During my college days, I had two best friends, Hyman Pullman and Jessie Chapman. We were in the same department, the same dormitory, and the same club. Whether it was studying or living, we were always inseparable and supportive of each other. We had traveled to many places together and took many beautiful memories. After graduation, we went our separate ways, working and living in different countries, and rarely had the chance to contact each other. Last month, I suddenly received an email from them, saying that they wanted to go hunting with me in the Jinsixia Scenic Area in Shangluo, China, and experience the natural scenery and traditional culture of China. As soon as I saw this email, I was so excited that I agreed to their invitation without hesitation. For this trip, I specially bought night vision binoculars and infrared binoculars online, which are essential for night hunting. I couldn’t wait to see my old friends and explore the mystery and beauty of Jinsixia with them.
After receiving their email, I immediately replied to them, saying that I was very happy to see them again and looking forward to hunting in the Jinsixia Scenic Area. They quickly replied to me, saying that they had booked their flights and hotels online, and also sent me some introductions and pictures about the Jinsixia Scenic Area. I looked at the information they sent me and found that the Jinsixia Scenic Area is a tourist attraction that integrates natural scenery, historical culture, and folk customs. It is located in Shanyang County, Shangluo City, Shaanxi Province, and is part of the Qinling Mountains. It is famous for its golden quartz sandstone canyon, which is lush with trees on both sides of the gorge, with clear streams and picturesque scenery. It also has many peculiar natural landscapes, such as natural stone bridges, stone pillars, stone gates, stone caves, etc. In addition to natural beauty, the Jinsixia Scenic Area also has rich historical culture and folk customs. It is said that this was once the place where Li Bai, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, lived in seclusion, where he created many masterpieces. This is also one of the birthplaces of folk legends in the Qinling Mountains, with many magical stories and legends. It also retains some primitive ethnic customs and habits, such as hunting, sacrifice, singing and dancing.
After seeing these introductions and pictures, I became very interested in the Jinsixia Scenic Area and also full of expectations for our upcoming hunting activity. For this trip, I specially bought night vision binoculars and infrared binoculars online, which are essential for night hunting. Night vision binoculars can allow me to see clearly the animals and environment in the distance in the dark, infrared binoculars can allow me to detect the body temperature and position of animals through infrared rays. With this equipment, I believe we can enjoy a stimulating and safe hunting experience in the Jinsixia Scenic Area.
We agreed to meet at 8 pm on September 15th in the hotel lobby, ready to go hunting in the Jinsixia Scenic Area. I arrived at the lobby half an hour in advance, waiting for my friends. In a short while, I saw Hyman Pullman and Jessie Chapman’s figures. They looked very excited and healthy. We hugged each other, greeted each other, and felt the warmth of reunion after a long time. We chatted briefly, then picked up our equipment, got on a booked car, and drove towards the Jinsixia Scenic Area.
The journey took about half an hour, and we arrived at the entrance of the Jinsixia Scenic Area. We got off the car, took our night vision binoculars and infrared binoculars, and followed a guide into the scenic area. The guide told us that this is a national nature reserve with many rare wild animals such as golden monkeys, leopards, wolves, wild boars, deer etc. He said that we can hunt here but we must follow some rules such as not hunting protected animals not hunting more than quota animals not hunting outside designated areas etc. He also said that it is very dark at night here easy to get lost or encounter danger so we must keep in touch at all times and follow his instructions.
We nodded, indicating that we understood and agreed. Then, we followed the guide into the depths of the Jinsixia Scenic Area. Night fell, and it was pitch dark around us. We could only rely on our night vision binoculars and infrared binoculars to observe the surroundings. The night vision binoculars allowed us to see the animals and environment in the distance, and the infrared binoculars allowed us to detect the body temperature and location of the animals by infrared rays. With this equipment, we felt like special forces, full of confidence and adventurous spirit.
We walked along a small path for a while, and saw a group of wild boars foraging in the grass. The guide signaled us that we could try hunting these wild boars. My friends and I immediately squatted down and quietly approached the wild boars. We each selected a target, aimed at their vital parts, and then pulled the trigger at the same time. After a few gunshots, several wild boars fell to the ground. The other wild boars ran away in panic. We ran over happily and checked the wild boars we shot. They were all adult male boars, with large body size and good meat quality. We high-fived each other to celebrate, then dragged the wild boars to the roadside, waiting for the vehicles to take them away.
In the next few hours, we continued to look for other prey in the Jinsixia Scenic Area. We shot several deer, several rabbits, and a leopard. Every hunting made us feel excited and happy. But in these joys, there were also some difficulties and dangers. For example, once, we were almost attacked by a pack of wolves, luckily the guide found their traces in time and led us to retreat quickly. Another example, once, we walked on a natural stone bridge, and suddenly found that the stone bridge was broken, we could only rely on our balance and luck to jump over it. And another time, we rested in a cave, and suddenly heard a sharp scream, it turned out that a bat flew down from the top of the cave, scaring us to run out quickly.
These difficulties and dangers made our hunting trip more interesting and memorable. We spent a night full of challenges and fun in the Jinsixia Scenic Area, and also enhanced our friendship and trust among us.
After hunting, we returned to the hotel, took a hot shower, and changed into clean clothes. We were all hungry, so we decided to taste the local cuisine of Shangluo. The guide recommended us a restaurant called “Shangluo Restaurant”, saying that the dishes there were made with local specialties and ingredients, very authentic and delicious. We listened to his suggestion and took a taxi to the restaurant.
We arrived at the restaurant and found it very lively, with many people eating or waiting. We waited at the door for a while, and then a waiter took us in and arranged a window seat for us. We sat down and picked up the menu, and started ordering. There were many dishes on the menu that we had never heard of, which made us curious and excited. We randomly ordered a few dishes that looked good, and then waited for them to be served.
Soon, the dishes we ordered came one after another. The first one was Shangzhi meat, which was a braised pork dish made with pork, sesame, chili, pepper and other seasonings. The dish looked very tempting, with the meat pieces red and bright, sesame sprinkled in between, and a fragrant aroma. We picked up a piece and put it in our mouth, feeling that the meat was soft and not greasy, melted in our mouth, spicy and sweet, very delicious. The second one was Dahui Cai, which was a soup dish made with lamb, potatoes, white radish, vermicelli and other ingredients. The dish looked very light, with clear and transparent soup, rich and diverse ingredients. We scooped a bowl and took a sip, feeling that the soup was fresh and not oily, the lamb was tender and not smelly, the potatoes and white radish were soft and not broken, the vermicelli was smooth and not broken, very refreshing. The third one was black rolled noodle skin, which was a cold noodle dish made with black bean noodle skin mixed with chili oil, vinegar, peanut crumbs and other seasonings. The dish looked very special, with the noodle skin black, chili oil red, peanut crumbs yellow, strong color contrast. We picked up a piece with chopsticks and put it in our mouth, feeling that the noodle skin was dense and elastic, chili oil spicy and appetizing, vinegar sour and refreshing, peanut crumbs crisp and adding texture, very refreshing. The fourth one was smoked bacon, which was a bacon dish made with pork after curing, drying, smoking and other processes. The dish looked very simply, just some slices of bacon on a plate. We picked up a slice and put it in our mouth, feeling that the bacon had a strong aroma, firm texture, moderate saltiness and sweetness, a unique flavor and very tempting.
We ate these delicacies while chatting about our recent situation and hunting experience. We all felt that these delicacies suited our taste and satisfied our appetite. We praised the cuisine of Shangluo, and also expressed our respect and gratitude to the people of Shangluo.
This trip to Shangluo, let me and my college classmates relive our friendship, and also let us experience the natural scenery and traditional culture of China. We hunted in the Jinsixia Scenic Area, felt the excitement and fun, and also gained knowledge and courage. We tasted the cuisine of Shangluo, satisfied our appetite, and also broadened our horizons and taste buds. We were very satisfied and grateful for this trip. I wanat to say to my friends, thank you for your invitation, thank you for your company, thank you for your friendship. I want to say to Shangluo, thank you for your beauty, thank you for your food, thank you for your enthusiasm. I hope that one day, we can meet again here, and enjoy everything here again.
