By 竹不倒 2026-10-06 09:28 Jiangsu
Qilian County, Qinghai, a small county town with a population of 50,000, suddenly received 100,000 tourists. The pond is only so big, and with so much water entering at once, it cannot be contained. So the hotels were all full, and what were the tourists to do when they had nowhere to stay?
The local county leaders had a flash of inspiration: the dormitories of Qilian County Ethnic Middle School, oh yes, that one, since the students were all home for the National Day holiday. They could be used directly, without even a word of notice.
Moreover, toiletries were readily available, quilts and duvet covers were readily available, and even underwear was readily available.
As a side note, for such short holidays, back in our day, let alone changes of clothes, we actually didn't even take our computers or food with us, leaving them directly in the cabinets and on the tables.
Of course, the tourists did not use the students' personal belongings, and the staff repeatedly warned the tourists, “Do not touch the students’ things.” It is said that the tourists’素质 (sùzhì - quality/caliber) were all extremely high, and no damage or loss of student dormitory items has been found so far.
This “it is said” is quite clever, because it is only the fifth or sixth day of the holiday, and the students have not yet returned to school, but it has already been determined in advance that their belongings have not been used or lost.
Those who have only stayed in hotels may not know, but those who have stayed in youth hostels will surely understand that sometimes, some things, when needed, cannot be avoided just because you say you don't need them. Things for washing faces, applying to faces, bathing, and washing clothes can be squeezed and smeared with a casual hand, and even the FBI can't find out.
Now, the Culture and Tourism Bureau and Qilian County are praised by tourists as a hot commodity, with gratitude and praise flowing towards “tourists being properly accommodated” and “the director personally making the beds.”… However, the “silent ones” in the warm narrative seem to have disappeared in response. The students' private space was requisitioned, yet the students themselves were absent.
Some people say that today's children are too sensitive, making a fuss over nothing, what is there to fuss about.
But I say, don't talk about now, even twenty years ago, this wouldn't be a matter of being sensitive. And no matter who it is, wouldn't you be upset if you came back from a holiday to find your bed had been slept in, your pillow had strange hair on it, and your soap had an unknown object stuck to it? And then the other party says: The guests were very well-behaved, they even folded the quilts when they left.
Should I be moved by this?
In any case, I will not endorse this “innovative move.” “The freedom of each person is limited by the freedom of others,” this is a very famous quote by John Stuart Mill. But the fact now is that the boundaries of the students' dormitories were easily erased by the word “emergency.”
Emergency? Regarding this point, Teacher Xiang's words are very apt: Why was the Qilian County Party School not used for the emergency accommodation of tourists? The Qilian County Tianjing Grand Theater, with its 5709 square meters and ready-made facilities, why wasn't it used? Instead, a middle school dormitory was chosen?
I cannot think of any reasonable explanation, except for one point: the former two require “consultation” with people. But the latter requires none at all. They didn't even requisition the dormitories, they directly requisitioned the students' right to refuse. Who told them the students were vulnerable? They will be bullied again next time.
But, to add a word: The warmth of a city cannot be judged solely by how it treats its distant guests, but more importantly, by how it treats its owners who have not yet had a chance to speak.
