Our Oriental Adventure; China!! SHANGHAI

Shanghai (2nd - 5th March)

 

 

We arrived into Shanghai at 7.50am, to blue skies and the sun shining! We stayed at the Peoples Square Youth Hostel.

 

We walked down towards the Bund, and stopped at the nearby Gucheng park on the way.  The flowers, trees and gardens were beautiful.

 

 

While at the park, a large group of elderly women and one man were doing Tai Chi to some hip young music while young children roller skated and more senior citizens exercised. It was lovely to see, and we found this to be very common throughout China.

 

 

 

The Bund

 

This area is lovely for a walk and has some amazing views and it was a lovely day to visit. The towers in Shanghai are all so different and innovative! One looks like a bottle opener, one is like a big pearl and then others look like typical French buildings – beautiful!

 

 

Tianzi fang markets

(Metro Station Dapuqiao - line 9)  

 

This area was beautifully done, winding little alleys filled with various nick nacks, souvenirs, coffee shops, restaurants and quirky candy and beauty stores.

 

 

 

Nanjing Street

 

This street is lined with many department stores, smaller shops and restaurants. The food hall (right in the middle as you enter) has some lovely items to purchase and some great restaurants on the higher floors.

 

 

 

The French Concession

(Shanxxi South Metro station)

 

Wandering the beautiful tree lined streets here was lovely.  Great for a relaxing afternoon.

 

 

 

The big buildings at dark

(Lujiazui Metro station)

 

The Oriental Pearl, Jinmao Tower, Shanghai World Financial Centre and the Shanghai Tower look amazing lit up at night.  The Shanghai tower is still under construction (construction commenced in November 2008) and it was so high - the clouds covered the top of the building!).

 

 

 

We went to the Grand Hyatt for our anniversary celebration night. The views were absolutely stunning and we ended the evening with a cocktail in the Cloud 9 bar on the 87^th floor.

 

 



Our Oriental Adventure; China!! XIAN

Xian (26th February - 1st March)

 

 

We arrived into Xian at 6.55am and were able to check into our hotel, Seven Sages Youth Hostel.

 

The Drum Tower in Xian is a very impressive structure and looked amazing, all lit up at night time. 

 

 

While at the Drum Tower, we visited the Muslim quarter and Huimin Street which was full of hot and tasty street food, all with Muslim influence – a lot of breads, kebabs, pomegranates, dates, walnuts and fried meat pancakes.  We sampled some of the delicious food and took in the great vibe of the lit up and bustling area.

 

 

While sightseeing, we took bus number 26 from the north western side of South street, then headed South, to the large wild goose pagoda and the Shanxxi museum. 

(Bus number 26 is only 1 Yuan ($0.20AUD) per person, per trip and the buses come very regularly.)

The museum was interesting and free to enter, and the wild goose pagoda was also impressive and the lakes and fountains in front of it were very beautiful and relaxing.

 

 

Terracotta Warriors

(120 Yuan per person ($24AUD) entry fee)

 

We went to Xian Railway station to go to the Terracotta Warriors.  We walked in the northern direction, to find the 5(306) bus.  We found this to be a much cheaper way to get to the Terractotta warriors as it was only 7 Yuan per person, per way ($1.40AUD) and also stops by the mausoleum and hot springs. 

 

 

 

We were shocked at the amount of work that has gone into each soldier, but also the work that has been done to excavate and restore each soldier. 

 

We loved Xian and the interesting Islamic influence here.

Our Oriental Adventure; China!! DATONG & PINGYAO

Datong and Pingyao (21st - 25th February)

 

We boarded the train to Datong from Beijing at 7.08am.  The ride was pleasant enough  and 7.5 hours later, we arrived in Datong.  We even snuck some great views of the Great Wall of China on this train trip too! 

 

We paid 45 Yuan ($9 AUD) per person for a hard seat, and purchased these tickets at the Beijing Railway Station.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We stayed at the Jinjiang Inn Hotel in Datong.  The hotel was central and a good place to stay for a short visit to the city.

 

 

The Hanging Monastery/Temple

(60 Yuan ($12AUD) entry fee per person)

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were very impressed with this attraction, and spent a while here admiring the beautiful gardens, frozen lakes and waterfalls and amazing temples hanging on the steep cliffs.  The original temple was constructed by one man - Liao Ran over more than 1600 years ago.

 

 

The Yungnan Grottos

(120 Yuan ($24AUD) entry fee per person, and seniors were able to enter free)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These Grottos were absolutely amazing.  Constructed in the fifth Century AD, some have been reconstructed, however many of them are still in their original state.

 

Pingyao - The ancient great walled city

 

An overnight sleeper train took us from Datong to Pingyao. 

 

(This train ticket was purchased online via www.china-diy-travel.com, your tickets are purchased in China, an E ticket is sent and you pick up the tickets with your passport from any railway station in China.  This trip cost us 220 Yuan ($42AUD) per person, in a four berth soft sleeper + $10 AUD booking fee).

 

 

We arrived at our hotel - Cheng Jia and were welcomed by the family, including their adorable little dog, who we nicknamed 'Nihao'!

 

 

This ancient walled city was founded in the 14th Century and still has a lot of charm.

 

 

 

Within the old city, there are many souvenir shops, restaurants and hotels. 

 

 

 

 

Outside the walls is like any other city, we found the walk around the outside of the walls to be very pleasant. 

 

 

 

Our Oriental Adventure; China!! BEIJING

Beijing (16th - 20th February 2014)

We arrived into chilly Beijing (-4c) at 6.30am local time from our stop over in Kuala Lumpur.

We stayed in the Dongcheng area (Beijing Jade Hotel) which was a 15 minute walk to the nearest metro station, Dongsi.

Wangfujing shopping street was our closest and favourite hangout and was a 5 minute walk from the hotel.

Some great street food was sampled in the Wangfujing street markets (you can't miss the bustling street surrounded by hanging lanterns)

 

 

While having normal Chinese street foods, such as Bings, dumplings and meat skewers, there were also some delicacies for the brave - scorpions, deep fried tarantulas, starfish and lizards, all on sticks (some even still moving!).

 

 

Tianamen Square & The Forbidden PalaceWe started the day with a brisk walk to Tianamen square and stopped off for breakfast - a road side freshly cooked 'Bing'.

Bings are a common street food you will find around China which consist of a pancake filled with herbs, egg, meat and often fried bread or beancurd sheets.

 

 

Onwards to Tianamen square...

 

 

Forbidden city entrance

(Closed on Mondays, 40 Yuan ($8AUD) entrance fee per person)

 

Inside the Forbidden Palace

 

The Great Wall

After being approached by a tout at the forbidden palace the day before, we decided to use her to book a tour of the great wall of China. We paid 300 Yuan ($60 AUD) for four people including car hire and an English speaking guide.

Starting at the vase factory, we were shown how traditional Chinese vases are made and the intricate processes involved.

Opting for the Mutianyu section of the great wall over the Badaling section was a great choice. It is slightly further away from Beijing, however we were rewarded with great photo opportunities and very little tourists.

We paid our 45 Yuan ($9 AUD) for the entrance fee and 80 Yuan ($16 AUD) for the cable car ride up and toboggan ride down, and made our way up to the Great Wall of China.

We climbed around 5 watch towers and were amazed at the long stretch of the wall which you could see fading off into the distance and the amount of work that went into this Chinese icon.

Steps ranged from big to small, leaning to the left and then leaning to the right – however were easy enough for someone of moderate fitness level to climb.

The toboggan ride down was great fun!

(Check out this youtube video someone took while going down!)

http://youtu.be/KXIqqU1voY4

With a couple of extra stops to a silk factory, a tea house and a Chinese medicine centre at the Olympic sports stadium, we had a great day out!

A fantastic end to a great day, was at a nearby restaurant 'Sijiminfu'. (check out our food page).

As Beijing is the home of the famous Peking Duck – this was a must have dish while visiting China's capital. We thoroughly enjoyed this meal and would recommend this place to anyone visiting Beijing.

Hutong Nanluoguxiang & Houhai LakeWe visited this touristy Hutong, it was a lovely walk and had some tasty street food.

 

 

Houhai Lake (Just around the corner) was frozen over and charming. With all the small pubs along the lake, this is an area that comes alive after dark.

 

 

 

We absolutely loved Beijing, with its charm and friendly locals. This was a great place to begin our three weeks of travel through China!