The children were all still young, even the oldest, Tian Tian, was only five and a half years old, so they didn't need to buy tickets. Therefore, Cheng Baidong only bought adult tickets for the three adults.
Cheng Baidong also spent two yuan to rent a film camera.
These days, cameras are very valuable, often costing thousands of dollars, so not only is the rental fee expensive, but the deposit is even more expensive.
The two-yuan rental fee is only valid for one morning, a maximum of four hours. If you exceed the allotted time, your deposit will be forfeited. Film rolls are charged separately.
The deposit is 20 yuan, but if the amount is not enough, you also need to leave your personal identification. Unemployed people without a regular job are not allowed to rent, nor are children under the age of 18 or the elderly over the age of 60. In short, there are many restrictions.
Entering the Forbidden City through the Meridian Gate and crossing the Golden Water Bridge, Fang Qiao and her group visited the city along the central axis and took photos.
The main hall is majestic and imposing, while the red walls of the inner palace are mottled and dotted with white snow. The grandeur of the main hall combined with the softness of the snow creates a unique charm.
Unfortunately, apart from the palace located on the central axis, there are not many other areas open to the public.
Moreover, due to inadequate repairs, many palace gates were locked, alleyways were empty, and the roads underfoot were uneven. Peeking through the cracks in the locked palace gates, one could see courtyards overgrown with weeds and dilapidated palaces, offering little to see.
Fang Qiao and the others had no choice but to return to the central axis.
Behind Kunning Palace is the Imperial Garden. The Imperial Garden has a compact layout and exquisite architecture. There are many beautiful pavilions and buildings in the garden, but most of them are for viewing or worshipping gods and Buddhas. The space is spacious and open, with many cypress and locust trees and exotic flowers and plants. The garden is very beautiful, elegant and quiet, yet it does not lose the grandeur of a royal palace. However, it is not very big. Following the crisscrossing bluestone paths, I wandered around and returned to the original entrance.
Sweetie stood at the door, staring incredulously at the passageway before her. She then looked back at the garden behind her and exclaimed in surprise, "Eh? We're done exploring already?"
Is it a total of ten minutes?
The subtext is: The Imperial Garden? That's it? So small?
Xiao Jing didn't say anything, but the slightly embarrassed expression on her face clearly conveyed the same meaning.
She probably didn't expect the Imperial Garden to be so small.
Sweetie said again, "The garden is so small, we can walk around it in no time. Wouldn't the emperor who used to live here get tired of it?"
Fang Qiao explained somewhat awkwardly, "Uh, I don't think it will get boring. The Imperial Garden is a bit small, but the emperor doesn't only have this one garden. I remember that the Cining Palace and Ningshou Palace both have gardens, and there used to be a Jianfu Palace Garden, but it was burned down later. Besides, there's Jingshan Park right outside the Shenwu Gate, and then there's Beihai Park and the Summer Palace. When the emperor wants to relieve his boredom, there are naturally many places to go."
Just as Fang Qiao was explaining, a bright orange figure suddenly darted past them and jumped onto the artificial hill not far away with a thud.
Sweetie's attention was immediately diverted.
"Auntie, there's a cat!"
She exclaimed, "Wow! It's a big, fat cat!"
Fang Qiao looked closely and saw a fat orange cat jump down from the artificial hill. Although it was very fat, it was light-footed and landed on the snow with an elegant posture, without any clumsiness.
It heard someone call 'cat,' stopped, and looked back.
It tilted its head, opened its big, round eyes, and let out a soft "meow." Seeing that it was a group of strangers, it looked away, then lifted its legs, which were clad in white socks, and darted away, leaving only a string of pretty plum blossom-shaped footprints in the snow as proof that it had been there.
Wow! What a beautiful cat!
Sweetie liked the big orange cat and instinctively chased after it.
"Sweetie, the snow is slippery, slow down, watch your step."
Fang Qiao hurriedly gave instructions, but before she could finish speaking, Tian Tian bumped into a little boy wearing a black leather coat at the corner of the Imperial Garden.
"Ouch."
Sweetie was noticeably half a head shorter than the little boy. When they collided, the little boy stood firmly without any injury, but Sweetie staggered backward, lost her balance, and landed on her bottom.
"Sweetie? Are you alright?" Fang Qiao quickly shoved the child in her arms into Cheng Baidong's arms, stepped forward to help Sweetie up from the ground, and bent down to pat the snow off her bottom.
Fortunately, the temperature was low and the snow hadn't started to melt yet. Fang Qiao pulled her up from the ground, brushed the snow off her, and her clothes were still clean. If the snow had melted and gotten wet, her cotton pants would have had to be changed immediately, otherwise she would have caught a cold.
Fang Qiao asked with concern, "Sweetie, did you hurt yourself?"
Sweetie shook her head: "Auntie, I'm fine. I was wearing thick clothes, so I didn't hurt myself when I fell."
At this moment, the little boy who bumped into Tian Tian also lowered his head and apologized to her: "I'm sorry, little sister, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going and accidentally bumped into you."
Sweetie instinctively hid behind Fang Qiao.
Fang Qiao then noticed him, and her eyes lit up.
What a handsome kid!
He had double eyelids, a high nose bridge, and regular, well-proportioned features. Although he was looking down, he didn't hunch over or stoop; his back was straight as he stood there, like a tall, upright poplar tree, exuding an exceptional air.
Fang Qiao patted Tian Tian's head and said softly, "Tian Tian, your brother apologized to you. What should you say to your brother?"
"It's okay, brother." Sweetie peeked out from behind Fang Qiao and said timidly, "You didn't do it on purpose."
Sweetie generously forgave him, saying, "Besides, this can't be entirely your fault; I was also at fault. I was in a hurry to chase the cat and didn't pay attention to where I was going."
"Chasing a cat?" The little boy pointed to the orange cat lying nearby watching the scene and asked, "Is it this one?"
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