural relics, chemical elements *&￥%@# to me An astronomical number of things are at your fingertips.

Went to Ferry Terminal at around 12 o'clock to buy a ticket to Gulangyu Island. The earliest we could buy was to board the boat at 2:30. The terminal building is bustling with people, just like a tourist distribution center. Tour groups wearing uniform caps are pouring in. The group members are a little tired and confused and follow the crowd, or they are chatting with their families, subconsciously The ground crowds forward. The team flags were waving and the tour guides were shouting through loudspeakers, trying to grab the tourists' attention from all kinds of wanderings, distractions and curiosity. But we can no longer laugh at the image of such a tour group, because our parents may also be part of this kind of tour group. After they come back from playing, they are very satisfied when they post photos and the items they purchased. How often do they quarrel and get angry? It has also decreased, and the happiness index has increased. Therefore, we should be grateful to these tour groups that lead middle-aged and elderly people to see the world.

It's still early, let's go out for a walk. I found that except for the various restaurants downstairs, there is no commercial or life atmosphere around the terminal building, and there is no park suitable for walking. Opposite it is a completed business district, including office buildings and shopping malls, but no businesses have settled in it yet.

In this area with huge daily passenger flow, this business district, which looks like Beijing's Starlight World, seems a bit out of place. JF and I sat by the flower garden outside the business district for a long time. Looking at the watch, we still have to wait for more than two hours. I thought about it again, "Refund the ticket and come here early tomorrow. Tomorrow is Monday, there shouldn't be so many people." I suggested.

"Okay." JF agreed.

Back at the terminal, I planned to refund the ticket at the automatic ticket vending machine, but the machine prompted that I could only go to the counter to refund the ticket manually, and the refund had to be made 2 hours before the departure of the ship.

"There are a few minutes left." I took the ticket in JF's hand and ran to the counter. There was a long queue in front of the counter. I apologized all the way while holding the ticket: "Sorry! Sorry! It's time for me to refund the ticket!"

The young man in front of me was friendly and kind, and didn't mind me cutting in line and requesting an emergency refund. But the lady at the counter had a cold face. The lady at the counter next to me also had a cold face and scolded the ticket buyer for asking an extra question... This feeling was just like queuing up to buy train tickets at a small window.

After the refunded ticket came out, JF breathed a sigh of relief. Compared to the 70 yuan ticket, the refund fee of 5 yuan was considered the lowest loss. . Then she heard me talk about the window conductor and was surprised. She contacted the Didi taxi driver and the hotel where we stayed. She felt that Xiamen’s service industry really had not kept up with the “tourist city” it promoted to the outside world. image.

Where to go next?

We actually all want to visit the Shopping mall. In a place that is not a big city, I want to go shopping, eat desserts, and drink coffee. It is probably because I want to end the trip and return to life.

I checked Xiamen's Shopping mall on Dianping. Jimei Wanda Shopping Mall seems to have good reviews. Go out and take a taxi. After running for more than 40 minutes, I reached the outside of the island and entered a group of "Kyageng-style" red buildings. That is Jimei School Village. Looking down from the viaduct connecting the inside and outside of the island, you can see the antique, Chinese and Western, red and white area, which is very beautiful.

Wanda Shopping Center is right opposite the entrance of Jimei University. After getting off the bus, I saw groups of students, especially girls, flowing from the school gate to the shopping mall. There are also students in the shopping mall, so many students, just like the corridor of the teaching building after the school bell rings. The taste of the mall is obviously that of college students. The pure and cute women's clothing is either Korean style, Muji, or Uniqlo. In short, you can't find anything like Jiangnan Buyi. JF and I walked around for a while and found it not very interesting. There were so many people and we felt a little tired.

Let's go to Jimei University for a walk. I heard the campus is very beautiful.

Indeed, there is a beautiful lake on campus, which is very beautiful against the Jiageng-style architecture. The campus is also very quiet, as if everyone has gone to the Wanda Shopping Center opposite. What we met on the road was also heading towards Wanda Shopping Mall. Perhaps, Wanda can place an advertisement on campus - "I am either at Wanda or on the way to Wanda."

Walking along the lakeside of the campus, we reminisced about the past, and we all felt that we were so innocent when we were students.

JFI study really hard, in the dormitory, canteen, teaching building, and library every day. After finishing my undergraduate degree, I went to work. I found that I didn't like the type of work very much, so I took the postgraduate examination. Then I finished my master's degree at four o'clock and one first line, but when I came out, the job type was not very satisfactory. Two years later, I went on to four o'clock and one first line and completed my PhD. After I got my Ph.D., I was lucky enough to find someone in the department I wanted to go to, who gave up his position because he went abroad and joined the regular army. But JF said that it was a pity that a lot of time was wasted. In an organization that looks at qualifications, academic qualifications and abilities don't really bring you much. If I had gone to my current employer after graduating from undergraduate degree, it would be very different from where I am today.

My college years were an era of literature and art. I spend the most time in the dormitory with my roommates, reading books, reading scripts, acting, chatting, playing the piano, writing, cooking noodles... I also often go out to watch plays, listen to concerts, and see art exhibitions. God knows what. At that time, we were so familiar with Renyi, Beibingmasi, Zhongshan Concert Hall, Beijing Concert Hall, and National Art Museum of China!

The environment shapes people, JF became a science and engineering girl with glasses and a serious face, and I became a literary and artistic girl. And in an environment like Jimei University, based on what we see today, students can develop "street photography", "trend", and "fashion" style (more than two years later, maybe they have become Internet celebrity anchors... ). Of course, there is also an invisible group of people who may be working tirelessly on campus or in the library.

However, what we saw at Xiamen University the next day seemed to have the same academic style.