Travelling (Niamh)

Over the past 8 weeks I’ve travelled all over China, having visited Shanghai, Zhangjiajie, Chongqing, Chengdu, Xi’an, and Hong Kong. Throughout the holiday I tried many new things, such as fried crickets, ziplining over a grand canyon, slow speed trains, and so much more.

Shanghai

My holiday started off in Shanghai, where we visited an ancient fishing town, viewed the city skyline at night, went to temples, lantern displays, and lots of gift shops.

The view of all the buildings lit up at the waterfront at night is totally surreal, the colours of the lights displayed on massive towering buildings is totally unparalleled with the Bund taking center stage. The promenade practically comes alive at night with people selling either professional style photos, river cruises, or street food.

The ancient fishing town provides a stark contrast to the bustle of the city center. The winding river was lined with all kinds of old style buildings, selling teas, food and anything else a tourist might need.

One day we found ourselves exploring a couple of temples in the city, with the smell of incense filling the air. We were able to view many of the gold statues of various Buddhas, stare in awe at the innate architecture, and stop to watch some cats!

Zhangjiajie

Next we moved onto Zhangjiajie, a city nestled in between mountains. We spent 3 full days amongst monkeys, up the very tops of mountains, and at the bottom of valleys.

When we arrived in Zhangjiajie, it seemed to take ages to find our accommodation, which ended up being nestled at the back of a street. However the lovely woman who ran the hostel was very accommodating and even helped me with my bags.

Over the next 3 days we would stop by the same small restaurant to have breakfast or lunch. It could maybe sit about 20 people maximum so with six of us in it felt pretty packed. The couple who ran the place couldn't speak English so it was a perfect opportunity to practice our Chinese.

The landscape of Zhangjiajie is totally surreal. On day one we took a cable car up to the peak of Tian Men mountain, where for the first time in a while we actually saw snow. The next day it was onto the national park to see the mountains that inspired Avatar. The views were spectacular, I could see for miles and miles, and for an added bonus the park is full of monkeys that are free to roam! On our final full day, we visited the Grand Canyon where we walked across a glass bridge, went on a zipline, and did a 5K walk.

Although the city itself was relatively quiet due to it being off season, the scenery definitely made up for it.

Chongqing

The journey into the city seemed to drag on for hours as we had booked hard seats for the slow speed train. That ment that for the next 5 hours I sat in a carriage full of Chinese people, who asked me so many questions about what I was doing in China and where I was going.

Once the train arrived and we all reconvened we made our way to our accommodation, which even though appeared to be on the 8th floor, was actually at least 10 floors higher!

All in all Chongqing is an amazing place to be, we got to see subway trains going through buildings, the city lit up at night with an orange glow, and on a cable car across the river!

Chengdu

Pandas, pandas, and more pandas! While in Chengdu at night we went to various buildings that glow in the night sky with vibrant light displays.

Our second day in Chongqing we spent a lot of the day at the panda research center, and we got to see pandas eating, sleeping, playing, and even up trees. That evening we went out for food to a small concession stand that made a sort of meat pie for only 6 yuan (about 70p).

A couple days later 2 of us went back to the panda research base to try and spot Hua Hua the panda. She is famous all across Chinese social media for being shaped like a triangle! After over an hour waiting we finally managed to spot her!

Xi’an

The ancient capital of China definitely lived up to expectations.

While away we went  to visit the drum tower, the bell tower, the muslim quarter, the city wall, and of course the Terracotta Warriors.

The city itself had so much to do in it, I think a week would have been a good amount of time to stay for, however I could say that for any of the places I visited.

The Terracotta Warriors were about an hour away by taxi, and when we got out we were practically bombarded by tour guides offering to take us around the area. After we swatted them off and got into the park, and made it to the warriors themselves it felt totally surreal as there were so many of them, all life sized as well!

Hong Kong

After I had returned to Tianjin for about a week I then set off again to go to meet my parents in Hong Kong.

I flew down early in the morning and waited in the airport for their flight to arrive. It was the first time I had seen them in 5 months and I was very happy to see them in person.

While in Hong Kong we went to many places such as Victoria Peak, the promenade at Tsim Sha Tsui, and Ngong Ping village. I also got partially sunburned for the first time in a while.

While we went about Hong Kong the views were absolutely astonishing, with so many trees, plants and greenery everywhere we looked. I have so much I want to say about Hong Kong that I think I would have to write another blog entirely.