Visiting Huaguo Mountain to Find Shuilian Cave

        'West Travel Notes' is a well-known mythological story among Chinese people, believed to hold a place in everyone's youth, and has different forms in different eras. In the early days, there were Peking Opera, Zatan, Pingshu and Shadow play. Later, there were Lianhuanhua and comic books. After the reform and opening up, there were TV dramas and cartoons.

                I remember when I was young, the TV series "West Travel Notes" had just started airing and only updated once a week. At that time, no matter what homework I did, I would definitely put down my homework and wait by the TV. I was particularly fascinated by the hometown of Sun Wukong, the "Great Sage of Heaven". I always fantasized about living in the mountains, picking fruits when hungry, drinking mountain spring water when thirsty, sleeping with water when sleepy, and no longer having to do homework. I was carefree and happy! Just as years passed, I became an adult, worked, got married, and became a father... The responsibility of life filled my time and space, and those wild ideas had already been crushed and gone.

                During a visit to relatives during the Chinese New Year this year, I accidentally discovered through my mobile navigation that my wife's hometown is only an hour's drive from Huaguo Mountain. I suggested visiting Sun Wukong's hometown during the holiday, and the children immediately came to their senses and raised their hands in agreement. So we chose to visit the legendary Shuilian Cave on the sixth day of the first lunar month.

        When arriving at the Huaguo Mountain Scenic Area, park at the foot of the mountain first, and then purchase a ticket to enter the scenic area. I saw the tall and straight bamboo trees on the slopes on both sides, which were very pleasing to the eye. The merchants on the roadside displayed a dazzling array of souvenirs of Western Travel Notes characters, making people dizzy. After the children selected their favorite souvenirs, we continued up the mountain.

        Huaguo Mountain, known as the highest peak in Jiangsu Province, is 624 meters above sea level. With my children, I made a strategy before leaving. I took my family straight to the Tour bus service tourist center to buy tickets and take a bus up the mountain to play from top to bottom. After queuing up to board the bus, the minibus began to gallop up the winding mountain road, with steep slopes and narrow roads, almost all of which were sharp turns, very thrilling. In addition, the drivers were flying at lightning speed, causing everyone to scream several times. Fortunately, they were familiar with the road conditions and arrived at the main peak of Huaguo Mountain - Yunv Peak in over half an hour.

        The children couldn't wait to rush off the car, only to see a stone tablet standing at the top of the peak, with the words "Jiangsu's highest peak" written on it. The peak was high, deep, cold, and the temperature suddenly dropped, with unmelted snow everywhere. The mountaintop is filled with tourists, and merchants have set up shopping centers and various Western Travel Notes character cartoons for photography, making it extremely lively. Some people take photos, some go shopping, and some appreciate the beautiful scenery of the mountains, and the family quickly integrates into it. In the "Welcoming Dawn Pavilion" on the mountaintop, children shouted towards the valley, and their voices echoed through the valley for a long time. After I gathered everyone to take a photo, I walked down the stone steps.

        Due to the high and steep slopes of the mountain and the numerous stone steps, the family supported each other along the way, following the flow of people to stop and walk, and unknowingly arrived at the mountainside. The sign on the turning road says' Ahead to Shuilian Cave ', we are not excited. With a burst of music 'White Dragon Horse, hooves facing west, followed by a disciple of sand', we arrived at the Shuilian Cave Scenic Area. At this time, it was a cold winter season, and the waterfall in front of the entrance unexpectedly formed ice. The entrance appeared faintly behind the ice, causing everyone to wonder. Through the gaps in the ice, we fish through the Shuilian Cave, which is warm as spring, with the beautiful scenery of gurgling streams and various karst caves. Sun Wukong's throne and stone bed, under the light, are like dreams and illusions, making it breathtaking.

                After walking out of Shuilian Cave, the family felt a little tired, so they found a stone bench to sit down and rest. Serendipity, there were macaques everywhere on the guardrail of the stone steps, beside the stones of the springs in the mountains, and on the towering branches. Not far away, there were many tourists playing with the monkeys nearby. Interestingly, these monkeys are not afraid of being born at all. They ask for a Dim sum and then ask for a banana. My son casually unscrewed a bottle of cola, and as soon as he took a sip, two little monkeys came and snatched it, startled him. I saw the little monkey squatting on the guardrail with a cola, drinking as if there were no one around. It felt so happy that it made the tourists burst into laughter. Due to the large number of tourists and Dim sum, the little monkeys kept around and refused to leave. My wife joked that in the past two years, the impact of the epidemic has reduced the number of tourists, and the little monkeys must have been starving.

        This is the first time my family has gone on a trip since the epidemic, it's really unforgettable. I can't forget the excitement of the winding mountain road, the towering peaks, and even more, the mystery of the Shuilian Cave. The picture of the little monkey living in harmony with humans has always been fixed in my mind. We finally bid farewell to the epidemic and suggest that everyone go out and take a look at the beautiful scenery.

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