Touring Yuxi City

We left Gejiu City at dusk, took the Tianhou Expressway and Chengyuan Expressway to Hongta District in Yuxi City, about 175 kilometers away. At night, the office building of the Hongta Group on the hillside was brightly lit with colorful lights, shining brilliantly. Tobacco is one of Yuxi's pillar industries, and Hongta Group is a leader in this industry. The next morning, we drove to Hongta Mountain, passing by the front of Hongta Group, where eight cigarette pillars stood tall outside the gate, clearly indicating the direction of the enterprise. The dense-eaved seven-sided eight-level solid pagoda on Hongta Mountain was first built in the Yuan Dynasty and was originally white. In 1958, the Yuxi Cigarette Factory changed it to red, and with the spirit of innovation and change, Hongta Group was derived from the pagoda and its own struggle. In 2006, the group built the 'Tobacco Culture Museum' behind Hongta, with bronze sculptures in front reflecting the original forms of tobacco planting, harvesting, processing, and selling. Inside the museum, the development history, corporate culture, awards, and product series of the enterprise are displayed. Looking at the cigarettes and prices in the cabinets, one cannot help but sigh at the great contribution made by the vast number of smokers and tobacco enterprises to the economy. Yuxi Museum is about 3 kilometers from Hongta Mountain, a few minutes' drive. The museum offers free admission and free parking. Inside, there are seven basic exhibitions: paleontology, prehistoric culture of Yuxi, bronze culture of Yuxi, porcelain hall, calligraphy and painting hall, history of revolutionary struggles in central Yunnan, and Nie Er and Yuxi literature and art, covering an exhibition area of over 5,000 square meters with more than 20,000 exhibits. After visiting the Yuxi Museum, it was late in the day, and we were hungry, so we navigated to the Lao Ju Dian Restaurant on Phoenix Road for a hearty meal. The restaurant is located in a bustling area of the city, very popular with a constant stream of diners, and has parking available in the courtyard. Nie Er's former residence and Nie Er Park are both near the Lao Ju Dian Restaurant. After the meal, we walked through Nanmen Street, Xinxing Road, and Beimen Street to visit Nie Er's former residence. The streets were filled with countless small merchandise stalls, snack stalls, and fruit stalls, crowded with people. Nie Er's former residence is located at No. 73 and 74 Yongdao Street, a two-story wooden and earthen structure where Nie Er's parents once rented and operated the 'Chengchun Hall' medical clinic, and where Nie Er grew up. The local government funded the renovation, and in 2011 it was opened as the Nie Er Former Residence Memorial Hall, introducing Nie Er's life, study, growth, and artistic career through pictures and texts. Five bronze plaques of various educational bases and one collaborative base plaque hang by the courtyard gate. Nie Er Park is just across the street from Yuxi Museum, with a bronze statue inside seemingly conducting the people in front to sing in unison, aiming to keep his artistic spirit alive. Yuxi has also built the Nie Er Grand Theater and Nie Er Music Square, making great efforts to promote Nie Er and educate the public. From the moment we understood the national anthem, we knew Nie Er, 'marching forward amid enemy fire,' we too must 'advance! advance!'