There are flowers in spring, sea in summer, blue sky in autumn, and snow in winter. Yantai is a beautiful seaside town, surrounded by mountains and sea, with pleasant air, abundant products, sweet fruits, and delicious fish and shrimp.
Growing up here, I have a lot of affection for Yantai. It’s just the four seasons in Yantai that make me have a love-hate relationship.
In March, other cities may already be feeling springy, but Yantai is still experiencing spring, with temperatures changing from warm to cold. Due to the influence of the ocean, spring in Yantai is half a month later than that of several inland cities with similar dimensions, such as Jinan.
Miss Chun likes to have a bad temper. When she gets angry, she puffs up her cheeks and blows hard. It has just been warm for a few days, but when the cold wind blows, the temperature returns again, making people unable to take off their winter clothes to keep out the cold. When Miss Chun became seriously angry, she bitterly tore Yun Duo into small pieces and vented her emotions with a shower of ice and snow.
As someone who is either afraid of heat or cold, I always feel anxious about "Why is winter not over yet?"
This goes on and on, until May Day, the real spring flowers bloom.
But even on May Day, the weather in Yantai is not like Beijing or Jinan, where people can wear summer clothes.
At this time, thin sweaters and thick coats are still the standard equipment for "people who are afraid of the cold". Of course, there are also young girls and boys who are not afraid of the cold and can't wait to change into skirts and shorts, so they always wear something on the street. Everyone has seasonal clothes, and it looks like the four seasons are with them.
I remember when I was in junior high school, the country had a 7-day Labor Day holiday for the first time. We planned to go to Jinan for a day and then fly to Beijing. When we left Yantai, I wore a thin sweater and a sleeveless vest. When we arrived in Jinan, the heat wave when we got off the train made us immediately buy a short-sleeved set. In those days in Beijing, I also relied on this short-sleeved suit.
Later, I went to university in Beijing. On May Day, the weather started to get hot, so I also changed into short-sleeved shirts, but in my hometown of Yantai, I still had to at least wear an outer layer.
Miss Xia from Yantai has a short temper. Suddenly one night, as if it had received some order, it hurriedly drove away the angry spring girl, and used its own warm wind to blow the colorful flowers.
Therefore, there seems to be no spring in the full sense of the word in Yantai, commonly known as "spring with short neck". One day you might be complaining about how spring doesn’t feel like spring at all, and the next day summer is here with impatience.
Summer in Yantai is my favorite season. Although there are sauna days in Yantai in summer, the number of days is much less than in Beijing. Most of the time, it is warm and hot but there is always a cool breeze from the sea.
At night, people went to the beach for a walk. Some sang, some danced, some walked their dogs, and some played cards under the street lights. It was so lively. There is also the summer barbecue stall on the beach, which is always bustling with people and full of market atmosphere. Serve a few BBQ skewers, drink one or two cans of cold beer with the sea breeze, and order some small seafood. It's like living a fairy-like life.
The only annoying thing about summer is probably the humid air brought by the sea water. My home is very close to the sea. Every summer, my bed feels wet. I remember once the hygrometer actually showed 90% air humidity, and I felt like water was dripping from my body.
I am a person who likes summer very much, so I will go and experience the summer in every city, but it really feels different.
In the summer in Beijing, it feels like a big steamer. The human eye can seem to see the steam rising from the ground, rising upwards. The cicadas are chirping in my ears, noisy and lively, just like this busy city. Taking a deep sniff, Beijing's summer smells like tar, mixed with the smell of bus exhaust.
Summer in Yantai always feels a bit salty and humid because of its proximity to the sea. When the sea breeze blows, it smells like the sea, mixed with the smell of diesel from fishing boats. The wind makes me feel chilly and wet. People like me who are intolerant of cold may still shiver at this time.
But no matter what, once summer arrives in northern cities, the city and its residents become energetic. Various summer activities at night add a lot of joy and color to our lives.
Unfortunately, good things are always short-lived. The summer in Yantai is not very long. After mid-September, Miss Xia will leave. We can only say goodbye to big shorts and sweats, and get ready for autumn clothes and trousers.
The autumn in Yantai vividly embodies the four words "high autumn air and refreshing air". The sky in Yantai in autumn is as blue as water, and the clouds are blown higher by the autumn wind to the higher reaches of heaven. I have seen a sky similar to this in the Jinyu Lake Grassland in Qinghai, but it is completely different in style.
Qinghai’s sky is high and the grass is wide, a bit like a rough Tibetan boy, while Yantai’s sky is high and the clouds are light, it’s a bit like the Japanese sky that Chihiro sees while lying on the grass in Hayao Miyazaki’s animation. High and sad. When you look up at the autumn sky in Yantai, you seem to be able to hear the music of "City in the Sky" echoing in your ears, long and long.
Yantai Qiu is a generous woman who understands justice well. She has a calm personality and is neither impatient nor impatient. She calmly picked up the brush and slowly wrote all the autumn philosophy on the blue sky for you to slowly understand.
In this environment, people's mood seems to be much more open. Those who were impatient in summer have calmed down and become much quieter in autumn.
Hiking in autumn is my favorite thing. Looking at the high mountains, clear clouds, and colorful forests, I immediately felt relaxed.
In December, winter in Yantai comes with the howling north wind. There is a name in Yantai called "Snow Nest". It is so cold that the sea freezes, and the snow is so heavy that it is featured on CCTV news and Weibo hot searches at least once a year.
There was even a hot search last year called "Has Yantai reached the Arctic Circle?" In the video, the snow was blown sideways by the howling cold wind, and students from Yantai University were fully equipped to resist the wind. Walking through the snow to get to class felt a bit like being in the Arctic Circle.
The winter in Yantai is long and cold, and the whole city suddenly becomes much quieter. There are many European-style buildings in Yantai. When the ice and snow season comes, it feels like a Nordic town, as beautiful as a fairy tale.
I don’t like the winter in Yantai, but the winter in Yantai always makes me hopeful. Because I know that as long as we survive these three months of winter, we will usher in a bright spring.
So every winter, I look forward to the Spring Festival very much, because Yantai has four distinct seasons, and the weather changes immediately according to the solar term. As soon as the Spring Festival is over, the soil will begin to exude the unique smell of spring, and you will be delighted to find: Miss Spring is here again...
The four seasons are life. There are flourishing highs in life, and there are also depressing lows in life. But no matter when, as long as you have hope and survive the biting frost, you will usher in the bright spring.