Strawberry Music Festival Rafting for Two Visually Impaired

1. "I'm very hidden in the grass"

It is about 12 kilometers from Shaoshan North Road, Furong District, Changsha City to Vanke Charming City Central Park. After walking for 5 minutes, take bus 311 and transfer to bus 321 after reaching Yuanjialing. Liu Long listened to the announcement of the bus and counted the number of stops in his mind. After 16 stops, the bus stopped at Tuoxi Primary School in Yuhua District. After walking for about 20 minutes, we arrived at the entrance of the Strawberry Music Festival.

The journey of about one and a half hours is already a little exhausting for ordinary people. For Liu Long, who is completely blind, and Qiu Chi, who has only a little residual light, it is even more desert-like.

How are the rest of the festivalgoers heading towards this afternoon? Qiuchi is unknown. This is the first time that Qiuchi has traveled with a visually impaired person who is completely blind, similar to all blind people who travel alone: restlessness, anxiety, worry and timidity are reflected in an infinitely magnified gesture. Uncertainty lurks, hidden, as vast and vast as the unseen world.

Outside the Hunan Library, the blind lane on the sidewalk was damaged, the rear wheels of shared bicycles were half pressed on the blind lane, and 13 piers stood on the edge of the sidewalk and driveway. Near the Yuanjialing bus station, telephone poles and camphor trees grow into mottled yellow strips of bricks. Liu Long and Qiuchi walked cautiously, with Liu Long's arm resting on Qiuchi's hand diagonally behind. Two blind sticks pointed and tapped on the road, leading them to avoid bicycles, telephone poles, guardrails, and roadblocks.

It seems that deft proficiency comes at the cost of all kinds of scars hidden in his trousers: bruises from bumping into piers and utility poles, scratches from pedals, bike branches, tree branches, bruises from downed bicycles . Often the old injury has not healed, and the new red, swollen and broken skin is printed on the leg.

But there are always obstacles that the blind stick can't recognize. Liu Long's last blind stick poked into the wheel and broke. However, no matter how brand-new the blind cane is, it can't take into account the danger from mid-air: Liu Long was once strangled by a line on a telephone pole that was pulled to the ground at a 45-degree angle.

Taking the bus is another challenge. In 2016, the "Changsha Bus Travel" APP has not been launched yet. There is only endless waiting at the bus stop. How many roads are the parked cars? No one knows when the waiting car will arrive. What Liu Long can do is to immediately approach when he hears the sound of the engine approaching, and loudly ask the black mass in front of him, "Is this the 226?" Liu Long could only feel the warm exhaust from the bus on his feet. The car that may have to wait is in it. What can I do, just wait.

This mood was slightly soothed with the arrival of the bus. It was noon, and the flow of people flocking to the entrance of Central Park was slightly hot. It's an indication that you can't go wrong, the sound of tuning music coming out of the park, people's voices and footsteps coming together into a clear map. Liu Long and Qiu Chi walked along the edge of the road and were carried forward by this warm current. The flow of people slowed down, and they should have reached the security checkpoint. A male voice squirted forcefully in his ear, "Hey! You are not allowed to bring a flagpole in!"

Embarrassed, mixed with a trace of anger and laughter, I don't know how to explain it, and a young girl's clear voice responded, "He's holding a blind cane, do you know it!"

Good thing it's in. The two security checks passed through are just the estuary to enter a wider and more boundless world. The Central Park of Vanke Charming City covers an area of more than 20,000 square meters. The Strawberry Music Festival has three stages: Strawberry Stage, Love Stage and RELEASE Electronic Stage. Performed on three stages.

A blind man touches an elephant, there is really an elephant here. The senses can no longer give signals: the crowds are scattered, the people are walking in different directions, the voices are muffled, the flags are rattling, there is shouting and laughter everywhere. The man-made hillside underfoot is uneven, even slightly steep. What is up this slope? Where to turn around? How to go from one stage to another? Who will appear on which stage? Where are Zhang Weiwei and Guo Long who I want to hear most, and when are they performing? Can't figure it out. Turn it. Pull the blind stick along the strongest voice and turn it like that.

Liu Long's world has no north, south, south, east, and west, and the road he walks forks along the "left" and "right", barely extending a small map. In the eyes of a pair of visible eyes, the stage setting of this year's Strawberry Music Festival is not complicated: the rectangular grass has a wide field of vision, the dining street is near the entrance of the audience, the entrance is facing the easternmost strawberry stage, and the row on the north is beer and beverages District, restrooms, love stage and electronic stage are on the south side.

The banner with the words "Rock and Roll" was held high, and young boys and girls wore shorts and vests, and red scarves were tied anywhere on the body. They held water guns in their hands, chewed bulging betel langs in their mouths, dangling against the sun, always ready to go surfing the crowd.

The most people went to the main stage, and among the crowd, Qiu Chi and Liu Long came to the main stage. Unlike in headphones or indoors, music becomes violent outdoors. "The shock wave of the sound can give you a somersault!" Qiuchi exclaimed. The music has a specific form. It collided from all directions and collided fiercely with Liu Long and Qiu Chi who participated in the outdoor music festival for the first time, almost like an attack. "Bang bang, the air flow of the drum shook the body, and the heart beat with the bang," Liu Long said.

"Cry and shout, ask your mother to take you to buy toys. Hurry up, get it to school and show it off." It's Cao Dong (Cao Dong has no parties)! Wu Du's voice was hoarse and dry, and Qiu Chi immediately recognized it. When the lead singer roared out, the crowd began to jump, and Qiuchi could feel the arms of the people around him waving in all directions.

"I didn't dare to jump at the beginning, I was afraid that everyone would think I was nervous." Before that, Liu Long didn't know what POGO was and never felt POGO. Someone bumped into him, and someone on the other side bumped him back. The crowd became irritable and couldn't wait to shout. Liu Long unconsciously twisted his body because of this irresistible wave, because of music and shouting.

"Everyone is jumping, I don't jump until I'm nervous!" Liu Long thought about it, his body had already jumped up. Hanging in the air, falling again, stepping on the grass under your feet, and rising again. Qiu Chi felt Liu Long's jumping, and laughed when he thought of the blind cane that he was leaning on.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, Qiuchi and Liu Long went up and down with the crowd. The sun fell on the skin, like burning, extravagant and powerful, jumping. The breath is warm and warm, the body temperature is rubbing against the body temperature, and the happiness is overflowing. Then there was water falling down, concentrated, uneven, not rain, pouring on him, and Liu Long shuddered. This kind of jiggling is different from the jiggling that usually makes him startled when a flying insect suddenly falls on his shoulders while walking on the road. It's safe and fun. Qiuchi realized that this was the water sprayed by the staff when the crowd was too restless. The coolness reminded him of real water.

"I'm not a visually impaired person to be taken care of, not a focal point. I'm a drop of water in the ocean, just like everyone else. The same surging, the same happiness." Qiu Chi thought, suddenly moved.

2. "There is a child who is blind at the age of nine and lives in a blind theater all the year round"

Traveling such a long distance with the total blind, jumping on the grass that has never been stepped on, such an experience is almost an adventure, and it is the first time for Qiuchi. Qiuchi described it as "freedom". "This kind of freedom is a state that we especially yearn for, and it is a very good state." The opposite of freedom may not be confinement, but the countless repetitions and continuations of the past.

In 2014, Qiu Chi graduated from the Department of Acupuncture and Massage of Changchun University. The first job was in a paediatric massage parlor in Suzhou, then a massage parlor in Gaochun District, Nanjing, and then Jiangxi. After traveling in many cities, life is confined to the two points of the massage shop and home: the straight-line distance of less than 1,000 meters can be reached within 20 minutes on foot.

This is similar to how most blind people live. In "Tuina", the writer Bi Feiyu wrote, "Blind people are very easy to develop regularity. They pay special attention to cultivating and abide by the laws of life, and generally do not change them easily. The laws are their lifeblood, otherwise they will suffer hardships. Just to give an example, when you turn a corner when you walk, you must follow the rules of the past - you can't take one more step, and you can't take one less step. Once you take a turn, your front teeth will be gone. "

At school, Qiuchi followed his classmates to class, went to the cafeteria, and returned to the dormitory. After working, they are also able-bodied people living together with Qiuchi. Walking the same road and living the same life over and over again in a limited area makes Qiuchi feel safe.

"It's black, but it's not completely dark. There seems to be light, but it's not real light." Liu Long described the world in the eyes of congenitally blind people. Liu Long spent his childhood in the suburb of Yuanjiang, Yiyang, Hunan.

The suburban streets are chaotic, cars honking their horns always appear without warning, and the law and order is not good. For safety, Liu Long was locked at home by his parents and played the game console to pass the time. When playing games like MapleStory and Super Mario, he memorized the music corresponding to the obstacles every time the game was over, and he jumped when he heard the music, barely able to pass a level or two. The most played is the football game. The venue is fixed, the forward route is fixed, and the turning time is fixed. As long as you follow the instructions in a regular manner, you can pass the level and upgrade. Every day, a person sits in front of the game console, holds the handle, and wakes up from the sound of cars and people, and the game gradually subsides and falls into silence. 5 years have passed.

It was not until the age of 13 that his parents inquired about the schools for special children and sent him to a school for the blind. In the future, life is nothing but a larger football game: I went to a school for the blind, learned massage, interviewed insurance company salesmen and customer service, and after hitting a wall, I could only enter a massage parlor, and walk from home on a fixed route every day. to the place of work.

For Liu Long and Qiuchi, the sound is a gap, and the world squeezes in through this gap. When not playing games, what Liu Long likes most is listening to songs. He sings while listening, and the more he sings, the louder he sings. "When I'm home alone, I always have to find something to do for myself." The first was the karaoke station of the black and white TV at home, and then the radio. Seeing that he liked listening to music, his father bought him a repeater that could hold tapes. From Han Baoyi, Meng Tingwei, Andy Lau, I heard Beyond, Zhang Qiang, to Jay Chou, Eason Chan.

Qiuchi also likes radio, and he likes "Xiaofeng Live Room" by Shandong Broadcasting Economic Channel the most. Through this talk show, Qiuchi got to know the rock band Tang Dynasty, Xie Tianxiao and Zuo Xiaozu, as well as the writer Han Dong and the poet Xichuan. In 2004, in "Xiaofeng Live Room", 15-year-old Qiuchi heard Zhou Yunpeng for the first time. A person who lives in a 6-square-meter room in Luanfengang, Xiangshan, Beijing, a poet, a person who travels to more than a dozen cities by singing, a person who writes songs and sings, and more importantly, a blind person.

"Blind people can also leave the massage parlor, and they can live like this without being codified by the rules." Through this gap, Qiu Chi saw something warm and glowing inside. After Zhou Yunpeng, there are Xiaohe, Zhang Weiwei, Guo Long, and Li Zhi. On the eve of Li Zhi's ban, Qiu Chi rescued and downloaded all his songs, and bought 4 Li Zhi albums with all the money he could use that night - 2,000 yuan.

Listening every day, listening all the time, hearing about graduating from Qingdao School for the Blind, hearing about going to university. Qiuchi felt that something was changing. Listening to music, even if he was memorizing human muscle tissue, even if he was practicing pushing and holding, he seemed to have some kind of expanse. Qiuchi thought, he is different because of this.

3. "On the warmest night, we went south for you"

At 5 o'clock in the afternoon, the temperature of the sun began to weaken, and the journey exuded exhaustion. When Zhang Weiwei and Guo Long are performing, Qiuchi and Liu Long need to walk from the strawberry stage to the love stage. In 2016, singer Chen Lizheng was on fire. Most people stayed in front of the strawberry stage and waited for the "Husband of the People" to appear. There was no longer a strong crowd to guide. Husband" bursts of shouts, through the sharp and restless electronic music of the RELEASE stage, distinguish Zhang Weiwei's accordion and singing in the mixed voice.

"On the brightest morning, we came along the river for you. But your sadness is Xiao Sen, we are lost in the Silver Hotel." Liu Long and Qiuchi stood in the open space, the smell of the crowd, the voice of the crowd, the body temperature of the crowd, and Zhang Weiwei's delicate and sincere voice floated from a distance.

They are stuck in the wrong place. On the back of the stage of love, Liu Long and Qiu Chi stood quietly, and the panicked two blind sticks stopped. In silence, they listened to Zhang Weiwei and Guo Long's performance.

"It's not a loss, it's not enough to make people feel wronged, it's just a very small regret." Qiuchi said. As a congenitally visually impaired, one of the few who travels alone is often "like a courier": picked up by one person and sent to another person. There are too many regrets like this, so many that there will be no rush or hardship, only the lingering feeling of powerlessness that haunts every moment.

In 2003, when the school was off on weekends, Qiu Chi went home by car because his parents had something to do. The place where the car stopped was not accurate. After getting off the bus, Qiuchi realized that this was not a station. Without a mobile phone, I can't determine my location, and I can't find where the uncle who picks me up is. Knock left knock knock knock right knock, can not even find a person around. That year, Qiuchi was 14 years old, and he felt the fear of traveling for the first time.

"It's a psychological fear, and I have no concept or sense of control over the unknown. It may be a smooth road, but I'm still afraid that the next step will fall into a big hole." Finally, I finally met someone and borrowed I called my uncle from my mobile phone and asked others to help me describe my location, and then I was successfully picked up home.

For some blind people, traveling with a blind stick means loss of dignity, becoming the focus of the crowd, being avoided by others and "monkey watching". From the moment you decide to travel, face these inevitability. Liu Long remembered that when he was just learning to travel alone, sometimes he accidentally bumped into others on the road. The man left a sentence, "Don't come out and wander around if you can't see it", and then walked away with the sound of footsteps.

With a blind stick, in addition to helping Qiuchi avoid obstacles, it can also reduce some troubles. Qiuchi has no obvious "blindness", and his eyes look no different from ordinary healthy people. Once, after walking about 10 meters from the community, I met an elder sister riding an electric bike at the intersection. The braking sound was rapid. Qiuchi thought she was going to let him go first. Unexpectedly, Qiuchi heard a suspicious female voice, "Can you really see?" Both angry and funny, "Is this thing still fake!" Qiuchi replied. The eldest sister left a few embarrassed laughs and rode away on the electric bike. "I'm a real blind man." No one could say these words, and he brought a blind stick, and the blind stick helped him say it.

At a music festival, no one cared about two blind men. The sky was getting dark, and the remaining light of Qiuchi disappeared completely. "It's really interesting to run around!" Liu Long said. The two tired and excited people gradually found a sense of freedom. At 8:30 p.m., Xie Tianxiao performed at the finale of the Strawberry Stage. In the gap before the performance, Liu Long and Qiu Chi slowly moved forward while jumping. The blind stick no longer worked, people crowded, they pushed shoulder after shoulder and walked towards the music. "The scene is amazing. No one minds that you stepped on me, and no one said that you stepped on me."

The crowd was fierce, but also tolerant. Two blind men actually walked through the crowd to the first row in front of the railing. In the place closest to the stage, Liu Long and Qiu Chi swayed, their T-shirts soaked with sweat and dried by the evening wind. The lights on the stage were as bright as day, and Qiuchi's eyes flickered brightly.

It was nearly 10 o'clock after the performance, and people filed out, going to different exits, flowing at a faster speed than when they came. There seemed to be two waves of people, one wave of people hailing cars in the square and driving to the parking lot, and another wave of people going elsewhere. Liu Long and Qiu Chi chose one side at random and followed the crowd. If you encounter an obstacle, go around, if you encounter an obstacle, go around. As they walked, they separated from the main force. The voices of people's conversations and footsteps were gradually swallowed up by the silence of the night. It seemed that there were only the two of them left in the whole grass.

They could only bite the bullet and move forward. On the way, they met three or four Caodong fans. A girl asked them, "Need help?" Qiuchi and Liu Long accepted the kindness. "I rarely see visually impaired on the road, it's awesome, you guys are amazing," the girl said.

It's a nice, sincere voice. Liu Long and Qiuchi muttered in their hearts, "Hey, what's the matter? Why do people praise me like this when I do a very ordinary thing. Am I really exaggerating?"

On the way home, there were no more shouts from fans, no more noisy music, and the quiet after the crowd was suddenly a little deserted. In the empty free world, the silent evening flows through Qiuchi and Liu Long's ears, heart, and feet. Qiuchi said, "That feeling is the same as everyone else. After such a beautiful day, I am a little happy, a little nostalgic, and a little lost."