| Tuesday, July 28 | Flight Bilbao, Spain - Frankfurt, Germany - Shanghai, China |
| Wednesday, July 29 | Arrival SHANGHAI |
| Thursday, July 30 | SHANGHAI |
| Friday, July 31 | SHANGHAI |
| Saturday, August 1 | Flight Shanghai - Zhangjaiaie Drive Zhangjaiaie - WULINGYUAN |
| Sunday, August 2 | WULINGYUAN |
| Monday, August 3 | Drive Wulingyuan - ZHANGJAIJIE |
| Tuesday, August 4 | ZHANGJAIJIE |
| Wednesday, August 5 | Train Zhangjaiaie - FURONG |
| Thursday, August 6 | Train Furong - FENGHUANG |
| Friday, August 7 | Train Fenghuang - CHONGQING |
| Saturday, August 8 | CHONGQING |
| Sunday, August 9 | Train Chongqing - CHENGDU |
| Monday, August 10 | CHENGDU |
| Tuesday, August 11 | CHENGDU |
| Wednesday, August 12 | Train Chengdu - XI'AN |
| Thursday, August 13 | XI'AN |
| Friday, August 14 | Train Xi'an - BEIJING |
| Saturday, August 15 | BEIJING |
| Sunday, August 16 | BEIJING |
| Monday, August 17 | BEIJING |
| Tuesday, August 18 | BEIJING |
| Wednesday, August 19 | Flight Beijing, China - Munich, Germany - Bilbao, Spain |
A COUNTRY I DIDN'T KNOW I WANTED TO VISIT
China was never really on my list of places I wanted to go. Of course, I knew about the Great Wall and the Terracotta Army, but I had never really looked into it, so I had no idea what China might be like. For some reason, it had never been one of those destinations where I thought, I really want to go there.
And then one day... Satcha sent me a travel blog link from a couple who had taken multiple trips to China. I read their posts, looked at the pictures and was amazed at what I saw: the Avatar Mountains, the Grand Canyon, all the towns with waterfalls, the pandas and, of course, the Great Wall.
And that's when I thought,I really want to go there! I got excited about traveling to China with Satcha, Maya and Noa.
We spent more than three weeks traveling around China. And what an interesting three weeks it was! We started in Shanghai and ended in Beijing, with a LOT in between. We traveled on high-speed trains, took domestic flights, cable cars, buses, metros, DiDis, elevators and escalators. We visited enormous modern cities, ancient towns, mountains that looked like they belonged in another world, historic sites that were thousands of years old and, of course, the Great Wall.
China surprised me. Actually, I think that was the theme of the entire trip. I didn't really know what to expect, and maybe because China had never been at the top of my travel wish list, I arrived without many expectations. But there was something interesting around almost every corner.
SO MANY DIFFERENT CHINAS
One thing that really surprised me was how different every place we visited felt.
Shanghai was enormous, modern and futuristic. Standing on the Bund and looking across at Pudong, it was difficult to imagine that this was just our first introduction to China. Skyscrapers stretched as far as we could see, streets were packed with people and even late at night the city was buzzing.
Then we traveled to Zhangjiajie. And suddenly we were surrounded by giant sandstone pillars rising out of the landscape. The Avatar Mountains really were as spectacular as everyone says. Walking through Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, looking out at mountain after mountain disappearing into the distance, felt completely different from anything we had seen in Shanghai only a few days before.
Then there were the ancient towns. Fenghuang, with
it's bridges and traditional buildings lining the river. Furong, with its waterfall running through the middle of town and everything illuminated at night.
And then Chengdu was this huge city when I had somehow expected it to be a small town.
The same with Xi'an. It was a big, bustling city that also had ancient history... and motorbikes driving on the sidewalks, honking at pedestrians walking on the sidewalk to get out of the way.
And Beijing somehow combined EVERYTHING. Ancient temples. Imperial palaces. Huge modern avenues. Crowded shopping streets. The Great Wall.
It really felt as though we were visiting a different version of China every few days.
THE WOW MOMENTS
There were plenty of places during this trip where I just stood there and thought... WOW.
Getting up early to enter Zhangjiajie National Forest Park before the crowds was definitely worth it. The mountains were spectacular, and seeing Avatar Hallelujah Mountain and the incredible views around Yuanjiajie was one of the highlights of the trip.
The Wulingyuan waterfall at night was beautiful.
I did not expect to love the lit-up waterfall at night as much as I did... and then there was the drone show!
The Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon was also a highlight, especially watching Noa go from "I'm not going to do this" to actually doing the zipline... and then LOVING it!
Tianmen Mountain was another completely crazy experience. Cable cars. Six escalators through a mountain to reach Tianmen Cave.
Furong ancient town was fairytale-like. The waterfall, the traditional buildings and all the lights made the whole town look magical.
And of course... THE GREAT WALL. I had been looking forward to seeing the Great Wall, but I wasn't prepared for how spectacular it would actually be. We went to Mutianyu, and after a rainy start to the day, we arrived to perfect weather. No long lines. Straight onto the cable car. And then we hiked from Tower 14 to Tower 23. It was steep. There were A LOT of stairs. But the views were absolutely incredible. The wall stretching over the mountains was one of those sights that photographs really don't do justice to. Definitely one of the best days of the trip.
CHINA DOES TOURISM ON A DIFFERENT LEVEL
One thing I quickly realized is that China knows how to move HUGE numbers of tourists. And there were huge numbers of tourists. The majority were Chinese tourists. EVERYWHERE. But tourist sites were generally incredibly organized. There were clearly marked routes, shuttle buses, security checks, ticket gates and systems for moving people through the attractions.
And sometimes the attractions themselves were on another level too. A glass bridge across a canyon? Sure. A zipline across the canyon? Why not. A giant elevator built into a mountain? Yup. Multiple escalators going through the inside of a mountain? Of course. A slide to go down the Great Wall? Absolutely 😂
China did not seem to believe in doing anything halfway.
THE CROWDS
OK, the crowds. WOW. We had traveled to busy places before, but China in summer was something else. There were people everywhere: Tourist attractions. Metro stations. Shopping streets. Restaurants. Parks. Even late at night.
The Terracotta Army was probably the best example. It was CHAOTIC. So many people trying to get the perfect view and photo of the soldiers. And skipping and pushing in lines to get to the shuttle buses. Luckily, we hired an English-speaking guide who was fantastic and knew exactly where to take us. And despite the crowds, standing in front of thousands of Terracotta Warriors was incredible.
FAMILY TRAVEL... IT'S NOT ALWAYS PERFECT 😂
Of course, traveling for three weeks as a family means spending A LOT of time together. A LOT!
And while there were countless amazing moments,
there were also moments when everyone was tired, hungry, hot or just annoyed at each other. We had our fair share of arguments along the way, including a few in Xi'an and, especially, one rainy day in Beijing when everyone was on edge. The Forbidden City was packed, rain was pouring down, then suddenly the rain cleared, the temperature shot up, and everything became hot and humid. Meanwhile, Maya and Noa were arguing constantly. By the end of the day, I had completely lost my patience.
And then, the next day, we went to the Great Wall. The weather cleared. Everything worked out perfectly. And Maya and Noa got along for the ENTIRE hike. Not one argument. After the previous day, I couldn't believe it 😊
And I think that's a good summary of our family travels: one day I'm wondering why everyone is incapable of being nice to each other. The next day I'm standing somewhere spectacular, everyone is happy, and the previous day's drama is forgotten.
That's family travel. Not always perfect, but somehow, the good moments always win.❤️
CHINESE FOOD... AND PEKING DUCK!
We love trying new food when we travel, and there's always a food memory from our trips. China was no exception.
There was food everywhere. Restaurants everywhere. Street food everywhere. And SO MANY delicious things to try.
The fruit was amazing. We ate lots of watermelon, mangoes and peaches. And of course, lots of rice and noodles. We also tried camel meat sticks, potato towers and delicious door nail meat pies.
And, of course... PEKING DUCK. Obviously, I waited until Beijing to try it. And then I ate it THREE TIMES IN FIVE DAYS 😁 It was delicious every single time. Peking Duck definitely deserves a place on my list of favorite foods from the trip!
THINGS THAT SURPRISED ME
China was interesting not just because of the famous sights, but also because of all the little everyday things I noticed.
- Everyone seemed to be on their phones. ALL THE TIME - Walking, Eating, Waiting, Driving, Everywhere.
- Everything was paid for electronically. Alipay became essential to our trip.
- Electric cars were everywhere.
- Scooters and motorbikes were everywhere too, including on sidewalks!
- There were hot water dispensers (not cold water!) everywhere—in the streets, in train stations, metro stations and even on trains.
- There were power bank rental stations everywhere.
- People were incredibly friendly and sometimes wanted to practice their English with us or take pictures with Maya and Noa because "they are so beautiful."
And some things just reminded me how different everyday life can be in another part of the world.
THREE WEEKS, NINE DESTINATIONS AND A LOT OF MEMORIES
When I look back at our itinerary now, it seems a little crazy how much we managed to see: Shanghai, Wulingyuan, Zhangjiajie, Furong, Fenghuang, Chongqing, Chengdu, Xi'an and Beijing. We crossed China from futuristic skylines to ancient villages. From the Avatar Mountains to giant cities. From pandas to the Terracotta Army. From Tianmen Mountain to the Great Wall. And somewhere in between, we rode countless trains, learned how to use Chinese apps, ate lots of new food, navigated enormous metro systems and tried to understand a country that was completely different from anywhere we had traveled before. China had never been on my list. But maybe that's one of the reasons the trip was such a surprise. Every destination, every experience and every strange little observation was something new.
And by the time we left, I realized just how little I had known about China before arriving. It is enormous. Modern. Ancient. Beautiful. Chaotic. Organized. Fascinating.
And impossible to summarize with just one impression. China surprised me in the best possible way.
And after three weeks, nine destinations and seeing only a tiny fraction of this enormous country, I left feeling like we had experienced something completely different from anywhere else in the world.
FROM "NOT ON MY LIST" TO ABSOLUTELY!
Would I have put China on my travel wish list before this trip? Probably not.
Am I glad we chose to go? ABSOLUTELY.
🇨🇳❤️
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