Information about the "ends of the earth" in Scotland

It has always been thought that the place name "Tianya Haijiao" is a patent of China, but there is a place called Zilan Haijiao in the southwest corner of Britain, which literally translates as "the end of the land" and is called "Tianya Haijiao" in the local Chinese travel brochure.

Lanz Point is located at the top of Cornwall Peninsula, surrounded by the sea on three sides. It really took a lot of effort to get here. First of all, you need to take a train from London for more than three hours to reach the southernmost tip of the British railway, then take a bus through the pasture, and finally get off and walk to the cliff by the sea. Here, you can find a white wooden sign, marking the corner of Zilan, which is the end of British land.

In fact, as an island country, all the edges of the island are the ends of the land. Why do British people choose this corner in the southwest to define their own "ends of the earth"? After careful observation, the reporter found that the British people's understanding of "the ends of the earth" is very different from that of mainland countries. When Chinese people talk about the ends of the earth, they think of the farthest destination that travelers can reach. For the British, the ends of the earth are the starting point for ships to sail.

There are many ports with a long history on the southern coast of England, which is also the most developed area in British history. The most famous one is Southwest Port, because it is close to the European continent or the United States. To go to Zilan Point, you need to go to the port city of Plymouth first. However, the old Plymouth city was almost completely destroyed by German artillery in World War II, and the city people see today was rebuilt after the war. Because the principle of transformation is "saving money quickly", the city appearance is very general. However, the side facing the sea is very spectacular, and you can see the warships going out to sea with the word "Z". It is said that this is because the local submarine reefs are densely covered, and winding is the only route to ensure safe navigation. In fact, in 1588, British warships also set out from this place to meet Spain's "invincible fleet" and finally established Britain's position as "maritime overlord". 1620, a sailboat named Mayflower also set sail from Plymouth, carrying 102 English Puritans to America. This group of Puritans became one of the earliest immigrants in America. In today's Boston, there is another place called Plymouth, which was named to commemorate the starting point of the Puritans.

Plymouth is only an hour away from the local train at Zilan Point. From the map, it is almost along the sea. On both sides of the railway, there are endless fields and grasslands, flocks of cattle and sheep and lonely country houses. The story of Butterfly Dream takes place in Cornwall. Nowadays, there are very few British people who own luxury houses, but there are many family hotels that rent spare rooms to tourists for the night.

In Penzance, the nearest town to Lanz Point, the last street leading to Lanz Point is almost all family hotels. Even in the middle of the night, the lights are on in the foyer of all the houses, and the owners are very enthusiastic and happy, without the cold breath of the traditional British. In the morning, follow the winding path until you reach the seaside, and you will find a white wooden sign at Zilan Corner, which reads: "3 147 miles from new york." Almost everyone who visits here will understand that this is not a formal port, but because it is located in the southwest corner of England, it will carry the symbolic meaning of the starting point of the voyage.

Lanz Angle is inserted into the sea at a rather sharp angle. Three white cliffs stand in the blue sea. Looking around, the sea and sky are all faint shadows of French islands. Even if it is sunny, it is blustery, and the waves are lapping on the shore, which is spectacular. Standing on the street corner of Zilan, I imagined that the Puritans in may flower had a sense of pride in sailing for freedom and ideals.