春节一家人团聚过年旅游英语作文
My Wonderful Chinese New Year Family Vacation
The Chinese New Year holiday is my favorite time of year! School gets out for a few weeks and my entire family gets together to celebrate. This year was extra special because instead of just staying home, we went on a big trip together.
It all started a few months before when my dad announced at dinner one night, \"Kids, how would you like to go somewhere fun for Chinese New Year this year?\" My brother and I looked at each other with huge grins. We love traveling!
\"Where are we going?!\" I asked excitedly, practically bouncing up and down in my chair.
Dad smiled really big. \"How about we go to Beijing to see the Great Wall of China, the Forbidden City, and all the New Year celebrations there?\"
My brother and I let out shrieks of joy, earning a stern look from Mom about using our inside voices. But we were just so thrilled! Going to Beijing had been a dream of ours.
In the months leading up to the trip, we spent lots of time learning about Beijing and getting ready. We read books from
the library, watched videos online, and made lists of everything we wanted to see and do. I practiced some simple Mandarin phrases like \"Hello\" and \"Thank you\" so I could try them out. Finally, the day came to leave for our adventure! We grabbed our bags and headed to the airport bright and early. The flight took a few hours, but it went by quickly since we had our tablets loaded with movies and games. Before we knew it, we were touching down in Beijing!
Stepping out of the airport, the chilly Beijing air hit our faces. It smelled different than back home - kind of smoky but in an exciting way. We followed the crowd to the taxi line and practiced our Mandarin asking for a taxi to our hotel. I was so proud when the driver seemed to understand me!
The ride through the city was amazing. So many people, buildings, and cars! Beijing is huge. We passed under archways decorated with big red lanterns and caught glimpses of temples and parks tucked away behind walls. I couldn't wait to explore. After checking into our hotel, we rested up and then headed right back out. It was a few days before Chinese New Year, so the city was already filled with decorations and celebrations. Red lanterns hung everywhere, a sign of luck and prosperity. Street
vendors sold toys and tasty snacks like tandoor oven-baked sweet potatoes.
One of the first stops on our trip was the famous Wangfujing food street. My mouth watered as soon as we turned onto the pedestrian shopping lane absolutely packed with stalls selling all kinds of crazy snacks and dishes. Scorpions, silkworm larvae, starfish, and other wild foods were on skewers everywhere we looked! Mom and Dad insisted we try a few bites, like the candied strawberry hawthorn snacks and juicy jujube fruits, but I drew the line at the scorpions.
The next day, we visited the iconic Forbidden City, the former imperial palace from the Ming and Qing dynasties. It was an incredible experience walking in the footsteps of ancient emperors through the intricately designed yellow-glazed buildings. Our guide taught us the meanings behind the carvings of dragons and phoenixes, as well as the layout designed according to feng shui principles. My favorite part was getting to explore the lavish imperial gardens in the Back Palace area. On Chinese New Year's Eve, we spent the whole day in Ditan Park, one of the biggest spots for New Year festivities in Beijing. It was absolutely jam-packed with people, but the energy was incredible! We watched traditional dragon and lion dances,
made offerings at the Temple Fair, and I even got my face painted like the character Nezha from the famous myth. In the evening, the night sky lit up with fireworks absolutely everywhere you looked!
Finally, on Chinese New Year's Day, we went to the Jingshan Park located right in front of the Forbidden City. From the man-made hill in the middle, we had an amazing panoramic view of the entire palace grounds. It was the perfect place to welcome in the New Year. We stood there, covered in newly purchased souvenir Beijing Ruifeng kites, watching fireworks shoot up above the Forbidden City at midnight. Just magical!
The next few days were a total blur. We visited the Great Wall at Badaling, wandered the beautiful gardens of the Summer Palace, explored the hutong neighborhood alleyways by rickshaw, and went on a day trip out to the Ming Tombs in the countryside. Everywhere we went, we saw bright red decorations and locals in their New Year's best.
My favorite day may have been when we went to the Prince Gong Mansion and tried on traditional Chinese clothing and took pictures. We looked just like princes and princesses from long ago! I got to dress up like a Qing dynasty princess in a beautiful silk robe covered in embroidered butterflies and
peonies. The sleeves even had tiny bells that tinkled when I moved my arms. I felt like a fairy tale character!
On our very last day in Beijing, we went to the iconic Tiananmen Square and watched the flag raising ceremony at sunrise. What an amazing and emotional way to wrap up our trip. As we stood there in the crisp morning air surrounded by centuries of history, I felt so grateful for the opportunity to experience such an incredible celebration with my family.
Beijing and our entire Chinese New Year vacation will forever have a special place in my heart. I have so many wonderful memories - from the sights, sounds, and smells of the vibrant city to the fascinating history we learned to the New Year festivities we got to experience first-hand. I hope I can go back to Beijing again one day. But for now, I'll just keep reliving our magical family trip over and over again!
