Chapter 72 (Mainly online comments)
Yang Lili was very unhappy after visiting Qinghe Ancient Town.
She admitted that the town was more fun and prettier than she had imagined. But it was far too expensive!
Here's the thing: Yang Lili is a native of Qinghe City. She has a sister-in-law who lives in Shanghai. The sister-in-law and Yang Lili's husband are siblings, and the two families have always had a good relationship.
This New Year's Day, my husband's younger sister took her child back to Qinghe City. My husband asked her to plan the trip, and Yang Lili thought that Qinghe Ancient Town had just opened and the ticket price was quite cheap, so why not take the children there?
It's both presentable and doesn't cost too much money. With two adults and two children, plus the sister-in-law and her son, it should only cost five or six hundred yuan.
I thought it would be an all-inclusive package, but when I got there, everything cost extra.
Want to take a boat ride? It's 20 yuan per person, and children are counted as extra, so it'll be 100 yuan for five people. And that VR experience, it's only a few minutes long, but it costs 30 yuan, much more expensive than in the mall.
Want to see a show? Sorry, even slightly better seats will cost extra, another few hundred dollars.
And then there were the free activities included in the ticket, which is what my child was really looking forward to – trying out some crafts would be nice. But what were those free activities? There were only seven or eight to choose from. Everything else required extra payment.
There are also cultural and creative shops where some inconspicuous little trinkets are priced at seventy or eighty yuan, or even several hundred yuan. I wonder how much the owners pay for these goods from Yiwu? That's outrageous profiteering!
A little here, a little there, it all seemed insignificant, but in the end, it cost me over a thousand yuan! (crying) (crying)
Also, a word of caution: tourist attractions that try to charge you money as soon as you enter really leave me with no good impression whatsoever.
......
Lu Xiaoqi watched the entire subway ride with the faces of elderly people.
She didn't understand but was greatly shocked. How could there be so many oddballs in the world?!
If someone spent over a thousand yuan just to complain, I could understand. But three adults and three children, spending over a thousand yuan, is that really worth saying anything about?
Lu Xiaoqi, who was deeply upset that the ticket price of Qinghe Ancient Town did not match its level, was furious. She could criticize anything about it, but not its ticket price!
Fortunately, after a night of preparation, the post already had seven or eight hundred replies.
Lu Xiaoqi, who has extensive experience in following gossip, said that a simple rant or warning post would rarely cause such a big commotion, so there must be something wrong here!
She could smell the melon.
She carefully scrolled through her WeChat Moments. The initial comments were quite normal, with many even defending Qinghe Ancient Town.
【No, the six of you spent a little over a thousand, which averages out to over two hundred per person. Is that considered expensive?】
[I came in filled with righteous indignation, and left the thread looking around blankly.]
[+1, what a waste of my time.]
【Wow, are you guys all so rich? Over a thousand is half a month's salary for me. And spending over a thousand on a single trip to local attractions without staying in a hotel is quite expensive. The original poster has six people, including three children, and many attractions offer free admission for children.】
I also think it's a bit expensive, but you know, a monthly salary of 10,000 yuan is practically poverty for someone like me, so I don't dare say anything.
At this point, someone posted the ticket price for Qinghe Ancient Town, clearly a visitor who had already been there:
I just got back today, so I feel I can speak on this. First, children under six and under 1.2 meters tall are admitted free of charge to Qinghe Ancient Town. Second, I genuinely think the 20 yuan boat ride is very reasonable. In the past, boat rides at other scenic spots have cost 40 or 50 yuan, and the scenery wasn't even that beautiful. So I think it's well worth it.
Furthermore, Qinghe Ancient Town offers a wide variety of performances, all of high quality. Many shows in the streets and restaurants are free, and I think they're so good they could easily sell tickets for tens of yuan elsewhere. Only a few performances at the 'Huanyinge' theater require an extra fee. And even then, regular seats are free! Only the good seats in the central area cost extra!
I saw all those shows, and even if a regular seat cost 128, I wouldn't complain. The quality was so high that tickets could be sold separately! I highly recommend them and strongly suggest them!
So here's the question: Does the original poster mean that if you want to watch the show in the best seats but don't want to pay, then it should be provided to you for free?
Who are you?! ? ?
The appearance of this tourist was a turning point, though it could also be because it was late and everyone had already finished their sightseeing and gone home to their hotels. Soon, other tourists also appeared in the comments section.
[That's absolutely right. It's like the original poster enjoyed the experience, then wanted their money back, and then blamed the organizers when they found it unsatisfactory. The problem is, you bought value-added services; Qinghe Ancient Town didn't force you to buy them. Like the VR experience you mentioned, it was included in the ticket, and after experiencing it, you wanted to see it again, and they clearly stated the price, which you accepted. Then, after watching it again, you turn around and complain that it was too expensive and warn everyone to avoid it! That's incredibly shameless.]
Did Qinghe Ancient Town force you to buy something?
[Please force me to buy it! I don't want to wait in line anymore. Thirty yuan for a VR experience like this, and people who say it's expensive are utterly heartless! You try looking for one outside for three hundred yuan, let's see if you can find one!]
[Agreed. For those extra-cost experience programs you mentioned, try to find me somewhere else that offers the same environment and instructors, even if it costs three or four times the price. If you find one, I'll give you 100.]
This person also included many photos of themselves teaching in the garden and in the ancient town.
For a view like this, you should be grateful you're only paying 80 yuan for admission.
The snacks in the scenic area taste so good, yet they're priced similarly to those outside. You still think they're expensive?
With fireworks and special effects like these, you're getting a free show and you still want to avoid them?!
Do you really think you can find such exquisite handicrafts in Yiwu? Do you really think intangible cultural heritage and handicrafts are so worthless?
I'm so angry! People like you are the ones I should avoid, okay? You should just stay home and not go out.
If you click on her ID to enter her homepage, you'll find that it's Ma Yu who posted a bunch of indignant pictures and comments. She was worried that the boss was too generous and wouldn't make any money, and might end up bankrupting Qinghe Ancient Town, but then someone complained that it was too expensive?
Right then and there, she and Xu Yueran were having a passionate encounter in the hotel room.
While there are indeed differences in people's economic levels, evaluations should be objective. Among similar scenic spots, Qinghe Ancient Town offers very high value for money.
Ma Yu's photos also attracted a bunch of passersby.
Wow, it's so beautiful! Are we Chinese really lying to each other? Is Qinghe Ancient Town really this beautiful? Or is it just a misleading photo?
[I looked at the prices you posted, and they're really not expensive. Taking the kids to the mall on the weekend costs way more than that; a simple train ride or a small attraction can easily cost fifty or sixty yuan, and it only lasts a few minutes.]
Agreed, the children's play areas in shopping malls these days are a total rip-off.
[Performances are expensive! Last time I bought a front-row seat for a dance drama, it cost over 600 yuan. I also want the theater to sell good seats and back-row seats at the same price, just like the original poster did. (smile)]
I'm really interested; I've already started searching for tickets to Qinghe Ancient Town.
[It seems like the original poster started this thread.]
At this point, Yang Lili's rant and warning post had completely evolved into a promotional post, which definitely violated her original intention. So later, she started arguing with other visitors in the post.
But none of these are the reasons why this post went viral.
Until one comment suddenly appeared:
[OP, I looked at your profile. Last time you went to Shanghai, you took your two kids, and your sister-in-law took you to Disneyland. You know how much a Disneyland ticket costs, right? Oh, and by the way, your sister-in-law also bought souvenirs for your two kids, including a Rena Belle coin for over 200 yuan. Then in your post, you were subtly criticizing your sister-in-law for being stingy because your son wanted a sword that cost over 300 yuan, but your sister-in-law didn't buy it for him.]
Tsk tsk, your trip to Disneyland must have cost at least three thousand. And now you've spent a little over a thousand and are complaining about how expensive it is...
I went too! I not only went to Disneyland, but also to the Bund and ate at a very expensive restaurant.
No normal person would do something like that.
[Big data should push this post to your sister-in-law; you're such a traitor!]
Lu Xiaoqi perked up when she saw this, "That's more like it!"
No wonder this post got so many replies; it turns out there was this dramatic twist. This is the familiar recipe, the familiar taste of Little Sweet Potato!
Mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationships, best friends falling out, sister-in-law and sister-in-law... wow. These are the real traffic magnets.
The subsequent comments mainly focused on Yang Lili's battle with netizens, which actually had little to do with Qinghe Ancient Town anymore. However, Lu Xiaoqi still watched with great interest, spending a full twenty minutes on it before reluctantly leaving.
Brilliant, absolutely brilliant!
Back on Xiaodigua's recommendation page, Lu Xiaoqi saw many recommendation posts. Some recommended the scenery, while others recommended Lin Baosheng's ventriloquism and Zhu Lianxiu's "The Tragedy of Dou E." They all felt that apart from being a little short, these performances could be directly adapted for the stage of an outside theater.
I loved the ventriloquism segment; I watched both the morning and afternoon shows. A must-see performance, and it's free!
[The experience was amazing; the ancients were right, the effect was incredible.]
Three must-see performances in Qinghe Ancient Town: ventriloquism, the tragic story of Dou E, and a thousand years of elegance.
Yes, Zhu Lianxiu's "The Injustice to Dou E" is also worth watching. The moment she opened her mouth, my scalp tingled. She's now my goddess.
My goddess is that girl who does the sword dance; you guys missed her sword dance!
[Yes, yes, the sword dance is also worth watching, a must-see.]
She casually browsed the video platform and found that the beatboxing segment had gone viral. A video taken by an audience member, showing the entire segment from beginning to end, including the audience's questions and responses, had over 100,000 likes overnight, despite having no technical skill involved in the filming.
You're telling me this is a sound a human can make?
[Close your eyes and listen; it sounds exactly like a fire scene.]
[This is exactly how I imagined it when I read this article as a child, and now it has finally become a reality.]
People also took many screenshots of Lin Baosheng's expressions during his performances:
Now I understand why ventriloquists use screens to shield themselves; otherwise, the whole audience would burst out laughing.
Even zombies would run away at the sight of it.
On the contrary, Zhu Lianxiu's performances, because traditional opera is indeed a relatively niche art form, and the difference between recorded and live singing is quite significant, not to mention the added bonus of the Huan Yin Ge's unique characteristics. Therefore, although some of her related videos have received quite a few likes, they cannot compare to Lin Baosheng's ventriloquism and some of the highlight clips from "A Thousand Years of Splendor".
This left Lu Xiaoqi somewhat disappointed.
But then I thought, not everything needs to go viral online and grab traffic. Many art forms are actually only suitable for live performances, but they can still have a large following.
She then felt relieved.
The VR experience center in Qinghe Ancient Town is facing the same problem: it's impossible to record any of the experience videos. Therefore, its trending topic yesterday also included a lot of comments expressing doubt and ridicule.
Initially, tourists were enthusiastically recommending the VR virtual reality experience center, believing it to be the most advanced VR technology in the world, capable of creating a truly immersive experience. Aside from the lack of interaction, it felt like traveling back to a real ancient era.
He claimed that he witnessed Qin Shi Huang's ascension to the throne.
This tourist is also a blogger on Weibo with hundreds of thousands of followers, bringing his own audience. When he first posted it, everyone thought he was doing something abstract.
You met Qin Shi Huang, but I also met Emperor Wu of Han!
[I am Qin Shi Huang, and I am actually still alive, having achieved immortality. I need money to summon my army. V me 50... I can't make this up anymore.]
However, the blogger remained enthusiastic in introducing his experience in the video, using every syllable of praise:
I later queued up to watch two more videos and discovered they were actually part of the same series. The first video showed Li Bing being appointed governor of Shu by King Zhaoxiang of Qin, and the second video showed Li Bing leading laborers in Chengdu to build the Dujiangyan Irrigation System. By the way, the beginning of that video was incredibly thrilling; I almost thought I was going to fall off the mountain path. My heart was racing—it was way more exciting than bungee jumping!
The scene of laborers building the Dujiangyan Irrigation System was so realistic that, to be honest, even I, a grown man, was moved to tears.
The third video is about Qin Shi Huang's ascension to the throne, which is equally thrilling. Our history of a unified China began on this day.
These three videos are all likely made from Li Bing's perspective, in chronological order. The correct viewing order is CBA.
I don't know what the VR production team was thinking... Although the three videos are all of high quality and very enjoyable to watch, since they had the technology, why didn't they choose some more famous historical scenes to create their videos? And why choose Li Bing's perspective?
The grandest part here is Qin Shi Huang's ascension to the throne—or rather, Ying Zheng's succession—but none of it depicts his coronation as emperor after unifying the six kingdoms. It just feels a little missing. The construction of the Dujiangyan Irrigation System is alright, but wouldn't building the Great Wall have been better?
If we absolutely have to include the Qin Dynasty, then let's include things like pointing at a deer and calling it a horse, and burning down the Epang Palace.
After reading it, Lu Xiaoqi twitched her lips: ...What do you know!?
However, she also wanted to see the Epang Palace!
Gradually, other tourists who had experienced it also searched for it and interacted with the blogger in the comments section. Everyone agreed that it was indeed a fantastic experience, just like a holographic online game described in a novel.
Before I went, I thought it would be like those popular ones nowadays, where you go into a closed room and they project images onto the ceiling, floor, and walls to artificially create a VR experience. But it turns out they give you a headset and take you directly into a virtual world. That's so cool!
[Agreed. I've been to what's claimed to be the top-tier VR experience centers overseas, and I've even bought VR headsets costing tens of thousands of yuan, but the visual effects aren't as good as this.]
[I've already bought tickets again. Thirty yuan per session is such a great deal. Going to a run-down shopping mall to play VR games with such poor quality costs thirty or forty yuan per session.]
[To the person upstairs: I suggest you buy an annual pass. Their opening promotion seems to be ending soon, so an annual pass is a great deal right now. Plus, they might add more videos later, so buying an annual pass is definitely worth it.]
The bystanders in the comments section suddenly realized, "Hey, they're actually serious? They're not just playing around with abstract concepts!"
[What happened? What are you all talking about?] These are the onlookers.
[Blogger, were you paid? If you were, just let me know.] This is because they are victims of online marketing and have stopped trusting anyone.
More often, it's direct mockery:
"The world's most advanced VR... You're exaggerating to the skies. Do you even believe it yourself?"
[No picture, no truth; no video, no truth.]
They dare to boast precisely because there are no pictures or videos.
However, someone quickly posted holographic videos of the Lu Ban ceremony and the Nine Dragons Corridor segment: "[Who said there weren't any videos? Although you can't record videos during the VR experience, there are these. This segment of the Nine Dragons opening their eyes is just an appetizer before you go in; the real experience is even more breathtaking.]"
Gradually, more videos from different angles were uploaded, including those few seconds before the fireworks were set off, showing two phoenixes taking off from the roof ornaments.
Many people suddenly remembered the Seven Star Lamp and Dragon Opening Eyes that went viral half a year ago, which were shared like crazy on the platform at the time:
"So this is the place! I believe you then."
[They're open already?! I need to go buy tickets right now!]
[This kind of experience costs thirty dollars a time?! Last week I went to that giant stadium in Las Vegas, and tickets were eighteen dollars, with shows costing over a hundred dollars! Anyway, I'm buying my plane ticket to go home.]
After the video was released, the doubts gradually decreased, and the small group could no longer pose a significant threat.
Lu Xiaoqi flipped through the holographic video again and found a history student praising it highly, saying that the scenery details in the holographic video were very realistic and faithful to historical facts, and that she was planning to invite her professor to experience it as well.
She raised her eyebrows, looking forward to these history majors coming over to "archaeologically investigate," perhaps even discovering some unexpected little surprises.
She had no intention of setting the ticket price higher, because besides business, a crucial aspect of this main mission was promoting traditional Chinese culture. Having been bound to the system for so long, Lu Xiaoqi knew it was for real, not a joke.
Besides the VR experience, the celestial maidens at the opening ceremony and the final fireworks also trended on social media for a long time. Even now, when she clicks on them, she can still see them on the trending list, and there are tons of videos about them on the platform, making them very noticeable.
The funniest thing is that a bunch of drama fans and actor fans broke down and started tagging the production team, producers, and directors everywhere.
[See that? A whole scenic area's special effects are better than yours! Oh, what did you say? They're not special effects, they're real props?! You mean the real props are better than your special effects that you claimed cost tens of millions?]
[Fans still believe in special effects costing tens of millions... it's just money.]
So all that talk about trying your best was just a lie to your fans? You tried your best and this is what you got? It's worse than a prop from a tourist attraction...
Pay attention! If you keep making it look like this, nobody will watch TV dramas anymore.
[Please, please, go and learn from Qinghe Ancient Town! XX's drama needs this kind of effect. This is exactly the flying boat I imagined when I was reading the book!]
Let's go directly to Qinghe Ancient Town for filming!
Lu Xiaoqi gradually changed from sitting in the boss's chair scrolling through her phone to lying on the sofa and scrolling through her phone with great enjoyment, completely absorbed in it.
The second day of the New Year's Day holiday passed uneventfully.
On the third day, as the holiday came to an end, everyone who was supposed to go home had already left. It was expected that the number of people would decrease on this day, but in reality, there were still about 10,000 people, seemingly with no concept of the holiday ending.
Beautiful pictures and videos of Qinghe Ancient Town have spread all over the internet.
With the extensive television and land advertising she had invested in beforehand, the ancient town had gained some initial exposure and achieved considerable recognition. However, after the New Year's Day holiday, they reviewed the sources of tourists and found that they were still mainly from Qinghe City and several surrounding cities and provincial capitals, with relatively few tourists from other provinces, especially those from areas more than two hours away by car.
“That’s normal,” the sales director said. “New Year’s Day is only a three-day holiday, so people just want to take a short trip to the surrounding area. They only go further afield during long holidays like Spring Festival and National Day.”
Lu Xiaoqi could understand. So, for Qinghe Ancient Town to become a global tourist destination like Disney or Universal, or better yet, for the whole country to come and visit, Qinghe Ancient Town still has a long way to go.
The most urgent task now is the activities during the Chinese New Year.
The Spring Festival is the busiest and most popular time for every scenic spot. The planning and performance departments attach great importance to the Spring Festival activities. For example, Li Guinian, Gongsun Jin, and Su Jun are almost working non-stop.
Everyone else could take turns resting after New Year's Day, but they couldn't; they had to wait until after the Lantern Festival to rest. Even many people from Xiangjia Village were captured by Su Jun to make floats and puppet props for the parade.
"It's alright!" Li Guinian leaned back on the balustrade, took a sip of wine, and said with great carefree ease, "It's much freer here than in the Pear Garden."
While in the Pear Garden, although he was favored by His Majesty and his clothing, food, housing, and transportation were all extremely luxurious and exquisite, and he had countless servants, he could not move freely. He could only stay within the palace walls and perform music and arts according to the palace's schedule and His Majesty's preferences.
Every move you make is being watched, and every word you say must be carefully considered.
Even this drink can only be tasted briefly during banquets; how could one get drunk so easily?
Ah, if only my friends had come along. Wang Wei, Li Bai, Du Fu... they were all connoisseurs of wine. And it was their poetry that gave him a constant source of inspiration.
Li Guinian shook his head regretfully and took another sip of wine.
After New Year's Day, Lu Xiaoqi went to see Yuwen Kai off.
Yuwen Kai has accepted Ye Shi'an's invitation and plans to travel around Shanxi Province and other places for about a month.
"Are you coming back for the Chinese New Year?" Lu Xiaoqi asked.
Yuwen Kai stroked his beard, his answer ambiguous: "It's still unknown, but I'll try my best to return before New Year's Eve. If I can't return, then it will be after the Lantern Festival."
After the Lantern Festival, when the new semester began, he agreed to teach an elective course at Qinghe University, as promised by Professor Lin.
Lu Xiaoqi nodded and saw him off at the high-speed rail station. Yuwen Kai would stay in the provincial capital for two days, and then fly to Shanxi Province. With his current familiarity with modern society, Lu Xiaoqi was no longer worried about his solo travel.
After seeing Yuwen Kai off, she didn't leave and continued to wait at the exit of the high-speed rail station.
After waiting for more than an hour, two familiar figures emerged from the station. Lu Xiaoqi waved vigorously.
"Dad, Mom—!"
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