January 2, 2026
Snow finally arrived on the last day of 2025
On the final day of 2025, Xi’an’s snow didn’t back out like it had so many times before. It started as rain in the morning, then turned to snow and kept getting heavier, lasting the whole day.
It actually wasn’t unbearably cold. After finishing Data Structures at noon—the last class of the semester as well—I wandered around the student and faculty service center, played in the snow for a while, and took a lot of photos. Staying outside too long was still enough to make my hands freeze, though. By evening, the snow had piled up noticeably. The grass was fully covered, and even the shade netting over the experimental field had been cleared away to keep snow from accumulating on it.
When I woke up in the morning, and again when I lay down for a nap at noon, I kept wondering how I was supposed to spend New Year’s Day. In the end I didn’t plan anything special at all. I just looked around, drifted from one thing to another, and let the day happen on its own. Compared with how busy things had been recently, that kind of unforced life already felt like paradise. Writing a bit in my diary, working on some documents, and heading out only if the mood struck me—that was good enough.
There was also a radio contact event in Chang’an Park on New Year’s Day, but it was too far away, so I couldn’t be bothered to go.
A quiet New Year’s Day trip
I slept until noon on January 1. In the afternoon, after thinking it over for a while, I decided to go back for another bowl of the Chaoshan-style kway teow soup near Qiaozikou—the same place I’d tried before and really liked. Since I was already heading that way, I also planned to visit Guangren Temple, which I hadn’t managed to see last time.
There was a line at the entrance when I arrived, but it moved quickly. At the gate they were handing out hand warmers and vajra knots, and on the way out there were bookmarks as well. The temple itself wasn’t especially large, but it was beautiful in a way that felt completely worthy of its reputation.
Dinner, in the end, was still kway teow soup.
I had two bowls 😋
…
I really do prefer going out alone.
（阮籍）时率意独驾，不由径路，车迹所穷，辄恸哭而反。
《晋书·阮籍传》