Introduction:
To say I was excited to begin this adventure would be an understatement. My first ever trip to Asia, let alone China! To be a part of this experience with Wendy Wu Tours was an honour, and I was so grateful for the opportunity.
Day One: Departure from UK
Day one began by meeting at Heathrow Airport, where the wonderful Wendy Wu Tours hosts were waiting to help us check in seamlessly. Then we took our seats on board our Air China plane, ready for our overnight flight.
Day Two: Arrival in China
The night flight went by quite quickly, and we had now landed in Chengdu. Before we knew it, we were on the bus transferring to Chengdu Dong Train Station to board the bullet train to Chongqing. The bullet train was amazing! Something I was looking forward to, and it did not disappoint. Its futuristic-looking exterior, its spacious, comfy seats and of course its crazy speed. Up to 350 kmph! Unsurprisingly, at this speed, it wasn’t long until we had arrived in Chongqing, where we transferred to our hotel, Chongqing Ronghui Grand Hotel. Grand by name, grand by nature. As soon as you entered the lobby, it was so bright, spacious and classy. We found our bedrooms and got some much-needed rest ahead of an early start to begin our exploration of Chongqing.
Day Three: Tong Nan, Lemon Factory & Dazu Rock Carvings
The day began with a group breakfast and morning briefing. The brilliant Wendy Wu hosts detailed our exciting itinerary for the day ahead. Then it was onto the bus to our first stop. Our English-speaking local tour guide, Jeff, fed us lots of information about the local area, packed full of humour and stories of translation blunders he had made in the past. He had the whole bus laughing. The ancient town of Tong Nan was our first stop, where we were greeted by a festival-style welcome. It was brilliant! Large numbers of local people were gathered together to welcome us to their home town. What an amazing experience! Dancers, live music and traditional Chinese dragon dancing. All the locals were waving as we walked the streets, so happy to see us and welcome us to their town. Next was a pit stop at a lemon factory. Here we learned all about how the Chongqing lemon factory is the 6th largest in the world, and we even got to try some lemon treats and drinks. It was lovely!
Now it’s lunchtime. Wow! What an experience. One large table (sitting up to 21 people) with a lazy Susan which rotated all of the lovely food. We would take what we fancy and drop it into our personal hot pots to cook. The flavours were amazing! – unlike my chopstick skills. Our afternoon trip took us to Dazu District to enjoy a screening of the 8k dome film “Dazu Rock Carvings” followed by a visit to the Baoding Mountain Rock Carvings themselves. They were so captivating, the history, the art and the stories told in each sculpture. Next up was more food as we tucked into our evening meal. Post dinner, we were treated to an opera performance. Full of bright lights, great singing and even better costumes. A great experience and conclusion to the day!
Day Four: Pandas, Hot Pot Museum & Yangtze River Cruise
After breakfast, we headed to the Chongqing Panda Sanctuary to see the famous Giant Panda. A very exciting morning! The much-anticipated creatures did not disappoint, and they very much put on a show. Using almost all of their facilities, they seemed so welcoming to us in their own way. I managed to get some great pictures and loved every second of watching these fascinating creatures. Next was the hot pot museum, which gave us the history behind the famous meal in China and showed us the process of packing the ingredients, too. Very interesting.
The lunchtime experience was a surprise to me, in a very good way! It was a banquet with a professional performance between each course. The performers were amazing and totally in sync with every move they made. It even had an interactive performance to finish, where we were given sticks to hit together to create a brilliant atmosphere. Everyone got involved and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. An unforgettable experience for sure! Next on the agenda was to climb a 520m building in Chongqing to take in the views of the city skyline. Wow! Straight after the skyscraper, it was to the cable car, which travelled across the Yangtze River, providing even more incredible views of the surrounding area. The evening included an amazing river cruise on the Yangtze River. In the darkness of the evening, the bright lights were so radiant and beautiful all around. There was even an incredible drone show where hundreds of drones lit up the sky to create various shapes for us to enjoy. They were truly captivating, and I was taken aback by the shapes and images they were able to create. To conclude the evening, it was a relaxing trip to the famous natural hot springs. With a wide selection of temperatures from 18 to 44 degrees, there was also a selection of more uncommon options, such as red wine and milk pools! A great experience and a must-do to wind down after a long day exploring!
Day Five: Travel Conference, Ancient Town & 1949 Show
Today was conference day, packed full of various travel personnel from around the world. This is where we spent most of the morning. The afternoon was spent exploring a 1000-year-old town. It was great as there was so much to see. One of the stalls was selling insects and bugs on a stick for you to buy and eat. I personally didn’t fancy that. I did, however, enjoy a beer from the street beer tap. At about £1.50 for a beer, I couldn’t say no! Next up, we were treated to an incredible show called 1949. The choreography and stage setup were like nothing I have seen before. A 360-degree rotating seating area gave us a view from all angles. The scenes would transition seamlessly as the stage rotated to show a new angle for the next scene. An unbelievable performance and like nothing I have experienced before.
Day Six: Shizhu, Traditional Lunch & Benghui Mountains
Time to change the hotels as we venture 1000m above sea level into the Chongqing mountains. It required a very early start to catch the bullet train to take us just over 300km in just over an hour. We arrived in Shizhu and were welcomed with another performance. We then ventured up the mountains for some spectacular views. So many trees, rock formations and of course, a super friendly welcome. Everywhere you walked, you could find live music being played on traditional instruments. It created the perfect soundtrack for the tranquil natural beauty we had in front of us. For lunch, we sat in a traditional Chinese square and sat at small tables on even smaller wooden chairs. In groups of 8, we all tucked into the variety of food which was brought out for us to enjoy. While we eat, various performers would sing and dance. Then, after food, we all joined in a traditional Chinese post-meal dance around a bonfire. I gave it a good go, but I was massively out of sync. It took me quite a few attempts to catch on to each move. Not sure, strictly come dancing will be on my bingo card anytime soon!
The afternoon/early evening was spent in Pengshui County. Another amazing traditional mountainous area. Offering spectacular Chinese buildings, especially as darkness fell. Each building lit up to make for spectacular viewing. Deeper into the evening was our second river cruise of the trip. This one offered a bridge show. There was a water spray fired out from the bridge and bright lights to light up the spray to create a beautiful display. Even the tower buildings on either side of the bridge shot rays of light to add to the display. It was beautiful.
Day Seven: Three Brigdes Scenic Area & Chongqing
Our last day in Chongqing. The day began with a visit to the world heritage site of Tiansheng Three Bridges Scenic Area. Wow. What an amazing area. There have been some famous films filmed here, including Transformers and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The sheer size and beauty of this area was truly breathtaking. There were plenty of small waterfalls scattered across the cliff faces. There was a constant fog along the top, which only added to the mystique of the location. This place is definitely worth a visit. In the afternoon, we gathered together in a room to share our concluding thoughts and final time together with everyone. In the evening, we had free time to head out and explore Chongqing one last time before we left for Shanghai.
Day Eight: Shanghai & Huangpu River Cruise
Today was Shanghai day! We travelled from the hotel to Chongqing airport to take our direct flight to Shanghai with Air China. After 2.5 hours, touchdown in Shanghai. I was rather excited about Shanghai, having seen many pictures before I arrived, and it did not disappoint! Bright lights and tall buildings made for a beautiful evening view. After we checked into the hotel, we enjoyed a lovely meal together before boarding our river cruise ship. As we cruised down the river, we took in spectacular scenery. In particular, the famous Shanghai Tower was breathtaking as you could just about see the top through the cloud – yes, it’s big!
Day Nine: Shanghai Tower, Chinese Market & Jade Buddha Temple
Today, it was time to venture up the famous Shanghai Tower. To get to the top, we would experience the world’s fastest elevator. We would reach speeds of 45.8 mph as we shot to the top. Luckily for me, I don’t struggle with a fear of heights as the Shanghai Tower is the third-highest building in the world, standing at 632m. The views were brilliant! After this, it was time to walk along the bund. From this side of the river, we could look back across to see the Shanghai tower that we had just climbed. Next, we had a look around the local Chinese market area, where, of course, I picked up my fridge magnet! (My collection is getting bigger and bigger!) Next, we enjoyed taking a look around the Jade Buddha Temple. Luckily for us, it was not a super busy location, which allowed us to fully take in the tranquillity of the place. Many locals could be seen taking a knee to pray to the large and impressive Buddha statues.
Day Ten: Maglev Train, French Quarter & Hotel Spa
The morning began with a trip on the Maglev train. A magnetic-powered high-speed train that would take us a distance of 29km in just 7 minutes! The Maglev train has the ability to reach speeds of up to 600 kmph! However, we would not experience these ridiculous speeds as the train would run off track before it could stop if we did! Utterly mind-blowing technology. The journey on board - wow! The speed was amazing and really emphasised when the two Maglev trains passed each other with a bang. As there are slight bends in the track, you could feel the train leaning. Loved it! Next up was the French Quarter, which was a lovely, quaint location full of Western food brands. The smell of a burger wasn’t something we had not enjoyed for over a week now! The afternoon was a relaxed one; we had some free time to relax and get ourselves ready for our evening flight. I opted to test out the Sheraton spa and have my first-ever massage. It was great and I can see why so many people enjoy it to relax. Especially ahead of our overnight flight.
Concluding thoughts:
China was amazing! Since returning from this experience with Wendy Wu Tours, I have really struggled to put into words exactly how good it was. I feel so lucky to have been able to experience the culture, the food, the high-speed trains, and so much more! I would definitely recommend a visit to China to anyone. At no point did I ever feel unsafe; the people were so hospitable and happy. The landscapes and natural areas around Chongqing were truly breathtaking. Chongqing has a population of 32 million people, yet it was never crowded. It is certainly an up-and-coming holiday destination and is definitely worth a visit! Thank you to everyone who made this experience possible.
