During the last three days of last month (June 28–June 30), I went to the National Astronomical Observatories of China (NAOC) to attend the 3rd Cosmos Station Webmaster Union and Science Popularization Seminar. The conference was held at the Xinglong Observatory in Hebei. According to the plan, we were to arrive at the Beijing headquarters first, then proceed to Xinglong, and finally return to the Beijing headquarters to disband. I will write another article to share the specific stories with everyone; this post mainly focuses on my “inseparable” return journey from Beijing Capital International Airport.
According to the schedule, I was supposed to take a flight at 9:00 PM last night and arrive in Guangzhou in the early hours of this morning. I arrived at the airport after 7:00 PM and finished the check-in procedures around 8:00 PM. However, after waiting for two or three hours, the final result we received was: due to the impact of thunderstorms (it wasn’t raining in Beijing, so it was likely that the weather somewhere along the route was terrible), the flight was cancelled and rescheduled to 7:00 AM the next day... This was a huge test for me. Although the airline said they would contact hotels for us, the efficiency was so low that many people protested at the airport. Consequently, the cold airport suddenly became lively (it wasn’t just our flight that was cancelled; many others were as well). Although I have been to Beijing several times, I am still a “stranger” here and naturally lacked experience. Nevertheless, I made a very bold decision: to spend the night at the airport!
It was already 11:00 PM when we were informed of the cancellation. After some tossing around, it was nearly midnight. I thought about it: the 7:00 AM flight (later changed to 7:30 AM) meant I had to start check-in procedures at 5:00 AM, so I had to endure 5 hours. I then made a slight plan: people-watching, reading, playing with my camera, doing calculations, writing a diary (strictly speaking, a “night-ary”), staring into space, dozing off, etc. I thought I could get through the night without much difficulty. However, my phone was almost out of battery (misfortunes never come singly), so I had to turn it off, which increased the sense of boredom significantly. I proceeded according to the plan, but plans never keep up with changes. As the number of people dwindled, I gradually couldn’t hold on anymore, yet I couldn’t find a place to sleep (the seating areas were very crowded). At that moment, I truly felt: what a blessing it is to be able to get a good night’s sleep!
Below are some of my “night logs” from that night at the airport:
The airline has responded (Post-note: This was already a miracle; you should know that many other cancelled flights had no news of rescheduled flights yet), and then they let us wait for the hotel, endless waiting...
— 23:48Sitting and waiting...
Anxious...
The waiting continues,
The protests continue,
The unknown continues to extend.
— 23:59Chaos.
— 00:02(Post-note: During this time, I was reading Amateur Astronomer, reciting poems from memory, doing theoretical physics calculations, staring into space...)
I guess it’s past 1:00 AM now.
I guess it’s 1:30 AM.
What’s all the fuss about? The only way to solve this problem (Post-note: referring to the flight cancellation) is through technology; shouting is useless.It must be nearly 2:00 AM. People are starting to thin out. Will I be very lonely later? Although I know “Why should I care what other people think?”
Beijing Capital Airport T3, the 6th issue of Amateur Astronomer—this is truly an indelible mark. Is this the part of Beijing I am most familiar with?
— 02:30I hope the weather clears up soon, otherwise I won’t even be able to go back in the morning.
— 02:30(Post-note: At this time, a middle-aged woman and an elderly man came and sat next to me. They had flown in from Urumqi and were waiting for a morning flight to transfer to Nanning. They were quite friendly, so we started talking. Then, she made me tragically realize:)
It turns out it’s only past 1:00 AM!
Chatting. It turns out they are going home to visit their son; they haven’t been home for several years.
Now I don’t even know what time it is. Two foreigners arrived; I really want to chat with them.
(Post-note: I asked the old gentleman if he wanted to sleep for a while later. He didn’t understand, and only then did I realize they didn’t speak English. However, the lady traveling with him could speak English, though my own English was quite poor.)
It seems quite a few foreigners choose early morning flights.
Is it 3:00 AM yet?
(Post-note: I turned on my phone, checked the time, and turned it off.)
It is now 02:55. It turns out the Earth really does rotate very slowly.
It must be 3:30 AM by now? The airport seems a bit more lively. A crazy idea popped up.
(Post-note: I wanted to ask the old man next to me to play chess, but unfortunately he said he didn’t know how.)
(Post-note: Then I went to another chair suitable for sleeping to doze off until 5:00 AM. I handled various procedures like re-ticketing, and then at 7:30 AM, the plane took off smoothly. I think if this trip hadn’t gone smoothly, it really might have incited public anger... I got off the plane around 10:30 AM, and at about 12:00 PM, I returned to my school dormitory. The whole journey felt as familiar as returning to Earth from Mars!)
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