Jogging on Baiyun Mountain: Hearing the Flowers Bloom

Shortly after eight o'clock in the morning—much earlier than usual—I stepped onto Liurong Path on Baiyun Mountain in Guangzhou. The soft dirt road, paved with weathered wood, blue pebbles, and withered yellow fallen leaves, gave a gentle bounce under my feet, sending a wave of comfort through my entire body.

The morning mist had not yet lifted completely. Acacia mangium trees, draped in pinnately compound leaves, stood tall and graceful, their tiny leaflets trembling slightly in the thin fog. The sweetgum trees blushed with a faint red hue, while schima superba and cinnamomum burmannii were quietly nurturing the vitality of their flower buds. A breeze brushed against my face, carrying the fresh, moist fragrance of flowers and trees. Whether it was the subtle intoxication of the floral scent or the faint, almost imperceptible "sound of flowers blooming" that smoothed my breathing—even the uphill stretch, which usually felt a bit strenuous, seemed much easier this time.

If one were to say that this secluded path, free from the hustle and bustle of the main road, only echoed with the soft whispers of flowers, trees, and joggers, that would be only half the truth. In fact, jogging here with a calm mind allows one to sometimes hear another kind of "flower blooming"—a rarer, more precious echo of life hidden deep within the morning mist and autumn woods.

Before starting my run, I was walking and patting my legs to warm up. In the tranquility, I suddenly spotted two early birds dozens of meters ahead. They were tall and dressed simply: one wore a white trench coat paired with brown trousers, carried a black backpack, and had a pair of bright white pearl earrings dangling from her earlobes; the other was clad in a sleek black tracksuit, with a neat fringe of jet-black hair peeking out from under a small sun visor. Both had on white sports shoes.

They walked forward side by side in calm, synchronized steps. Soon, they turned into the Liurong Bridge area, my usual haunt, and I followed close behind. They paused to take photos in front of a lush stretch of woods, allowing me to see their faces clearly for the first time: one was delicate-featured, the other had soft, rounded cheeks, and both wore a rare, pure and bright glow on their faces. Noticing me stopping, one of them smiled brightly and said, "This place is really popular—we even have to queue up for photos." She spoke in clear Mandarin, not Cantonese. I replied casually, "I’m not just queuing—I was wondering if you could take a photo of me too."

No sooner had I finished speaking than they cheerfully took my phone, carefully guiding me to adjust my posture, and then asked me to take a group photo of them. Watching them tiptoe, hold hands, and beam with joy, I felt as if I had been transported back to a time of close camaraderie and carefree delight.

What surprised me even more was that they joked around with me—a complete stranger, and someone quite a few years their junior. When I praised, "The scenery here is stunning," the woman in black immediately chimed in, "It’s not just the scenery that’s beautiful—the key is who you’re with." She repeated similar words a few times, and my heart skipped a beat.

When they saw the group photo, their faces lit up with joy, and they kept saying, "We look ten years younger in an instant." I added a few exaggerated remarks to share their delight. Upon hearing this, the woman in white murmured something softly, which prompted the woman in black to tease with a laugh, "You two are really singing in harmony."

When we reached the section where I usually jog, I asked them to take some action shots of me running. The woman in white suggested recording a video, and I immediately started running—gazing straight ahead, my body fully relaxed, upper body leaning slightly forward, calves lifting backward, palms half-clenched, arms swinging bent at the elbows, maintaining a steady rhythm and natural breathing. She captured this entire sequence flawlessly. I joked that I looked a bit "posing for the camera," but the woman in black laughed and said, "It looks like you’re chasing your first love." Her tone was playful yet sincere. I glanced at her sideways; her cheeks were glowing, like a tiny pink flower in full bloom.

Soon, we arrived at a three-way intersection. They studied the road sign for a long time, seemingly hesitant about whether to take the path uphill. Clearly, this was likely their first visit here—either for sightseeing or to unwind. I wanted to keep walking with them, but felt too shy to ask; besides, I had a tennis training session in the afternoon and shouldn’t linger. So I tossed out a playful line, "Lost?" as both a joke and a farewell. I knew that after this parting, we would probably never meet again in this lifetime. The thought filled my heart with a tinge of reluctance. After walking a few steps, I paused and watched their figures—just as I had first seen them—gradually fading into the distance.

Baiyun Mountain possesses a certain innate magic, and those who love it probably share a similar temperament. When the two blend together, an indescribable sense of spirituality and resonance naturally arises. Unfortunately, such moments are always fleeting. Constrained by all kinds of factors, life ultimately forces us to submit to some inexplicable arrangement.

This kind of transience is not limited to human interactions. A few days ago, while climbing a slope through a dense forest, I chanced upon a creature that looked like a silver pheasant—in local culture, a symbol of good fortune and luck. Yet, just as "no man ever steps in the same river twice," even with the best of luck, it is nearly impossible to encounter such a moment again. Despite this, I waited at the same spot, at the same time, for a long while afterwards, hoping to see it once more. Moreover, even at that very moment, when it sensed me approaching quietly, it vanished before my eyes without a sound, like a wisp of mist.

The small consolation is that after years of wandering through life, I can still hear the "sound of flowers blooming" in the boundless universe.