Shangrao Inns

In the morning mist of Nanfeng Village, Guangxin District, Shangrao, there hides a corner where time slows down — Ruyuan Inn.​ The gray brick walls are covered with creeping fig vines, each eave tile holding the dew of the previous night. When the wind stirs the copper bell at the corner of the eaves, its clear sound is like a mountain stream tapping against stones. Climbing up the stone steps, in the creaking of the wooden staircase, one seems to hear the soft rustle of time flowing through the mortise and tenon joints. Push open the window of the guest room, and a whole view of the mountains 涌了进来 — in spring, there is the crisp sound of new bamboo shoots breaking through the soil; in summer, the chirping of cicadas is scattered in the dense shade; in autumn, the terraced fields spread out like a golden wave; in winter, the rustle of snow falling on bamboo tips. The scenery of the four seasons all become paintings in the window.​ The old camphor wood table in the main hall glows with an amber light. A rough pottery vase holds wild chrysanthemums with dew, and a clay pot in the corner keeps a few mountain stream fish, their fins stirring up the coolness in the full pot. The copper kettle where the owner brews tea gurgles over the charcoal fire. When the tea soup is poured into the cup, one can even taste the freshness of the clouds and mist and the faint fragrance of pine needles. When dusk falls, the lanterns under the corridor are lit one after another, their warm light spreading over the stone steps, overlapping with the deep blue of the starry sky. Occasionally, a mountain dweller returning home late passes by, and their laughter startles fireflies in the bamboo thicket, which flicker on and off like scattered stars.​ Here, time can be touched — it is the slight coolness of morning dew wetting the cuffs, the fragrance of bamboo shoots wafting from the wood-fired stove, and the fragrance of mountain mist pervading the dreams when sleeping to the croaking of frogs. If you have ever yearned for a place where life can be lived like a poem, perhaps the two characters "Ruyuan" (which means "as one wishes") are the best answer.