#cloudpurpleui

Alice: It’s not very common in our culture, but people here prefer to cremate the dead instead of burying them in the ground. We didn’t try to find out why — maybe because digging in the mountains is difficult.

Catherine: Anyway, the ashes of ancestors are kept here in special funeral urns. These are beautiful Chinese vases, and the locals have placed them in different parts of the hill. They’ve tried to decorate these places as much as possible. All the vases stand on pedestals, and some of them are even set near alcoves in the traditional style!

Alice: There’s also a mausoleum building at the very top. It’s a really beautiful structure, we enjoyed looking at it. But we decided not to go inside. Of course, there’s another museum of funeral culture, but unfortunately, we don’t have time for that. We have so many interesting things planned for the rest of the day!

Catherine: We came down from the hill to our next destination. But on the way we saw an interesting place and wanted to take a quick look.

Alice: It was a nice abandoned barn with a yard and a pond around it. First, we noticed a few seeds from uncommon plants there. We grabbed them and then decided to look inside the barn.

Catherine: We discovered that the barn had a basement, and there were a few chests with treasures! For example, we found a money bag and a precious stone.

Alice: We also grabbed a few handfuls of ancient coins. We don’t know why we still collect them, since we can’t buy anything with them at our current visa levels. Maybe we do it just for fun!

Catherine: After that, we tried to clear away piles of hay on the first floor. We hoped to find something else, but there was too much hay and we got tired quickly.

Alice: Actually, I didn’t get tired as quickly as Catherine. I tried to clear the floor with the last of my strength, but then I had to admit defeat.

Catherine: While Alice was doing that, I fished a bit in the pond. And I caught two big doitsu koi!

Alice: That was a real joy, because it was time for lunch. We fried the fish over a campfire and ate it. It was really tasty and gave us strength to keep going.

Catherine: We continued on our way and even found an uncut stone along the path. Then we reached our next destination: the rice fields.

Alice: These fields have a special structure. They’re built on a slope, in the form of steps. This is necessary for proper irrigation, since rice requires a constant level of water. The sloped, terraced shape of field makes watering easier and helps conserve more water.

Catherine: It was really interesting to see such a field in person. Besides being functional, it’s also very beautiful!

Alice: There’s our next location below the field. It’s an abandoned boat station located near a beautiful, calm lake. It seems people haven’t used the station for many years. These boats and berths are very old, and only their frames remain.

Catherine: We found out that these boats are called junks. I can also say that they aren’t just boats. They’re traditional Chinese sailing ships, and they’re pretty big. At least 10 people could fit inside. It would be interesting to see how they looked and worked in the past. We will definitely find and look at their pictures after the journey. But now, of course, we have to continue our path.

Alice: We headed to the local resort called Hot Springs. It’s a big complex in a lowland with ponds, a pool, a bar, and some lounge areas.

Catherine: Honestly, it’s not as interesting inside as we hoped. We decided to use only the pool. There’s no sea here in Shang Simla, so we were glad to have even this opportunity to swim.

Alice: After that, we relaxed a bit on sun loungers near the pool.

Catherine: At the same time, we had the chance to show you our new nice swimsuits!

Alice: Then we visited a park near Hot Springs. It’s called Dragon Springs. There are also some lakes and lounge areas here, as well as a lot of walking paths.

Catherine: We also didn’t find anything interesting there, so we just took a sunbath in one picturesque spot in the park.

Alice: After such a good rest, we headed to the next sight. It’s the main cult building of Shang Simla – the Temple of Heaven. It’s a huge and beautiful temple, symmetrical on all four sides. It’s surrounded by a spacious square with pine trees and stairs.

Catherine: For now, the building is under reconstruction. There are no shrines, statues, or other items inside. The only one thing that we could visit there is the observation deck on the highest floor. So, we went up there.

Alice: We climbed a few long stairs and finally got to the top. I can say, we have not come this way in vain. The view from above was amazing, even better than from our base camp!

Catherine: Then the evening came, and we had to prepare for the end of our journey. We decided to spend this evening in the Forbidden City. First, we came back to the Shang Simla Market.

Alice: As usual, we sold unnecessary finds at the relic store. We also exchanged money from the wallets we found for our currency.

Catherine: Then we visited the café. We wanted something sweet, so we noticed a machine making fortune cookies. Of course, we decided to try them. And my first cookie was lucky – I received a good fortune!

Alice: I liked my cookie and had a good fortune too. It was so funny and inspiring that we wanted to buy such a cookie maker for ourselves.

Catherine: We went to the general goods store and bought it. Besides, we bought a few other interesting things. After that, we decided to finish our shopping for today.

Alice: Well then, dear viewers! Our trip is over, and we are standing at the Emperor’s Plaza now. It’s so beautiful here, even in the late evening!

Catherine: And this darkness will help us finish our journey solemnly! After all, it's not by chance that we bought a few fireworks!

Alice: So, let’s light up the place! Well, first we need to set them on fire right here…

Catherine: And now – we’re running to the side and covering our ears! The sound promises to be loud! Goodbye, dear friends!

Alice: Goodbye! See you later, in the next town!