將近兩年前在Professional Writing課寫的一篇travel story，現在看來有點狗血，不過CUHK我是真的喜歡。 A Hideaway in a Green Hill On Hong Kong’s rapid transit train, the Chinese University is only twenty minutes from the bustling Central. Walking out of the University station, I feel it’s another world. The air, with a ......
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將近兩年前在Professional Writing課寫的一篇travel story，現在看來有點狗血，不過CUHK我是真的喜歡。
A Hideaway in a Green Hill
On Hong Kong’s rapid transit train, the Chinese University is only twenty minutes from the bustling Central. Walking out of the University station, I feel it’s another world.
The air, with a delicate scent of new leaves, is the first difference. Then I notice the quiet, which is broken only by twitters of birds hidden in luxuriant trees.
“The Chinese University is a place you won’t recognise as Hong Kong.” A friend’s comment aroused my curiosity and brought me here. He is absolutely right. I’m glad that I’ve discovered a different, refreshing place in my last afternoon in Hong Kong.
A short walk leads to a school bus terminal, where a relief map shows I am at the foot of a forested hill, occupied as the campus of the university. I never expected there to be a school bus running inside a campus. But such is the case here. It runs along a spiral route, stopping at different altitudes of the hill, where the university’s colleges and facilities are situated.
The summer vacation has just begun. Only a dozen students are on the bus. I sit down at a window-seat, trying to capture everything along the way.
It’s like in a national park. Tall trees line up the road, shady leaves letting through occasional sunbeams. A breeze gently ruffles the green leaves. I feel cooled down for the first time in Hong Kong.
As the bus climbs up, the vista is broadening into a three-dimensional panorama. Not to miss the grand view, I feel compelled to get down the bus halfway up the hill.
Looking down from a garden podium, I get a bird’s eye view of the University Library and the boulevard leading to it. They call it the University Mall. Now it’s perfectly peaceful, but on annual degree day, hundreds of gowned graduates parade through it and turn it into a ground of festival.
On a higher level, a group of colourful buildings and a giant T-shaped water tower meet the eye. Girdling in the background is meandering green hills. In the distance, the azure sea of the Tolo Harbour seems to be painted there.
On both sides of the road leading upward the hill, blossoming shurbs cluster around and cover the ground. It must be bauhinia, the five-petal pink flower featured on the regional flag of Hong Kong. Walking along the lane, I am led to New Asia College, one of the four constituent colleges of the university.
The pond before the He-yi Pavilion in the college is a perfect vantage point overlooking the Tolo Harbour. The overflowing water of the pond mirrors the cloudless sky. The reflection joins the sea and mountain afar into a seamless whole. ‘He-yi’ literally means ‘unite into one,’ alluding to the concept of ‘union of man and nature’ advocated by Professor Qian Mu, founder of the college. The design of the pond best illustrates this concept. Excerpts of Professor Qian’s theory are engraved on a wall by the pavilion, in traditional Chinese calligraphy.
I don’t see many students around. Those who pass by give me a gentle smile. They must be amused at the sight of a backpacker taking pictures earnestly in their campus. But they won’t know how envious I am. They seem to take a resort-like campus for granted.
Feeling a bit thirsty, I come up to a vending machine. Stocked with all kinds of ‘Vitasoy’ beverages, it reminds me that this is still Hong Kong. But I hardly feel so. Here, I’m blissfully embraced by trees, flowers, hills and above all, a tranquil atmosphere that really calms me down. The hustle and bustle of the city is left far behind.
I start my journey down the hill as the sun slowly sets. Before long, I arrive at the last college on my way, Chung Chi College. Situated by Weiyuan Lake is Chung Chi Tang, a double-storey A-frame building serving as the college’s cafeteria. I take a seat on its veranda, very congenial for watching the lake-side sunset.
Bit by bit, the orange sun sinks into the hills in the background, bathing Weiyuan Lake in its last rays. The ripples on the clear water are glittering like pieces of gold. The stone bridge, the peddly walkway, the Chinese pavilion, everything is coated in a golden colour.
Mesmerised by the sight, I can just sit here and forget everything. But three students came with plates of noodles and sat down at the next table. I realise it’s dinnertime and I have to leave. Standing up, I overhear one of them saying “I will attend extra classes and stay here all the summer.”
“What a luxury!” I thought as I headed for the train station.
