1 A row of indigo-cut stone walls towering over the Jiajiang River, baked by the setting sun into a colorful barrier.
Looking at the flat embankment from the car in the distance, the flat fields, houses, and trees scattered in the mist are all as if they were covered with a layer of blue gray. Everything is very refreshing and pleasing to the eye. Everything you see from the window is natural and beautiful, with a hint of majesty and wildness.
2 The mountains along both sides of the river are all dark green. The mountain tops are often covered with white snow, and the river water is as clear as jade.
There is Baiyan Creek not far upstream of Yuanzhou. Zhicao grows in the small valley and can still be seen everywhere today. This orchid plant takes root in the crevices of the cliff or spreads to the branches of pine trees. Its long leaves are fluttering and its flowers hang down in long strings. It is beautiful in the wind. The shape of the flowers and leaves is softer than that of Jianlan, and the fragrance is far lighter than that of Jianlan.
The boundless dark-colored cliffs, the dazzling clusters of strange flowers, and the small swirling streams all combine to form an indescribably charming holy land!
Snow fell for a while near dusk on the third day, and it stopped soon. The weather was so cold, everything seemed to be frozen in the cold air. Even the air looked like it was about to freeze.
4 On both sides of the bank are tall mountains with thousands of feet of walls. On the top of the mountains are small bamboos, which are green all year round. At this time, there was only a hint of darkness remaining on the two mountains, and the sky was dimly lit to draw an outline. But what looked like a miracle in the dusk were the stilted buildings on both sides of the bank where the water had gone for about thirty feet. These houses seem to be hanging in mid-air. In the afterglow of dusk, you can still roughly see the shape of these strange buildings.
5 When darkness takes over the entire river, you can still see the firelight on the raft, the light from the window of the stilted building, and the moving red light of the torch floating among the big rocks on the river bank as you get off the boat.
The landscapes and scenery in the author's writing are full of poetry. What he presents to readers are beautiful landscape paintings that are lifelike and intoxicating. What makes people feel is the beauty that nourishes the soul.