What a journey!

There's one journey I'll never forget. It was about six years ago. I was going to Hong Kong, from London. The flight was early in the morning, so I stayed in a hotel near the airport the night before. I was in a holiday mood that night, so I went to the hotel bar and ordered a drink to celebrate. And I got talking to some other people. We had a great time. When I left the bar, it was about three in the morning. The flight was at six o'clock, so it wasn't really worth going to sleep. I watched TV for a bit but I fell asleep. When I woke up it was after five o’clock. So I panicked, grabbed my bags and rushed outside, looking for a taxi. Of course - no taxis anywhere. Luckily, after a few minutes running up and down the street, an airport bus came along, so I got on that. When I got there it was actually nearly six, so I thought the gate must be closed. I'd missed my plane. The whole terminal（航站楼）was empty except for a huge crowd of people at one end and luckily, that was the queue for my flight. It was delayed! Yeah. I was real pleased. But the delay went from one hour, to four hours to finally nine hours! Nine hours waiting in the airport. I slept on some chairs most of the time. Finally, at around three o' clock, the plane took off. But the worst part came! After a few hours there was a huge storm and the plane started bouncing all over the place - I remember feeling it was like being in a washing machine. People were screaming babies crying and food flying everywhere. I was really scared. And then! The worst thing of all - the oxygen masks dropped down. Suddenly we all were staring at these yellow oxygen masks and the feeling of fear - I just can't describe it. I put my mask on and just sat there in absolute terror, with the plane bouncing all over the place and lightning outside the windows Anyway the plane didn't crash, thank God, and we got to Hong Kong in the end, but what a journey! I'll never forget it.

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Recently, a new kind of tourism has begun in China, called “special forces style tourism(特种兵式旅游)”. It features visiting many places of interest in a short period, most often on weekends. Most of these visitors are college students, reported China Youth Daily.

Yu Yinghua in Shanghai Lixin University of Accounting and Finance is one of them. The 22-year-old started her tour in March after being deeply touched by such experiences of Xiaohongshu travel bloggers(博主). “Tapped in school for almost 3 years because of COVID-19, I’m now hungry to take trips,” said Yu.

① Most of her trips were started from her daily life, such as a chat with friends. “But making a plan carefully for the trip is important,” Yu said. She found lots of information before travelling. That would help save time when travelling and enjoy the places better.

② Her last trip was to Shanghai. Starting at 7 am, the 22-year-old visited nine local places. “That day, I walked almost 30,000 steps,” Yu said, “Though it’s a bit tiring, I enjoy this trip as much as days-long trips.”

③ Unlike Yu travelling in nearby cities, Chen Junjun, a doctoral (博士学位的) student in Shanghai, likes to travel far to get herself free from schoolwork. In April, the 24-year-old took a two-day trip to Xi’an, Shaanxi. During her trip, she visited all the famous places in the city. “Such a trip can bring a bright colour to my busy life!” said Chen.

④ “It’s labor-consuming (消耗体力的).Visitors try to see as many places as possible in a short period,” Chen said. In some ways, such trips are not as flexible(灵活的) as days-long trips because you can’t change your plan. “So, enough energy and a clear mind are necessary for this tour,” said Chen.