Just when Emperor Zhu Da was writing his "The Birth of a Nation" and turning into a screenwriter, an ocean liner sailed into the Xin'an River against the setting sun. The water of the Xin'an River turned golden red under the setting sun, and the light
Gently, quietly, flows eastward into the sea.
When Ying Tianfu came into sight, Guo Chongtao's eyes seemed a little complicated.
A month ago, after Guo Chongtao, who was the Minister to the United Kingdom, handed over to his successor, he had planned to return to Hong Kong by ship, then return to Tianjin from Hong Kong, and return to Korea. Instead, after receiving a telegram saying that he was ill and returning to his hometown, he took the
My wife came to Daming together.
"Master, this is the Ming Dynasty!"
Madam Liang, who was standing next to him, curiously looked at Yingtian Mansion on the bank of the river, and said with doubts.
"These houses look a bit Chinese, but why are the buildings here so high?"
The port area in front of them was once the largest slum area in Putrajaya. During the airship bombing, this area was destroyed by incendiary bombs like other areas. After the war, during the official-led reconstruction process, a large number of modern Ming Dynasty buildings were naturally built——
Interpret Chinese architectural tradition with reinforced concrete.
In fact, as early as the beginning of the construction of Nanhua, Emperor Zhu Da deliberately did not completely copy Europe. As an engineering student, he tried to persuade architects to integrate Western-style buildings with Chinese architectural traditions. This was to integrate ancient Chinese architectural design styles.
At the same time, try to change materials and structures to create a new architectural style.
This style is very common in later generations. After years of development, the architects of the Ming Dynasty have created a modern architectural style that belongs to China. Classical and modern, modern and future are fully reflected in the architecture of the Ming Dynasty.
Nowadays, the architecture of the Ming Dynasty is also called "imperial architecture" in the West. The port area in front of them is the place where imperial architecture is integrated. For the Guo couple who are accustomed to Western architecture and traditional Chinese architecture,
These buildings are familiar yet strange at the same time.
"When I was in England, I only heard about the height of the buildings here. But I never thought that they were so high. This Ming Dynasty is really different..."
Staring at Yingtian Mansion under the setting sun, Guo Chongtao sighed. He specifically glanced at his wives beside him. They were all wearing dresses. The reason for this was because the ambassador to Britain in the Ming Dynasty reminded him that he was not allowed to wear Qing Dynasty clothes when entering the Ming Dynasty.
Cut it if you can, but if it doesn't work, just hide it under the hat.
Why is this? The Ming Dynasty naturally has the rules of the Ming Dynasty. If you don’t have braids or hair, you are already very civilized.
Finally, the ship docked, and Guo Chongtao and his wife got off the ship together with the passengers from Europe. At the customs, he, like many Chinese who came to Ming Dynasty for the first time, had to face the problem of whether to go through the national channel or the foreign channel.
question.
After thinking for a while, he chose the foreigner channel. He did come here with a visa, and it was a diplomatic visa. He and the Ming Dynasty Ambassador to the UK were also friends.
Finally, after walking out of the customs building, the sun had already set below the horizon. In front of Guo Chongtao and his wife, there was a brightly lit sky. There was a towering steel frame in the center of the street, which was the electric wire frame of the tram.
Tram, almost all foreigners’ travel notes will mention it. Now there are tram in London, Paris and other countries. Of course, they imported the technology of Ming Dynasty. When the tram passes by, the tram lines hanging horizontally under the steel frame burst out from time to time.
A green sparkle.
Standing in front of the customs building and looking towards the street, millions of bright lights flashed in the background, turning the entire Yingtian into a city that never sleeps.
"This is the Ming Dynasty..."
Just when Guo Chongtao was sighing in his heart, a tricycle came in front of him with a "squeaking" brake sound, and a driver wearing a straw hat and a vest grinned at him.
"Sir, do you want a car?"
He is actually a foreigner!
He actually spoke in Mandarin!
When Guo Chongtao and his wife Guo Shi opened their mouths in surprise, the foreign coachman smiled.
"Master must have just got off the boat. Although my car is not as fast as the tram, it is very comfortable. The fare is not expensive, only five cents per kilometer."
"Sir, this foreigner's car looks very rare. How about we take this car?"
Liang spoke in the dialect of her hometown in Hunan. Although the foreign coachman could speak fluent Mandarin, he couldn't understand what she was saying and could only laugh along with her.
"Okay, let's take this car!"
Foreigners pulling carts...how rare!
This scene is of course rare. After all, for the people of the Qing Dynasty, they have long been accustomed to the days when they had to kneel when sewing foreign goods. Now in the Ming Dynasty, how can they not be surprised to see foreigners riding bicycles to do business?
"Master, please get in the car!"
When he greeted the two of them to get into the car, the foreign coachman pointed at the odometer next to the wheel as a reminder.
"Master, look, this mileage is 3412, the higher number is one kilometer,"
As early as the era of rickshaws, car dealers began to install mechanical odometers on rickshaws, and billed them based on the number of kilometers. Nowadays, rickshaws naturally follow the old rules. Of course, the use of odometers also makes pricing more open.
transparent.
Nodding slightly, Guo Chongtao is no stranger to odometers. When he was a taxi driver in the UK, he also charged based on the mileage.
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"Master, where are you going?"
"Go to the Peace Hotel."
When the rickshaw driver heard that he was going to the Peace Hotel, he immediately said.
"Oh, look at you sir, you are decent people. The Peace Hotel is the most upscale hotel in the Ming Dynasty. There are only three five-star hotels in the whole Ming Dynasty, Yingtian, Nanhua and Linhai, one in each place. Live in
The people inside are all decent people who are either rich or noble..."
The hotel was arranged for him by the Ming Dynasty's ambassador to Britain. After hearing that it was the best hotel in the Ming Dynasty, Guo Chongtao hesitated a little. Would that hotel be too expensive?
Listening to the foreign coachman's fluent Mandarin and looking at the green vest with the number "1204" written on it, Guo Chongtao felt that all this was a bit incredible, even when he was in the UK, he often worked as a foreign coachman's carriage.
But here...in the Ming Dynasty.
The foreigners here not only speak Chinese, but also work hard like ordinary people.
Even though he was used to living in the UK, Guo Chongtao suddenly felt very strange.
"Sir, tell me, this foreigner speaks more authentic Mandarin than I do."
Mrs. Liang even felt a little embarrassed.
"Haha, madam, I understand some of what you said, don't be offended, I'm not a foreigner!"
The pedaled driver said as he rode.
"I am from the Ming Dynasty. My surname is Fei. My name is Fei Sihua. Si means missing. Hua means China. Although the Ming Dynasty is a foreign land, it is also China..."
What is the most surprising thing in the world?
It was just a foreigner talking about China in front of a Chinese person.
When he listened dumbfounded to the rickshaw driver's explanation that he was from the Ming Dynasty, Guo Chongtao couldn't help but feel a little confused. This was really too rare.
Foreigners... Ming people?
And what about him?
Chinese... Qing people...
The foreign driver's words seemed to remind Guo Chongtao that he was a foreigner here.
Guo Chongtao, who was in a somewhat complicated mood, was not even in the mood to appreciate the bustling city that never sleeps in front of him.