This article is reproduced from: Economic Daily
By chance, I stayed in Cancun, a tourist resort in Mexico, for two full weeks.
Cancun is a beautiful island 21 kilometers long and 400 meters wide. It is located in the northeastern corner of the Yucatan Peninsula, adjacent to the Caribbean Sea, and has a population of only 100,000 people. The whole island is in the shape of a snake. The northwest and southwest ends are connected to the Yucatan Peninsula by bridges, and Cuba is far away across the Yucatan Strait.
To Cancun, a more convenient itinerary is to start from Mexico City, the capital of Mexico, and it only takes a 2-hour flight to arrive.
Cancun’s latitude is similar to that of Hainan, China, and the city is full of coconut trees. The large sandy beach and the swirling coconut trees have a coconut wind and sea charm, which is very suitable for vacation and can receive 2 million tourists every year.
However, almost half a century ago, it was a secluded fishing village of only 300 people.
In 1972, the Mexican government invested 350 million US dollars to build a tourist area and a free trade center here, focusing on the development of tourism. In 1975, the island began to receive tourists. What really injected modernity into Cancun was the Cancun Convention Center built in the 1980s.
A resort hotel area developed around the Cancun Convention Center on an artificial island. The shape of the island is very similar to Miami in the United States. Many well-known and well-known hotels stand by the sea, each with its own bathing beach, some of which also have a golf course.
Cancun is divided into an airport area, an urban area and a hotel area. Said to be 3 districts, in fact, they all serve the tourism industry, but the division of labor is slightly different.
The hotel area is built on a 17 km long narrow island with 3 lagoons and a boulevard connecting to the mainland. There are tourist spots such as Women’s Island, Consome Island and Mayan Castle Duron. On the boulevard, there are hardly any other buildings and commercial facilities except hotels of different styles standing on the sea side.
Hotels in Cancun come in a variety of architectural styles and colors. Among them, the Sheraton Hotel is a 6-story pyramid-shaped building, famous for having hosted the Cancun conference. There is a long white sand beach near the hotel, covered with fine sand weathered by coral, as soft as a blanket and as white as jade. They are named “White Beach”, “Pearl Beach”, “Turtle Beach” and “Lobster Beach” “. There are Mayan pavilions and huts topped by palm fronds and pillared by boulders.
When you come to Cancun, you must visit the “7-character island”. The so-called “7-shaped island” refers to a long and narrow area formed by many hotels, shaped like the number 7. These hotels all face the sea on both sides, so they are very distinctive. There are a variety of transportation methods from the airport to the “7-character island”. You can book a bus on the website or take a taxi directly. There are buses on the island all day, and they will stop when you wave, but you have to prepare change, 10 pesos once.
Since it is leisure, it is necessary to go shopping. la isla is the newest and largest shopping mall and commercial street in Cancun. There are not only local brands, special souvenirs, but also specialty stores of international brands. As for the Mexican style, you can see it everywhere, such as all kinds of open-air taverns, uncles wearing big straw hats performing magic tricks, and small shops that use special plant paints to make hand-painted people. In the evening, under the afterglow of the setting sun, eating shortbread with a refreshing and delicious sauce is really unique.
In addition to natural gifts such as sunny beaches and modern buildings such as hotel shopping streets, Cancun also has a large number of Mayan civilization relics, the most famous of which is Chichen Itza. Chichen Itza is a Mayan pyramid, and its steps and angles are exquisite. Every spring equinox, the sun shines directly on the steps, and the light and shadow will outline the image of the snake that snakes down, which is the feathered snake god revered by the Mayans.
If you want to understand the Mayan civilization, the museum is a must. The Yucatan Peninsula is the homeland of the Mayans, so many cultural relics are well preserved here. For example, the collection of the Mayan Museum located in the hotel area is very impressive. Some of the artifacts in the collection vividly describe the life of the Mayans and help visitors understand the rich local history and culture. At the entrance to the museum is the archaeological site of San Migrito. There, one can wander freely among the Mayan ruins. Further north is the ruins of El Rey, which houses the ceremonial platform of the Mayan temple. When these attractions are connected together, a solemn and mysterious cultural atmosphere blows in.
Looking at the distant sky, listening to the narration of the sea, touching the disappearing history, do you love Cancun like this?