Exploring, hiking, camping and Chinese culture!

Hey guys! Damn, such a weird feeling right now. Reminiscing over the past (almost) two years, panicking that the “end” is coming close and also just mentally preparing myself to go back to England eventually. I know it’s only May, but once you live abroad you realise just how quick months, weeks, days go by – so the end of June or potentially July feels very close in my eyes! Anyway, not to worry!

Firstly, it definitely isn’t the “end”. China will always be a home for me, be in my heart and part of my identity. I’ve grown so much over the past two years whilst living in China. I feel like a completely different person. A big part of this has been independence and through my travelling and seeing more of the world. It’s inevitable that when you experience other cultures, learn new languages, eat different food and create connections with people from all different sorts of backgrounds; that you are going to grow and broaden your horizon. I’m very fortunate for this. Also, I plan to return to China. That’s for sure. I just want to get qualified as a teacher first.

Secondly, I’m making the most of my remaining time! I am seeing everything in Shanghai I want to see before I leave, and also getting my travels booked and sorted. I have Taiwan, Singapore, Beijing with my cousin and Penang, Malaysia on the cards. Also, I plan to extend my visa and travel China (Yunnan and Sichuan) during July.

Anyway, I’m waffling on a bit now. Let me tell you about my exciting week and long May Day (Labour Day) holiday weekend. Work was fine last week; it flew by as usual. The weather is officially sunny and hot now (hot in English terms but not in Chinese terms) and I love it!

Friday came and after my morning Chinese class, my friend Andru and I met up. We planned to follow my Explore Shanghai book and do the Xujiahui walking route. It was so lovely, we discovered Xu Guangqi who has a statue and beautiful park rightfully dedicated to him in Xujiahui, Shanghai. He was an astronomer and mathematician. He was particularly important in regards to creating a bridge between the West and East in regard to science. His park is beautiful and such a hidden gem. Tucked away in the busy, developed area that is Xujiahui is a cute, lovely park. It’s green, with artistic statues around, a lake and a mini museum too taking us through the history of Xu. It really is remarkable.

After this, we headed on a short taxi ride to Longhua Pagoda and Temple. As the oldest and largest temple in Shanghai, it was vast and beautiful. Andru and I had such a spiritual, deep walk around the temple; whilst ourselves talking about religion, life, theories and deep topics.

After this, we headed over to the very close by Longhua Revolutionary Martyrs Cemetery. This is a huge, beautiful park-style and memorial area for those who gave their lives for Socialism in China. Whether it was a good cause or not, these people still died for a cause. It was touching to see individual photographs of them in the cemetery, amongst the greenery and nature. We lay on the grass for a bit and chilled before calling it a day and grabbing a coffee. It had been a beautiful day.

So, the next morning was a very early start. Andru and I had booked a trip with Wanna Travel to the very East of China. We would be driving the next morning for almost eight hours before arriving to our destination. The ride was a journey worth every second once we all arrived. It was so refreshing to get out of Shanghai. A literal breath of fresh air! We arrived for a late lunch and then explored a dormant volcano in Linhai, Zhejiang Province. It was beautiful scenery and I still remember the sweet smell of tea around me. There were tea leaves growing. The dead volcano was interesting. It’s very old and ancient and had left interesting patterns in the nature. A new friend and I went off the beaten track and climbed around for a bit, chatting about life.

After this we headed to where we would be staying that night before heading to the mountain area early the next morning. Our cabin was so cute. It was wooden, cosy, comfortable and had a great shower. We got to know some new friends, had a scrumptious Chinese dinner and got some good rest that night. I slept like a baby!

So, the next day we headed to the Kuocang Mountain ready for our 6-hour hike. We passed the Linhai village on the way which was lovely and arrived to the hiking location; which was BEAUTIFUL. Truly scenic, natural, rivers, bbq’s all around, hills, Chinese villages, mountains, blue skies and a shining sun. It was so beautiful. The whole day was amazing. Views upon views. The hike was pretty tough, especially with so many steeps steps. But every step was worth it for the view at the end. I love hiking. It’s like a metaphor of life. Nothing comes easy, but those things that are tough usually reap the highest rewards. Through the force, effort and sweat of hiking the mountain, every view was truly astounding and immediately acted as an overriding reward for the hard work.

So, after a truly wonderful day of hiking, and getting to know new people we arrived to the camping destination. I’ve never camped in a tent before, can you believe it? So, this was my first camping experience! After sort of taking in the BREATHTAKING views we freshened up and all went to a nice, quiet spot to enjoy the sunset before having a party and BBQ. The sunset was beautiful. I love seeing the sunset. I feel like it’s life saying goodnight to you, glad you had a nice day and remember life is beautiful, and it goes on.

So, we had the most scrumptious and biggest BBQ ever – literally a FEAST. It was so much fun to eat loads, drink some beers and have a bonfire with sparklers. We were all aching and exhausted so slept by 10pm. Plus, we would be waking up for the sunrise at 5:15am!

Sunrise was REMARKABLE. Truly amazing. I thought the sun couldn’t get any more beautiful, and then she rose again. The atmosphere was amazing too. Everyone woke up to appreciate natures beauty. The sky was pink, and developed in so many colours until the sun was well and truly shining on us all. The sun smiled and winked at us, almost saying “enjoy me today!”

It was another lovely hot day, and our last day of the trip before we would be driving back to Shanghai. We went to the Southern Great Wall also known as the Jiangnan Great Wall. It was pretty remarkable and built before the Great Wall of China. Of course it has been reconstructed and preserved, this doesn’t change the historical and ancient feel of it all. It was such a beautiful, green and peaceful walk along. We stopped by at a temple and other awesome monuments. The end of the 6/7km remains of the wall led us to a beautiful park. The park was surrounded by lakes, peacocks were around and lots of nature. It was lovely. However, we were tired and hungry so once our final Chinese lunch came around we were ready for the six-hour drive back to Shanghai.

It had been an absolutely amazing and nature-filled trip. Not to mention lots of geography, history, Chinese culture, scenic sights and new friends!

I’ll be in touch!

Sabrina Xxx