By linking my account to the check-in system, I became a leisurely traveler.

Chapter 221 A Record of My Visit to Tiananmen Square [Second Update!]

Li Younan dozed off for a while in the hotel and got up before lunchtime.

There are many traditional snacks from the capital near his hotel, including places that sell douzhi (fermented mung bean juice).

To be honest, he had never eaten this before, but because it was so famous and people online said it was extremely unpalatable, it made him very curious.

If something is extremely unpalatable, it should have been eliminated long ago under the law of survival of the fittest. So why has it not only not been eliminated, but still occupies an important position in the capital's food culture system, even with countless kinds of delicious food available today?
Li Younan was too curious.

So you have to experience it for yourself. What if it's like stinky tofu or durian, some people don't like it, but others love it?

There's another reason why he's even more curious: similarly famous local specialties like Peking duck have long since spread beyond their local area and can be found in stores elsewhere, but douzhi (fermented mung bean juice) is something Li Younan has never seen in big cities like Shanghai and Chengdu; it seems to be available only in the capital.

Li Younan walked into a snack shop and casually ordered some famous local snacks, such as donkey rolls, cream-filled fried cakes, pea flour cakes, and braised pork offal.

He has a huge appetite now. He may seem to order a lot, but each portion is actually not that big, and he can easily finish it all.

Naturally, he didn't forget to order a cup of soy milk.

While waiting for the food to be served, Li Younan began to think about his next move to 318.

The 318 National Highway is famous because it crosses a third-level terrain zone, and the scenery is indeed magnificent.

However, the first thing to consider before setting off is not things about beautiful scenery—such as what to experience in which place, what kind of lens to use for what kind of scenery, these things should be put on hold for later.

First and foremost, it's important to understand that driving along National Highway 318 is bound to be a challenging trip.

The more you know, the more awe you feel.

318 is not a trip you can just take on a whim, but an adventure that requires careful planning.

There are many uncontrollable factors on the road: challenges from extreme weather and climate, complex road conditions and geological disasters, altitude sickness and hypoxia... All of these ultimately reflect in the preparations before departure, namely the choice of vehicle and its adaptability.

Li Younan chose the Unimog chassis, and in terms of the vehicle's original off-road capabilities, its off-road configuration is already top-notch.

However, to ensure a comfortable, safe, and controllable journey, various modifications and upgrades to the entire vehicle are necessary.

Because it starts from scratch, this process takes a long time.

Just as Li Younan was pondering, all the famous snacks from the capital that he had been longing for were served on the table, including a bowl of green soy milk.

Although he had mentally prepared himself, he still hesitated slightly before drinking it, and then took a small sip of the soy milk.

But the next moment, his expression turned strange.

Well, how should I put it? It's definitely delicious. It's smooth with no fishy taste, has a unique sour flavor, and a rich, fresh bean aroma. Li Younan asked the waiter with some doubt, "Is this really soy milk?"

The waiter seemed to notice his confusion and laughed, saying, "This is a special fermented bean juice that our shop has specially launched. We also have fermented bean juice ice cream and pea flour cake ice cream, would you like some?"

Li Younan immediately said with dissatisfaction, "No, no, I want to drink your most traditional douzhi, the kind that the locals drink."

The waiter paused for a moment, blinked, and said, "Oh."

After a while, the waiter brought over a fresh bowl of soy milk.

Li Younan snorted and said irritably, "That's more like it. Did I come here to drink a modified version of soy milk?"

He picked up the bowl and, without any preparation, took a big gulp.

The next moment, his eyes widened, and he held the soy milk in his mouth without swallowing it.

The waiter tilted his head and looked at him curiously.

Finally, Li Younan conceived.

The waiter didn't laugh and silently walked away.

Li Younan could clearly see that her shoulders were trembling.

Destroy it; there's really no need to protect something like this.

……

Li Younan strolled to Tiananmen Square. There was a very conspicuous sign that said you needed to make a reservation in advance to watch the flag-raising ceremony.

And coincidentally, this mission was to watch the entire flag-raising ceremony at Tiananmen Square.

To be honest, even without this check-in task, Li Younan would definitely have gone to Tiananmen Square to see it at least once.

Li Younan made a reservation online and then prepared to go to his second must-see destination—the Forbidden City.

The Palace Museum also requires advance reservations.

However, when he arrived at the Forbidden City, he discovered that reservations were required a week in advance.

This is a bit of a pain in the ass.

Let's accept the task and see how it goes.

After arriving at the Forbidden City, Li Younan received a check-in task, which proved to be somewhat challenging because it required him to reach areas that were not yet open to the public.

Moreover, the Palace Museum check-in task requires him to visit more than one place. The Palace Museum is currently the largest palace complex in the world. If he wants to enter all three of these unopened areas, it is almost equivalent to the Forbidden City having to be completely open to him.

There's a popular saying online: "The part of the Forbidden City that's open to the public is called the Forbidden City; the part that's not open to the public is called the Imperial Palace."

Li Younan consulted with the staff and learned that as a tourist, it was indeed impossible to enter those closed core areas, but it wasn't entirely impossible.

There are three ways to enter areas that are not open to the public.

The first way is to participate in special official events. The Palace Museum holds academic seminars, cultural exchanges, and craft experiences from time to time, and some events may include access to areas that are not open to the public.

However, the timing of such activities is unpredictable.

Li Younan checked the Palace Museum's official website and found that the next similar event would likely be in the first half of next year.

The second approach is academic research and collaboration, which requires researchers in fields such as history, archaeology, and architecture to enter on an academic basis. The collaborating units or institutions need to negotiate with the Palace Museum management.

The last method is media interviews and filming. Regular media outlets can enter for work purposes such as news reporting and documentary filming. This requires submitting an application, specifying the theme and content of the filming, and obtaining approval.

After much thought, Li Younan concluded that the third method was probably the most suitable for him to enter the core area of ​​the Forbidden City.

He plans to discuss the matter with the Palace Museum's management using a third approach.

However, for now, he decided to complete his "check-in" task at Tiananmen Square tomorrow. Those who frequently watch the flag-raising ceremony at Tiananmen Square in the capital know very well that to get a close look, you have to queue up overnight the night before.

So Li Younan thought about it and decided to book another room at the Great Hall of the People Hotel near Tiananmen Square and stay there, getting up in the early morning to queue up.

At a time like this, Li Younan would not stand idly by.

Since he's already here, he'll definitely want to watch the national flag raising ceremony at Tiananmen Square from the closest possible distance. He certainly won't uphold the fine tradition of courtesy and humility; when the time comes, he'll have to charge forward.

After checking into the People's Great Hall Hotel, Li Younan discovered that the nearest ticket gate was the security checkpoint on the south side of the road on the west side of Square 7, while he had booked Gate 3 online. He asked the receptionist, "Is it close to Gate 3 from here?"

The receptionist immediately knew that Li Younan was planning to watch the flag-raising ceremony, and explained with a smile, "It's okay, it's not a major holiday now, the security check won't be so strict, you can just go in through gate 7. But it's best to queue up around 12 o'clock at night."

Li Younan finally felt relieved. Just then, someone said to him, "Are you also going to watch the flag-raising ceremony? Did you also read the online guides?"

Li Younan turned around and saw a girl who looked about eighteen or nineteen years old, carrying a backpack.

"According to online sources, the square is the best of the three flag-watching spots."

Li Younan understood immediately; he had naturally read some online guides as well.

There are three flag-raising viewing spots in the capital. Two of them are located downstairs from Tiananmen Gate Tower, where you can see the guard of honor entering up close. However, when viewing the national flag, you need to cross a road, so the view is not very good.

Therefore, the ideal flag-watching spot is actually the flag-watching spot in Tiananmen Square, which is the area between the Monument to the People's Heroes and the national flag.

Did you come alone?

The girl wasn't shy at all and asked Li Younan questions in a very familiar way.

Li Younan nodded.

"What a coincidence, I'm alone too. What time are you going to queue up tonight?"

"Uh... I haven't decided yet, maybe at 12 o'clock."

"I'm going to queue up at 12 o'clock, do you want to team up?"

"That's no problem, you're quite outgoing."

"Hehe, I think you're a handsome guy, so you shouldn't be a bad person. Besides, we live here and share the same goals; we're all good young people with faith."

Li Younan couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Well, the most interesting thing about traveling is that you can meet all sorts of people. Most of these people won't have much interaction with your life; they're just passersby in your life, meeting and leaving in a hurry. But whenever you think of a certain trip, you'll smile knowingly.

Thus, a temporary partnership was formed.

However, this temporary partnership was far less stable than Li Younan had imagined.

At midnight, Li Younan went to queue up with the girl.

They arrived relatively early, and there weren't many people in line.

But to Li Younan's surprise, even though they were only behind thirty or forty people in line, the girl was still not satisfied.

She made full use of her good looks, chatted with Li Younan for a few minutes, and then started building relationships with the people around her, gradually moving forward by a distance of seven or eight people, quickly leaving Li Younan behind.

For a moment, Li Younan was speechless.

But it's alright. She's a young girl, so it will only slow down my charge. Without her as a burden, I can charge without any worries later.

Li Younan was a little bored for the rest of the time, so he listened to music and played mobile games for a while. Time passed by minute by minute.

Many people bring their own stools when they come here, but Li Younan sits casually on the ground; he didn't even bring a backpack.

It was already late autumn in China, and the weather was still a bit chilly. Otherwise, Li Younan would have even planned to wear just a light shirt so that he could get through security faster.

For Li Younan, his energy is abundant, and staying up late is not a difficult thing.

Having stayed up all night, he was still full of energy as security was about to open, while many of the people queuing around him were already yawning.

At this moment, when Li Younan looked at the girl in the crowd again, his eyes widened in surprise—the girl, relying on her natural ability to make friends, had already made her way to the front row.

Awesome.

Finally, security checks are open.

The flow of people began to pick up, and the tourists who had been dozing or yawning quickly perked up.

Li Younan followed the crowd through the security checkpoint. He had to admit that coming from the Great Hall of the People Hotel was indeed much more convenient.

When Li Younan entered People's Square, the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall was right in front of him, and the tourists all ran quickly toward the flag-viewing point.

Li Younan snorted. He had never lost a race, and besides, he hadn't brought any equipment. He had been waiting for this moment.

Li Younan took off running, and even the wind had to chase after him.

At that moment, the girl who had temporarily teamed up with him was wearing a snow-white down jacket and proudly sprinted towards the flag-watching point with her short legs.

But soon the crowd behind her overtook her, and she fell behind again.

She immediately became anxious.

Just then, a figure rushed past from the side.

She stared in disbelief—the person quickly rushed to the front, and she recognized him as Li Younan.

Li Younan's sprinting posture was extremely exaggerated.

Many people took pictures of his actions and expressions.

"It's just watching a flag-raising ceremony, is it really that big of a deal?"

"No way, I have to post a short video to rant about this guy!"

While everyone was complaining, their bodies actually betrayed them, and they were spurred on to run even faster.

Li Younan easily rushed to the front and seized the best position.

(End of this chapter)