Best Destinations
There are so many amazing places to visit in China and it can feel a little overwhelming deciding what you want to do with short amount of time. When I had free time in Beijing, and Shanghai I tried to spend my time wisely and see unique things.
In China, many locals and tourists seek out the best dishes of traditional Chinese meals, while in Beijing I was able to try some of these unique dishes. The first was Hot Pot, this dish is similar fondue in America. When I had it, my group of six had four separate broths to share, tomato soup, mushroom, Thai, and spicy. We had a local who ordered our food for us to get that authentic feel, for the meats she orders, beef, shrimp, donkey, squid, esophagus, stomach lining, liver, and much more. Except for the foods I was scared to eat, this was one of the best meals in had in China.
The night view of Shanghai is not to be missed, this city is very technologically savvy and implement it in so many unique ways. The night we arrived in Shanghai; our group was given the option to go on a night Huangpu River tour. During the boat ride, we were able to see old traditional Chinese buildings, compared to their newly developed buildings (Old Shanghai and New Shanghai). The old Shanghai buildings shows the influence Europe had on the architecture and survived bombing from the Japanese in WW2. The new Shanghai was full of bright lights with buildings doing a synchronized show. Another place we went to admire the view from a rooftop bar called The Vue. This rooftop was on the top of a very high building, giving us the perfect opportunity to view the night skyline of Shanghai.
For my last free day on the trip a few people and I decided to visit a unique place, Zhouzhuang Water Town. From the hotel in Shanghai, it took us an hour and a half on a subway and a half an hour walk to reach the water town. Once we arrived I immediately noticed the poverty, like other areas around China. There were many small alleyways we walked through full of vendors selling items outside of their homes. Once we reached the water, the poverty level changed to have a very modern feeling, including a few restaurants and a Starbucks. My group decided to purchase a pass that would get us into all of “attractions” of the town which included many museums, a temple with a koi pond, and a boat ride through the canals. The best part was riding on the boat and admiring the view.
After our last group meeting on our last day in China, many people decided to go to Karaoke. At the Karaoke Lounge we went to, you had to make a reserve a whole room for your party, filled with leather couches and a sleek design. Although I can’t sing for the life or me, we were all having a good time celebrating the trip. Shanghai has a very vibrant karaoke scene with many of the bars being hidden in the city’s tallest skyscrapers.
I was very thrilled by the amount of free time we had on our trip, this let me explore and discover the culture better. Visiting each of these places really opened my eyes on how diverse the country is, every place in China has a different vibe and way of doing things. I wouldn’t have been able to experience all that I did with IBS. Traveling in a group to all of these places and activities helped me feel secure and safe in a new country without missing out on anything.