At 5:30 in the morning, I got up early and began to put on my clothes and do my hair. I also brought along a series of sun protection equipment such as sunscreen and a sun hat. Then I hurriedly went out.

I left. Don't forget about sun protection. Although it's only "spring in March", the sun in Anshun is already very strong. We took a taxi to the area near Guiyang Railway Station to take the bus. By the time we arrived, there were already many people on the bus. We sat in the last row to take a nap. The journey wasn't long, it would take about an hour or so, and we could have a short rest.

At 10:30, our group entered the main gate of the Dragon Palace in a grand procession. Along the way, the mountains and rivers never ceased to appear. The "Shou" character monument, the "Roar of Dragons and Roar of Tigers" platform, all had a unique charm. I even took a beautiful photo on the Wolong Bridge.

Continuing on, we reached the foot of the Longmen Waterfall. Standing there and looking up, the wide and tall Longmen Waterfall, like a white silvery ribbon, hung on the stone wall. The sound of water splashing and hitting the bottom of the cliff was truly like the roar of a dragon and a tiger. We stayed for a while under the waterfall and then took the sightseeing elevator not far away to reach the top of the cliff. We began our journey to the Dragon Palace.

Entering the mysterious and dark Dragon Palace by boat, I felt a cool breeze blowing towards me. Although the outside temperature was 27 degrees Celsius, the inside of the palace was cool and icy, with water and stones feeling cold.

It was extremely refreshing. I couldn't help rubbing my arms. The scenery inside the Dragon Palace was extremely beautiful. Various colors of lights, such as red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple, intermingled and shone together, illuminating the stone stalactites extending from the ceiling. Some of the lights formed dancing and leaping patterns of dragons on the stone walls, as if a living Dragon King was leisurely swimming in his own palace. That scene was truly incomparable to mere hearing about it; only by seeing it with one's own eyes can one understand the beauty it contains.

The time spent entering the Dragon Palace was quickly consumed amidst the dazzling array of scenery. Once we reached the shore, we were still in the cave because the water flow had a drop of three meters in height. Therefore, we had to take the boat twice. Otherwise, the first and second entries into the Dragon Palace could have been combined. However, this brief stay left a much deeper impression of the Dragon Palace cave in my mind. It can be regarded as the finishing touch connecting the first and second entries into the Dragon Palace.

Then we climbed a section of mountain path and reached a small hill with a zip line. Many people were doing it, and during the queueing process, our hearts were still constantly in a state of unease. But once we got on the zip line, the breathtaking scenery we enjoyed while riding in the wind completely outweighed the inner tension. At this moment, there was no need to wait for the wind to come; we could simply float along on the wind and go.

After taking a small zip-line ride, we climbed a winding and steep slope. Then we entered Guanyin Cave, which is claimed to be the largest cave temple in China. Inside is a huge half-cave. There are three Buddha statues and a Guanyin statue about 20 meters tall, and the cave is enhanced by the stone stalactites, making it even more solemn and sacred. It has an aura of its own. We each burned incense in front of the Buddha statues and prayed for protection and good health from the Bodhisattvas. The ashes in the incense burner had accumulated to a thick layer. The world's vision was piled up here, waiting for the divine's listening. After leaving Guanyin Cave, we climbed through a small cave. The light inside was dim, winding and twisting, with a steep slope. We needed to hold onto the rocks beside us to climb up. When we looked down from the top, we realized that this cave was like an irregular rotating staircase, and there were colorful lights around, quite intriguing. After leaving the cave, we reached the halfway point on the mountain. Looking into the distance, I couldn't help cheering. This scene had appeared in my dreams countless times. There were layers of green mountains in the distance, several white small pointed-roof houses on the mountain slope, and a large area of golden oil rape fields below the mountain, with a slender and slow-flowing small stream in between. It was simply beyond beautiful, even more beautiful than the scene of the rape fields in "The Heroes and the Young Warriors".

Then we arrived at Xuan Tang. According to the tour guide, Xuan Tang is a national first-class scenic spot. The pond is circular in shape and has an area of 10,000 square meters. This is the upper reaches of the Dragon Palace. The water of Tong Xuan River flows underground here and turns into an underground stream. It is said that the pond water rotates clockwise all year round, creating a unique scene of "the mountain does not turn but the water turns", complemented by the distant clouds and the nearby mountains. In the hands of nature, it paints a natural Chinese landscape painting.

Then, we took a sightseeing vehicle and arrived at Longzi Field. This field of rape flowers with the word "Dragon" embroidered on it covers an area of nearly 100 acres. The green traditional Chinese characters for "Dragon", with a golden border. The "Dragon" part is composed of green soybeans, while the yellowish rape flowers form the outer part. The font of this "Dragon" comes from the cursive calligraphy of the famous Tang Dynasty calligrapher Huai Su.

After viewing the magnificent rape flower field, it was almost 4 o'clock in the afternoon. We also had to start our return journey. Putting on the headphones, listening to an old song, looking at the waning sun in the west, gazing at the fleeting scenery outside the window, taking out the phone and flipping through the photos, those moments and those times have become eternal, shining brightly in the memory.

The beautiful place, the Dragon Palace, which, in this era of such rapid modernization, still manages to present us with a sense of nature, vitality, youthfulness, freshness, and energy, and brings us positive energy. In just one day, it washed away the noise and fatigue from our bodies, the extravagance and irritability from our minds, and left a trace of tranquility in our hearts. 

Guizhou Minzu University  Gan Jing