China has returned to an era tinged with blue-green. Look—almost every city is packed with small residential compounds that can be shut down at any time, along with a few big shopping malls. And the attractions are all standardized nationwide. No matter which scenic spot you go to in the east, south, west, or north, the template is exactly the same.

Ancient towns are always the same: blue stone-slab roads, whitewashed walls with gray tiles, and red lanterns. What they sell is always the same too—grilled sausages, stinky tofu, internet-famous milk tea, Yiwu small commodities, and snack streets, all sharing one supply chain nationwide. As for so-called local specialties, they’re all pre-made and only warmed up. As for the signboard of a “century-old store,” it might have been put up for just half a year.

The internet-famous check-in spots are even more outrageous: a stone freshly painted, a wall with characters pasted on it—add a filter, and they dare to call it a must-visit holy place.

Most magical of all is that line: “You’re thinking of me—the wind of your thoughts blew to here, there, and everywhere.” From Mohe to Sanya, from ancient towns to shopping malls, the wording on road signs is letter-for-letter identical; you just swap out the place names however you like. You think you’re seeing the world, but in reality you’re just seeing it from another place. The same assembly-line set dressing—scenic spots across the country that lure visitors in the same way, never different, never varied, and never from the heart.