The cursed fruits of the peach orchard

Joerg China Crossing China February 10, 2018 | 0

Next episode: Beijing to Dingzhou, a distance of about 200 Kilometers.

Take a stop at the famous sight of the peach orchard. History has it that once the three legends Guanyu, Liu Bei and Zhang Fei swore eternal brotherhood in order to defeat Wei and Wu Kingdom, the three that belong to the Shu Han. This happy gathering is said to happen in a garden full of peaches here near Gaobeidian city.

And so I stand in this area full of peach trees and the memorial. Shields say that fruit picking is forbidden inside the orchard. I wonder how, I wonder why… Now the story of Adam and Eva repeats itself. What a great example of a foolish human being I am.

Reaching out to the peaches and eating some of them only a few minutes later the curse of the three brothers came over me in the form of an itchy allergic reaction. Lesson learnt: when in the peach orchard, bring your own fruits. Shortly after I left the orchard, I am sitting on the road patching the tube. My weight on the rear wheel let the tires burst like soap bubbles. Will I be cursed for the rest of the way to Sanya?

In the next small town of Gaibeidian my attempt of buying Vaseline in a pharmacy ended in a rather awkward description. I blame it all on the peaches and my sinful behavior.

Almost reached the city of Baoding, I meet a young nurse from Beijing riding all the way to her home town, cycling the whole night through. Impressive! And I guess she could resist the peaches.