Strict Checks and a 'Ticketing Grandma' at Beijing's Zhongshan Park
This April is full of blossoming spring, but not many attractions in Beijing are open. A few days ago, I took a stroll in the Summer Palace and also checked out the Houhai Lake Park. Because these two places are very large, you can only see a few tourists every five or six meters. Everyone was dressed up warmly and kept a distance from each other. Seeing this incredibly restrained scene, it didn't resemble the bustling Beijing I expected. It was a special period, and caution was indeed necessary.
Before every outing, one thing is to wear a mask, and another is to check the requirements of the attractions: for example, the Temple of Heaven, although it can be visited, the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests is not open. Before going to Zhongshan Park, I saw a reminder online, requiring me to bring my ID card. Zhongshan Park's tulip season is just right, and it doesn't require advance online booking. I brought my ID card and took the subway.
I was startled by the ticketing grandma!
The queuing for tickets at Zhongshan Park was a bit long, and the ground was covered with 'please keep a distance of one meter' yellow stickers. At first, I was a little impatient because I had visited the Summer Palace and Houhai Lake Park, and I had booked online and swiped my ID card directly. When I finally reached the front of the queue, I finally understood why it was so slow – the ticketing grandma asked each tourist three questions: 'Where is your ID card?', 'Where is your community access certificate?', 'When did you come to Beijing?'
She was never tiring, grandma asked everyone, the inspection was too strict! Other attractions didn't have this measure. The young man didn't answer smoothly, he didn't bring a community access certificate, and the grandma immediately became vigilant: 'Take out your Alipay or WeChat health code!' The stern voice was audible even through two meters. I quietly prepared my own ID card, just in case.
Zhongshan Park's tulips are abundant, and the camellias are the most beautiful. Through the test of the ticketing grandma, I entered Zhongshan Park with a ticket. The tulips in the park were in full bloom, and everyone was lying on the ground to take pictures. There are too many varieties of tulips, said to be ninety kinds, pure white, golden yellow, blood red, and two-colored; a little girl pointed at a flower and shouted: 'This tulip looks like a big white cabbage!' A little boy dragged his mother and excitedly said: 'Look, the name of this tulip is Orange Juice, it's really interesting!' A young lady brought her doll to take photos, attracting a group of photography old fathers and sons to follow suit, shouting: 'I've been doing this for so long, I'll try to be cute.'
Zhongshan Park is next to the Forbidden City, it was originally the Zi Temple, because of Sun Yat-sen's coffin was once stored here, so it was named Zhongshan Park. It took about two hours to walk around the entire Zhongshan Park, and everywhere you went was tulips. The camellia garden on the side was thriving, and a gust of wind blew over a fragrant scent, and the mask couldn't block it. Walking on the stone path, the flowers of the camellia were underfoot, each one like a delicate snowflake. The flowers in Zhongshan Park are really diverse, making people dazzled.
But to say the best one is the West Mountain Camellia. White mixed with tender pink, anyone who comes here will stop and take a picture. The grandma next to me complained anxiously: 'The camellia is so tall, it's no wonder everyone is holding a big camera!' Despite this, the grandma stood on her toes and stuck out her neck, just to take a picture of the camellia on her mobile phone. I asked the management staff earlier, when there were many cultural relics in the exhibition hall, this time the Zhongshan Hall was not open.
However, it's a pity that there weren't any cats to be seen. Before coming here, I saw many people take pictures of cute cats, I couldn't help but ask the management staff: 'It depends on luck.' Walking in Zhongshan Park, everyone strolled and relaxed, enjoying this rare good spring sunshine.
Tips:
Address: No. 3 East Chang'an Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing
Transportation: Take subway Line 1 at Tiananmen East and Tiananmen West Stations
Ticket price: 3 yuan
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