Yours,

Li Hua

3 . This year’s winner of Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, the enobanting Disney movie Encanto (魔法满屋) shines a light on the colourful cultural highlights of Colombia. It might not instantly spring to mind as an obvious destination for a family adventure, but Colombia brims with diverse experiences.

Walk on the wild side

Encanto references Colombia’s surprising biodiversity—something very much in evidence in the Tayrona National Park, on the edge of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, one of the world’s highest coastal mountain ranges. Keep your eyes and ears open for a colourful cast of jungle creatures, including black howler monkeys, jewel-like hummingbirds, and even a jaguar.

Delve underground

Of all Colombia’s eclectic buildings, one of the best ones to explore is the Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá. Built in the 1930s within a salt mine tunneled into a mountain in the city of Zipaquirá, the church, which was used by the miners, was part of the inspiration behind Bruno’s room in Encanto and is now part of an activity complex with a family-friendly tour along the former mining route, as well as climbing walls.

Wake up and smell the coffee

Encanto is all about family, and one of the best places for some family time is the Parque del Café in Quindio. No ordinary theme park, along with rides and shows for different ages, there’s an interactive coffee museum, an eco-trail through a coffee plantation and food stalls serving up delicious, coffee-based products.

Tune in to a festival

Time your trip to coincide with the Carnival of Barranquilla, which takes place over four days in February or March. UNESCO-listed and one of the country’s most important folklore celebrations, the festival has its roots in the 19th century and is a treat for all ages, with live performances, art and colorful costumes.

Thando, a freshman, who is always looking forward     1     knowing about Chinese amazing civilization (文明), is     2     (curiosity) about the Terracotta Army. So he went to the destination to visit it last weekend in the company of a volunteer, also     3     outgoing student from South Africa, who can speak Chinese     4     (fluent). As scheduled, they packed their luggage     5     began their hiking. After checking in, they     6     (allow) to admire the powerful statues. Obviously, what impressed the two     7     (teenager) most was that the soldiers were organized and they were anxious     8     (protect) their emperor with confidence at any time. What a day! Their     9     (one) visit left a deep impression on     10     (they).

5 . Travelers across China are showing a growing preference for camping and self-driving tours because of the increasing popularity of short-distance trips, many of which made over the just-concluded National Day holiday, according to the latest industry figures.

About 65 percent of Trip.com users traveled to places near their work areas and homes during the seven-day holiday—from Oct 1 to Friday—with costs on related tours rising by 30 percent from the same period last year, according to figures from the online travel group.

Camping remained popular among travelers during the holiday, with orders for camping-related tour packages on its website growing ten times year-on-year. Nearly 80 percent of the camping tour destinations were near users’ workplaces or homes, while about 15 percent involved travel to neighboring cities or suburban areas and, the group said, average expenditure on camping was about 650 yuan, up 30 percent from spending during the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday in September.

Travelers aged 30 to 39 favored camping tours, especially families with children. About 83 percent of these travelers stayed overnight at campsites and enjoyed leisure activities such as fruit picking offered by local farms.

Chen Yi, 31, spent two days and one night at a farm in suburban Beijing with her family this National Day holiday. She said it was a relaxing trip. “We were concerned about COVID- 19 (新冠肺炎) control measures that may cause some uncertainty in work-related matters after the holiday, so we decided to spend the break in Beijing rather than visit other places,” she said. “It was my husband’s idea to go camping. He is a fan of such activities.” Chen chose a farmland about two hours’ drive from downtown. “The air is quite fresh there and the owner of the farmland is also friendly and generous. We made quite good memories there.”

A number of destinations not far from the city became top attractions during the recent national holiday, such as Nan’ao Island in Shantou, Guangdong province and Meizhou Island in Putian, Fujian province, catching travelers with breathtaking coastal views, figures from travel agencies showed.

Prices of hotel accommodation also rose quickly over the recent vacation period, with expenses on hotels for short-distance tours increasing 10 percent over the break, according to Trip.com figures.

Wu Ruoshan, a visiting researcher at the Tourism Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that travelers are changing their travel choices and consumption preferences, focusing more on safety in epidemic(流行病) prevention and control. “In addition to their tourism service, it is necessary for travel agencies and companies to be aware of travelers’ safety.” he said.

8 . Twist, turns and dead-ends are the challenges that make Long Island’s corn mazes such a big draw during the fall season. Some mazes have themes, others offer games, and a few even feature live characters in Halloween costumes who spring out and surprise maze-goers. Here’s a roundup of choices.

BORELLA’S FARM 485 Edgewood Ave., St. James, 631-862-7330. Hours 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through the end of October and Columbus Day and Halloween. Cost Check website or call for price.

The 5-acre maze has a lot of tricky spots; visitors can take pictures along the way by placing their faces through painted boards of Frankenstein or witches. “Even a person who is very good with directions is going to be challenged,” promises Gee.

FAIRVIEW FARM 69 Horsemill Lane, Bridgehampton; 631-537-6154. Hours 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and Columbus Day. Cost $14 per adult, $12 ages 4 to 11, free for 3 and younger.

This year’s 8-acre maze is, when viewed from above, the shape of a potato plant, says co- owner Harry Ludlow. It includes multiple choice questions about potatoes along the pathways, such as “Which country grows the most potatoes in the world?” (Hint: It’s not the United States.) Answer correctly and you’ll be pointed in the right direction.

STAKEY’S PUMPKIN FARM 270 West Lane, Aquebogue, 631-722-3467. Hours Noon to 5 p.m. weekdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through Oct. 30. Cost $10.

Stakey’s made the maze more difficult this year, says co-owner Jim Stakey. “I like to give everybody a challenge,” he says. The friendly character maze has dead ends where people find cartoon surprises, including Super Mario, Daffy Duck and the Tasmanian Devil.

F&W SCHMITT FARM 26 Pinelawn Rd., Melville, 631-271-3276. Hours 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends and holidays through Oct. 30 Cost $10.

The daytime maze has an “Alice in Wonderland” theme. People start out with a black crayon and a paper picture finder with nine squares. At each of nine stations hidden throughout the maze, people do rubbings of characters from the story including Alice, Cheshire cat, White Rabbit and the Mad Hatter. The farm also has a scary corn trail that isn’t a maze but rather a one-way walk- through with character actors that’s open from 7 p.m. to midnight on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights in conjunction with the farm’s haunted house.