Pleasures of going off the beaten track

Last Saturday morning I was driving on my way to an eastern suburban town of Beijing when I turned on the radio to hear that all roads leading to the Fragrant Hill Park were crowded with cars near the tourist attraction famous for its scenery of flourishing red leaves.

It has become a routine news program in the "Traffic Radio" every year around this time that Beijing residents flocking to the scenic spot in the northwestern suburb jam the roads nearby and tourists are advised to go to other venues.

I wonder why Beijing's red leaf lovers favor Fragrant Hill only. Red leaf trees grow in many other places in and around the city. The highway I was driving on last Saturday, for instance, was flanked by trees of red and yellow and green leaves, making a gorgeous scene under the blue sky.

I recalled an excursion I went on last autumn in a Beijing suburb. It was a sunny Saturday and I decided that I needed to find a quiet place for some respite from work. I simply drove northward away from the downtown area without any particular destination in my mind. Somewhere beyond the 6th Ring Road I turned to a small road that seemed leading to the mountains in the distance.

Finally I came to a valley that looked secluded from the outside world. The hillsides were all covered with unknown trees with leaves in a riot of colors. Groves of red and yellow leaves flared in the autumn sun in contrast to the evergreen vegetation. Wisps of bluish grey smoke curled up from villages in the hills. Down the valley there was a small reservoir mirroring the white clouds in the azure sky. I was intoxicated with the serene yet vibrant scenery.

I stayed there for several hours strolling on trails in the woods and shooting photographs of red leaves. It was a perfect experience of refreshment. Wasn't it better than joining the jostling hordes of tourists in the Fragrant Hill Park?

Yet people still like to go to the park because it is a famous scenic spot.

That is the mindset of most of Chinese holiday makers. They take vacation as a good opportunity to visit famous tourist attractions. They feel content with the thought of "I've been there." This habit leads to over-crowdedness in these places and partly contributes to packed trains, buses and flights during the holiday seasons. The crowdedness, in turn, causes the service to decline in quality and the comfort of traveling to deteriorate.

Such an understanding of tourism also leads to tight itineraries. Look at travel agencies' ads in newspapers. There are hundreds of such schedules as "10-day tour of seven European countries." Herded by the guides, the tourists travel to one famous place after another and have photos taken with the landmark building or object before rushing to the next venue. Riding transport vehicles, taking photos and buying souvenirs are, for them, the only content of holiday travels.

This is not a vacation but rather a labor. This concept of tourism should be changed. Holidays and vacations are time for rest. They should be spent in a relaxed manner. And it is not necessary to go to famous tourist attractions. There are lots of less known places where landscapes are also attractive.

During my recent vacation in September, I went to a new tourist venue by the Qingjiang River, a tributary of the Yangtze. The river got its name from its clear water, which is rare among today's rivers in China, but has been unheard-of for most tourism lovers. I stayed there for two days and really reveled in the serenity of the clean environment.