Hello everyone! I am going to be sharing about my trip to China. Some of you have been following my blog and I appreciate it so much and hope you continue to enjoy what I write. And if you are new, welcome! I hope you like what you read and check back to see what I have to share.
Getting to China
So I am China right now!!! I flew early Sunday morning with my brother. He is here teaching a course at 2 different schools, one in Nanchang and one in Zhengzhou. We decided to fly into Beijing and see Mutianyu Great Wall and then take the high speed train to Zhengzhou. The whole airport trip was 22 hours. We got to Vancouver around 10 am and had some time to kill before our last flight. We decided to rent a car and drive around a bit. I loved Vancouver and want to go back someday to explore this city a bit more! But now back to my trip to China.
Our flight to Beijing was not quite 11 hours. But it was the longest 11 hours of my life. We got 2 free meals on the plane and a sandwich. The food was okay but not the best I have eaten. I watched a lot of movies and tried to sleep. I had an isle seat which wasn’t very comfortable. When we landed I felt exhausted, slightly sick, hungry and like I might pass out. We landed at 3:30pm local time on Monday while it was only 4:30am back in Eastern Canada where we flew from.
My First Evening in China
By 5pm, we were out of the airport and on the subway headed to our hotel. The subway station was right across the street from our hotel, the Atour. It was a super nice hotel. The staff was very friendly and they gave us a cup of tea while we checked in. I like to think of myself as a tea expert and this tea was delicious. Then we walked down the street to get food. We got some dumplings which were in broth with green onions. I love dumplings and these didn’t disappoint! Back at the hotel, I took a shower and passed out.
My Trip to China: First Experience Riding the Subway
We woke up early the next morning and went out and bought train tickets for our trip that evening to Zhengzhou. Back at the hotel, breakfast was interesting. There was fruit, many kinds of juices, rice, noodles, a whole selection of steamed buns, veggies and pastries. I had some deep fried rings not sure what was in them, watermelon, pastries, fried dough stick, bok choy, eggs with mushrooms (or fungus as they call it) and hawthorn juice. I loved the juice!
Then we took the subway to the bus station after leaving our luggage safely at the hotel. The subway was a funny experience. There is no personal space, everyone pushes and shoves and walks very fast. And when the subway doors open it’s like “how many people can you fit on a subway?” It already looks so full and yet they manage to cram even more people on. However I have had a few people offer me a seat while riding so they are really polite.
We hopped on a bus at the bus station and rode on the highways. As we approached the mountains, you could see in the distance the cold in the air. It looked like fog. It was strange because where we were was blue and sunny. We took a bus almost to the great wall and then took a taxi the rest of the way. The taxi driver was very nice. Using a translating app, he said he would take us to the wall and then wait for us after and take us back to catch the bus. We bought tickets to the great wall and took a shuttle to where the stairs were we had to climb to get onto the wall.
My Trip to China: The Great Wall
The climb was probably the most strenuous thing I have done in a long time. My lungs were aching before we had gone very far. We climbed the stairs up to the great wall, pausing every now and then to take a breather, rest the legs and take in the view. Once we got to the wall, it was a bit easier but there was still stairs and steep inclines and a few spots where it sloped down. The mountains were incredible and the trees were changing color which added a whole new level of beauty. It was a long exhausting climb but I made it! Then coming down was a whole other battle. My calves and knees felt the strain as we descended. The views coming down were just as good. Here are some pictures I took along the way. It was so hard to pick just a few!
When we got to the bottom we ate at a little restaurant. We got spicy beef, fried eggplant, and fried dumplings. I love all the dumplings! Then we went to meet our taxi driver who took us back to the spot to catch our bus. Once back at the hotel we collected our luggage and went to the high speed train station. The high speed train was a cool experience! When you were in your seat, it didn’t feel that fast but walking around you could feel it moving. I fell asleep for most of the ride as jet lag was getting to me. When we got to the train station in Zhengzhou, our hotel was right across the street. I didn’t sleep well that night, maybe only 3 hours.
Connecting with me:
Well, if you’ve made it this far, thank you! Thank you for reading. If you want to keep reading about my trip to China, I will try to post updates a few times a week. If you want to know when I post new content, follow me on Instagram and if you don’t have instagram, you can like my Facebook page. I post on there when I have a new blog post! And if you have neither of these, let me know and I can send you an email! Or else, just keep checking back ๐ Any questions, feel free to ask and any requests for pictures etc. and I will try my best to get them for you!
In the meantime, check out another of my travel posts.
Lindsay says
Loved reading this! Looking forward to new blogs ๐
Catherine says
Thanks, I’m working on another one now ๐
Stella says
I love your blog!!! You are so adventurous. Way to go Catherine๐
Catherine says
Thank you Stella <3