Vacation Time! | Lin's Blog

It’s time to discuss something less serious, partially because I’m on my summer break now but also because I found that I am starting to run out of materials to talk about. I went to Gansu, the northwestern Chinese province, for the past week.

A corridor with mani wheels on the wall. — Labrang Monastery in all of its glory.

My primary goal for going to Gansu was to visit my grandparents. Along the way, I traveled to Gannan to experience Tibetan culture and the vast steppes. We visited the magnificent Labrang Monastery, a major center of Tibetan Buddhism.

Although much of the monastery is off-limits to tourists, you can still see the remarkably devout monks, who all look almost identical. They wear woolen maroon robes and have the same round faces. I couldn’t help but wonder what they do inside the restricted areas.

From a bottom-top view, blue sky with clouds along with the corner of a Tibetan building with a yellow wall on the bottom. — A corner and a glimpse of the remarkably tranquil sky.

I also tried yak yogurt, which was available in a store without any merchants (surprisingly, no one was stealing the yogurts). It didn’t taste as good as I had imagined, being incredibly sour. However, after finishing it, it did leave me with a prolonged sense of milkiness.

It was also my first time visiting a steppe.

A person sitting on the grass, looking towards the camera. — On the grass.

Since I was a child, I’ve always wanted to lie down on a vast expanse of grass, and this was my first opportunity to do so. To be honest, it wasn’t as great as I had fantasized. The grass spikes gave me an annoying itchy sensation, and mosquitoes bit me relentlessly. However, it was amazing to gaze up at the sky.

What struck me was how I had never really taken the time to look at the sky before. The sky is such a vast expanse, and just looking at it made me feel small.

Under the blue sky a vast expanse of a steppe with a group of many goats on it. — The goats who wouldn’t allow me to get close.

There were also goats. Growing up in the city, I rarely encountered real wildlife, so I was naturally excited when I saw some goats. I wanted to get close and take a picture with them. However, the goats seemed to have other plans. They eyed me warily, then slowly and deliberately sauntered away whenever I approached, as if playing a game of keep-away. No matter how quietly I tried to sneak up, they would always sense my presence and move just out of reach, teasing me with their aloofness.

(July 14, 2024)