Business travels Q1

The only thing I saw in Nanjing - snow and factories.

Chongqing was slightly better. True blue chongqing hotpot. Don't even try to identify what's in the picture...

Beijing was good to me with the blue sky. Distinctive night restaurant street. Peking duck instant pack from the airport.

Zhou Zhuang 周庄 (29-30 Dec 2013)

Zhou Zhuang - a popular day trip out of Shanghai city ~1+ hour drive. Charming ancient water town, though some might say it's becoming too commercialised. I didn't really find it an issue. Love how the Starbucks totally fit the "ancient" theme. Since the folks were in town for the New Year, we decided to stay a night with Tasha in tow. Accommodation was quite traditional and it was freezing cold. Enjoyable nonetheless and I felt I was taken way back in time..

Banyan Tree Hangzhou (Dec 2013)

Sweet birthday treat in Hangzhou at Banyan Tree. Very charming and tasteful hotel with huge rooms. Really loved it. Felt thoroughly refreshed! (Shanghai air was particularly bad in 2013)

The weather was so good we rode the hotel bikes (free I think) in our winter coats round the Xixi National Wetland Park 西溪湿地 :) Absolutely easy and pleasant. Haven't done this in awhile! Away from the city and into nature. 

The popular Impression West Lake Show by Zhang Yimou was good but we were seriously freezing our asses off! It must have been a torture for the performers splishing and splashing in the waters :o Anyway it's worth a go. There are deals on the tickets so make sure you try to find some discounts off regular prices. Boat seats are at a premium but they seem further away from the "stage". Though might be worth the investment during winter!

Also worth a visit is the city centre market street. Rather vibrant with small hawker-style eateries on one end. Overall a nice getaway =)

Sanqingshan 三清山 (26-28Oct 2013)

Went on a 3-day department outing which first brought us to a grottoes (石窟) attraction. The first photo shows how a grotto looks like on the surface and the 2nd shows what lies beneath, which were all under water until their discovery. It sure took a long while to empty the water! Even after decades of research, no one really knew the exact purpose of these grottoes. Every explanation explored returned with more questions and doubts. Some said they were meant to hide treasures, others said they were used for secret military training, and so on. Just something to ponder on...

Our destination - a UNESCO World Heritage site called Mount Sanqingshan (三清山) National Park - is the actual highlight of the trip. Took us a brutal 8 hrs' drive including stopovers. But it was absolutely worth the while.

"Mount Sanqingshan National Park, a 22,950 ha property located in the west of the Huyaiyu mountain range in the northeast of Jiangxi Province (in the east of central China) has been inscribed for its exceptional scenic quality, marked by the concentration of fantastically shaped pillars and peaks: 48 granite peaks and 89 granite pillars, many of which resemble human or animal silhouettes. The natural beauty of the 1,817 metre high Mount Huaiyu is further enhanced by the juxtaposition of granite features with the vegetation and particular meteorological conditions which make for an ever-changing and arresting landscape with bright halos on clouds and white rainbows. The area is subject to a combination of subtropical monsoonal and maritime influences and forms an island of temperate forest above the surrounding subtropical landscape. It also features forests and numerous waterfalls, some of them 60 metres in height, lakes and springs."
- Unesco website

Can you see the pathway meandering along the mountains? Definitely not for the faint-hearted!! But I loved every minute of it. My first experience climbing Chinese mountains and I was awed beyond words. Such natural beauty~ I couldn't stop snapping photos during our 6-hour hike. Also thoroughly enjoyed our tea session in the very poetic setting.

This was an excellent trip. Never knew my love for hiking!

Huzhou Oct 2013

S read about the newly built donut-shaped hotel in Huzhou and decided to bring me and the parents for a trip. Easy drive from Shanghai - about 2+ hrs out if I remember correctly. The Sheraton Huzhou Hot Spring Resort is architecturally unique, shaped in this way so that every room would have a view of the Taihu Lake. The parents were very much inspired to paint, and by some stroke of coincidence/fate, even gifted a painting to the hotel manager! Lucky him. We did receive a beautiful hotel souvenir and champagne treat in return. Nothing much in the vicinity except the nearby Nanxun Ancient Water Town (南浔古镇). Just a short but enjoyable walkabout. Little Lady luck was with us while we deliberated on 4D (Singapore's lottery) over brekkie ;) Golf was pretty good too!

Xi Tang 西塘 (25Jun13)

Day trip out of Shanghai about an hour and a half drive away. One of the numerous ancient water towns on the outskirts of Shanghai, very accessible and not too commercialised in my opinion. Or maybe because I was there on an weekday so the walk-around was rather calming and well appreciated. Apparently a short scene in Mission Impossible was shot here! I'm surprised the vendors here didn't quite capitalise on that. Try taking a ride on the trishaw through the ultra narrow alleyways. Commendable effort from the aged trishaw uncle. Do tip a little more. Lastly, don't miss the cool sculptures hand carved from humongous tree barks.