China was a country I had never really considered visiting. It was never on my bucket list and I thought it would be a many few years down the line going to other countries before I got round to China.
However, I had a small window of space where I could take my holidays and after searching several tour companies, the tour that fit my dates happened to be in China.
I did a lot of research beforehand as I was quite nervous about visiting China, especially as it was my first time travelling alone. I was heavily paranoid that I was going to get ill as I had read so many tales online from other people who had visited. So with my backpack rammed full of medicine, I boarded the plane from Manchester to Munich. After a leisurely stroll around the airport, my next flight was to Shanghai Pudong. I flew with Lufthansa who I would recommend as it was a very comfortable flight.
Upon arrival in Shanghai, I picked up my luggage and went to meet my transfer driver. One thing to note in China is that they people are fairly laid-back. So I had searched for a while to find the guy holding my name up to found I had walked past him a few times because he was holding the sign to the floor while playing a game on his phone. He didn't introduce himself, nor did he talk to me for the entire 2 and a half hour taxi ride. Great first impressions of the friendly locals. The journey was supposed to take 40 minutes but the traffic was horrendous therefore taking a lot longer. The driving and roads in Shanghai were insane. People are constantly swerving, the road are about 5 lanes wide and no one on them seems to have a clue which lane they are supposed to be in. Our taxi almost crashed in to a bus at least twice due to the driver continuing to play the aforementioned game on his phone. At some points I almost considered getting out and finding another taxi! After the scariest drive of my life, I finally made it (in one piece, just), to my hotel for the night. The hotel was in a quiet location away from the main hustle and bustle of the city. After a quick shower, I went down to reception to meet the rest of the group and our guide. Most of the travellers had already been on the first half of the tour which was from Beijing to Shanghai, and a few of us had just came for the second half travelling down to Hong Kong. A majority of the group were British, along with a Dutch couple and a Norwegian pair. Our first stop was a dumpling restaurant for a quick bite to eat before catching the bus down to the Bund which is Shanghai's main street. A must-do in the city is a boat cruise down the Huangpu river, which is even more spectacular at night. The cruise lasted around 45 minutes and was an incredible display of the lights on both sides of the city, although the night air was absolutely freezing! The cruise was very busy, mainly with Chinese tourists. A lot of them seemed fascinated to see foreigners and several asked for photos with us. The city's main landmark is the Pearl tower which constantly changes colours.
Once the boat had turned round we could then experience the other side of the river. The Bund has a lot of famous buildings including the Peace Hotel, Waldorf-Astoria hotel, HSBC building, Customs house and several banks & company buildings. The cruise eventually came to an end and we departed the Bund and went back to our hotel for the night.
The following morning the group split up with some going to the zoo and the rest of us going to Shanghai's old town. The Old Town is fairly touristy with a lot of souvenir shops, food outlets and traditional stalls. The area is build like a maze with lots of little streets which adds to its charm. We visited the Yu Garden which is built in a traditional Chinese style. There are several mini temples and buildings within the garden as well as ponds, bridges, pavilions and a giant boulder. It is a lovely, peaceful garden for a stroll and is a bigger on the inside than it looks from the entrance.
We visited on a morning as the garden can get crowded especially around lunch time. After a couple of hours in the garden, we looked around the surrounding shops. There were plenty of food stalls selling everything from steamed buns to ice cream in waffles. The area was really interesting and well worth a visit. After leaving the area we met with the rest of the group for lunch and then some of us headed out to the French quarter of the city for a wander around before meeting with everyone else to go to the train station.
We caught the fast train to Wuyishan which took around 3 hours. The train was immaculately clean, well organised and on-time (three things that you struggle to find on British trains). The train was travelling at 300 km/hour which could be seen on a handy screen above the train door! Fascinating to watch the speed of the train.
It was late by the time we arrived in Wuyishan so we called in a night once we had arrived at the hotel.
However, I had a small window of space where I could take my holidays and after searching several tour companies, the tour that fit my dates happened to be in China.
I did a lot of research beforehand as I was quite nervous about visiting China, especially as it was my first time travelling alone. I was heavily paranoid that I was going to get ill as I had read so many tales online from other people who had visited. So with my backpack rammed full of medicine, I boarded the plane from Manchester to Munich. After a leisurely stroll around the airport, my next flight was to Shanghai Pudong. I flew with Lufthansa who I would recommend as it was a very comfortable flight.
Upon arrival in Shanghai, I picked up my luggage and went to meet my transfer driver. One thing to note in China is that they people are fairly laid-back. So I had searched for a while to find the guy holding my name up to found I had walked past him a few times because he was holding the sign to the floor while playing a game on his phone. He didn't introduce himself, nor did he talk to me for the entire 2 and a half hour taxi ride. Great first impressions of the friendly locals. The journey was supposed to take 40 minutes but the traffic was horrendous therefore taking a lot longer. The driving and roads in Shanghai were insane. People are constantly swerving, the road are about 5 lanes wide and no one on them seems to have a clue which lane they are supposed to be in. Our taxi almost crashed in to a bus at least twice due to the driver continuing to play the aforementioned game on his phone. At some points I almost considered getting out and finding another taxi! After the scariest drive of my life, I finally made it (in one piece, just), to my hotel for the night. The hotel was in a quiet location away from the main hustle and bustle of the city. After a quick shower, I went down to reception to meet the rest of the group and our guide. Most of the travellers had already been on the first half of the tour which was from Beijing to Shanghai, and a few of us had just came for the second half travelling down to Hong Kong. A majority of the group were British, along with a Dutch couple and a Norwegian pair. Our first stop was a dumpling restaurant for a quick bite to eat before catching the bus down to the Bund which is Shanghai's main street. A must-do in the city is a boat cruise down the Huangpu river, which is even more spectacular at night. The cruise lasted around 45 minutes and was an incredible display of the lights on both sides of the city, although the night air was absolutely freezing! The cruise was very busy, mainly with Chinese tourists. A lot of them seemed fascinated to see foreigners and several asked for photos with us. The city's main landmark is the Pearl tower which constantly changes colours. Once the boat had turned round we could then experience the other side of the river. The Bund has a lot of famous buildings including the Peace Hotel, Waldorf-Astoria hotel, HSBC building, Customs house and several banks & company buildings. The cruise eventually came to an end and we departed the Bund and went back to our hotel for the night.
We caught the fast train to Wuyishan which took around 3 hours. The train was immaculately clean, well organised and on-time (three things that you struggle to find on British trains). The train was travelling at 300 km/hour which could be seen on a handy screen above the train door! Fascinating to watch the speed of the train.
It was late by the time we arrived in Wuyishan so we called in a night once we had arrived at the hotel.
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