When to visit Shenzhen again

Looking at the photo album on the computer, a photo taken in front of the gate of Donghu Park in Shenzhen reminds me of the happy scene we played that day. It was at the beginning of December 2019, and a group of ten of us took a photo while viewing chrysanthemums in Donghu Park. We are all returned overseas Chinese who left Indonesia in the 1960s. We all went to Shenzhen for a one-day tour. We first enjoyed the chrysanthemums, and then went to the East Gate to taste the fish head with chopped peppers, which was highly recommended by a classmate.

Looking at the photos brings out a lot of feelings. Those of us with similar life trajectories can still get together after retirement, or go on outings, or have dinner together, and sometimes travel together. What a fate! Thinking back to when everyone was young, they went back to China with great ambitions, and then came to Hong Kong one after another for various reasons. Before they knew it, their children grew up, and their grandsons also entered middle school and university. Fortunately, the alumni association and alumni association were established one after another, which allowed us to find our classmates when we were young, and made us have a lot of joy in the sunset season of our lives.

In addition to meeting and visiting Hong Kong, we also love to go to Shenzhen. In fact, Hong Kong and Shenzhen are connected, but we just have to pass the checkpoints on both sides. After China's reform and opening up, it is not as troublesome and time-consuming as before. It's been very convenient. So we often go to Shenzhen for day trips, and buy some tea, snacks and daily necessities.

When viewing chrysanthemums that time, everyone agreed to go to Shenzhen again in two weeks to go to the farmers market. But then rumors of a serious outbreak in Wuhan made us decide to cancel the trip. Unexpectedly, the epidemic has become more and more serious, and it has developed to the closure of cities, customs, and so on. So it has been more than two years since the chrysanthemum viewing, and I can no longer go to Shenzhen, and I don't know when I can go again!

Speaking of Shenzhen, it is now a big city like Hong Kong. When I think back to the first time I went to Shenzhen, Shenzhen can be said to be basically a rural area, but that was more than 50 years ago, that is, in 1966. some day in August. At that time, the town was located in the area around the current Dongmen subway station. There was only one street, and there were short and dilapidated houses on both sides, and there were few pedestrians. There is a theater where I also saw a movie. There is also an ice room where I drank red bean ice a few times. There were some idle people in shorts, vests or cultural shirts chatting in the ice room. At that time, the train station didn't even have a fence, and you could walk directly to the platform. From the Overseas Chinese Building (now the Overseas Chinese Society), we often saw freight trains carrying live pigs parked there, waiting to go to Hong Kong, so when we approached the train station, we would smell a very strong stench of pig manure.

Shenzhen at that time, although so simple, left a deep impression on me, especially the mood at that time, which can be said to be unforgettable and will never be forgotten. At that time, I flew from Indonesia to Hong Kong, and the next day I took the train from Tsim Sha Tsui to Luo Wu, and then crossed the railway bridge to Shenzhen. When I stepped on the bridge, I looked at the five-star red flag flying on the other side. I was very excited, my eyes filled with tears, and I shouted in my heart: "Motherland, I am finally in your arms!" At that time, I and many Indonesian overseas Chinese Like students, they overcame various difficulties and finally returned to the motherland, thinking that they could study hard, learn skills well, and contribute to the motherland. For those of us who are born overseas, this is the realization of our dream!

Since then, our destiny has changed. The world is changing, and we never thought that we would live in Hong Kong later...

In the early 1980s, I had moved to Hong Kong for many years. I heard that the mainland had reformed and opened up, and wanted to know what the motherland had changed after the reform and opening up, so I went to Shenzhen for a trip. I was just walking around the train station, and I felt that Shenzhen had changed, and it was more lively than before. The original row of fish ponds by the railway disappeared and a small shop was built. I ate simple fast food in the small restaurant there. I don’t remember whether it was delicious or not, but I was deeply impressed by the attentive greetings of the waiters. At that time, I thought that this restaurant might be a private restaurant, and its style was very different from the previous state-run restaurants...

In just one morning, what I heard and witnessed made me feel that Shenzhen after the reform and opening up has become vibrant. After I returned to Hong Kong, I told everyone that Shenzhen has changed a lot, is full of vitality, and should have many opportunities and prospects!

At the end of the 1980s, because of the need to communicate with the personnel of mainland companies, I often went to Shenzhen to meet them, so I became familiar with Shenzhen. I remember the first time I met them, they were in the vicinity of the Electronic Building on Shennan Middle Road. Because I didn't know the way, I had to take a taxi. Sitting in the taxi and looking at the windows on both sides, I was greatly surprised by the high-rise buildings in sight. I haven’t been to Shenzhen for a few years. Extending in all directions, Shenzhen is no longer a rural area, but has become a large-scale city! At the time of this extremely high-speed construction, in addition to being very surprised, I also had more admiration and sincere admiration!

After retiring, I did not go to Shenzhen for a long time. Later, because I participated in the activities of the alumni association or alumni association, I followed them to Shenzhen to play, and I often set foot in Shenzhen because of this. I found that after more than ten years, the development and changes in Shenzhen are really huge. Even the subway that did not exist in those days has been extended in all directions. The subway is a huge project! What surprises us most is that we old people don't have to pay for subways and buses, and it's free to go to the park. I really appreciate the Shenzhen government's great virtuous policy towards the elderly!

After the outbreak of the new crown virus, Hong Kong people have to be quarantined in Shenzhen hotels for 14 days when they go to Shenzhen. We go to Shenzhen for a day, and it is now impossible to go back and forth on the same day. My old classmates all sighed in WhatsApp or WeChat groups: I don't know when I can go to Shenzhen again!

Like them, I also miss Shenzhen very much. Whether it is the Shenzhen in 1966 that often comes to mind, or the Shenzhen of a modern metropolis, I miss them all. I pray that the epidemic will be over soon, so that my students and I can achieve everything we want. Let’s travel to Shenzhen together!