Pingyao

From Hua Shan, we decided to do it the local way of travelling by long distance buses as there is no direct train connection. From our hostel, we took a cab to the Expressway where we waited by the roadside with locals for a bus that will take us to Shanxi Provience.

After 20 minutes, one local flagged down our bus and hurried everyone. Turns out that buses were not allowed to stop along the expressway legally. We had to run with the moving bus and jumped on it with our backpacks! As there were no more seats left on the bus, we had to sit in the middle alley on the floor. After one hour, the driver chased some passengers including April, off the bus. Before we had anytime to react, the door closed and Marc was left with the bags on the moving bus. April was forced to follow the locals as they made their way towards a taxi. It was only then April realised that the bus was overcrowded and an inspector was approaching for checks. April and Marc were finally reunited after the checkpoint.

When we thought that our little misadventure had passed, our driver calming told us after another 3 hours that they have forgotten to drop us at our destination! We found ourselves again on a Expressway. Finally, we found a local bus that brought us finally to Pingyao.

We were rewarded with a nice youth hostel within the traffic-free city wall. Pingyao was built in the 18th Century during the Jin and Shang Dynasty.

 

The following day we explored the numerous historical houses which all have nice courtyards like the ones you see in Chinese movies. The village can be covered within a day and so we will be leaving tomorrow for Shanghai.

   

   

Hua Shan – Sacred Mountain

As if being a backpacker is not tough enough, April suggested that we do some exercise by climbing one of the Taoism five sacred mountains in China.

After a hearty local breakfast, we started at 6am our ascend from the west side of Hua Shan mountain. The first two hours were relatively easy but once the steps became steeper and more frequent, we bypassed many quitters who were just contented to be at the top of the cable car station. For us, the real climb started here. We were determined to get to the South Peak (2160m), the highest point of Hua Shan. As it is a sacred mountain, many local believed that by placing a golden lock engraved with their wish, it will be blessed.

   

As you know us, we took the most challenging way – the cliffhanger passage. Dangling from a harness on top of a 1000m high vertical wall, we had the most breath taking view.

   

Tired but happy that we conquered the summit, we placed our golden lock with our wish at the highest point.

   

Terracotta Warriors in Xi An

You might have seen these warriors in magazines or on TV before. In the early 70s, 8000 terracotta warriors, horses and bronze weapons from the Qin Dynasty were discovered by a local farmer while drilling for a well. Emperor Qin Shihuang believed that he will maintain his powers in his after lives and therefore ordered his men to built this army to be buried with him. Nowadays, it is listed as an UNESCO World Heritage Site and is known as the Eighth Wonder of the World.

   

Together with our new found travel mates, we spent the whole day at this site. Unfortunately, it was time to bid our Israeli and Polish friends farewell as we made our way to Hua Shan.

Xi An City

The railway station in Guilin was like an airport. We had to wait at the gate before we were let onto the platform to board the train. From our sleeper cabin we witnessed a nice sunset over the endless green paddy fields. Once the sun rised again, the landscape changed to golden corn fields. On the train were only three other backpackers. Of course, being Swiss, Marc invited them over to chat with the bonus that they possess the China lonely planet travel book, which we needed to plan our further journey.

   

In Xi An, we found a really lovely youth hostel just next to the ancient city wall. The five of us went to the Islamic Quarter for dinner. Only April got the Chinese menu which was 2 times cheaper than the English menu. Our travel mates who have been only eating western fastfood, were abit skeptical about the Chinese kitchen hygiene. As they did not have a bad stomach the next day, they decided to follow us and eat whatever April ordered (in Mandarin) for them.

   

We had great fun cycling on the city wall, which is the most complete ancient fortification in China. In the afternoon we explored the city itself, and April introduced our travel mates to Chinese snacks, which are widely available along the streets.

   

     

Xi An is also known to have the largest water fountain show in Asia, which takes place in a scenic garden we visited in the evening.

 

Longji Terraces

The Longji Terraces were first cultivated in the 13th century. The people who are living here built terraces on the steep mountains to harvest food, mainly rice and sweet potatoes for their living. The Yao women are famous for their long hair, which symbolise long lives. The Zhuang women known for their strength, effortlessly carried our backpacks to our hostel in Ping An Village which can only be reached by trekking up the steep mountains.

    

We spent some time trekking through the rice fields, amazed by the effort put in to build the terraces over the last decades.

   

We left Longji the next day back to Guilin, where we visited the Reef Flute Cave before boarding the train to Xi An.

Yangshou

From Guilin we took a boat the Li Jiang River up to Yangshou for 4 hours. The scenery along the way was spectacular. The area is famous for its carst mountains.

    

Yangshou is one of the most frequent visited village by local Chinese as well as tourists. There are many nice coffee shops where we spent our free time reading and relaxing. In the evening, we visited the “Impression of Liu San Jie”, an impressive show on the river itself boasting 600 local actors.

   

   

The following day, we rented bicycles and explored the country side with its paddy fields between the mountains. On the way we witnessed the daily lives in the countryside. Amazing was also the commorant fishing which we witnessed after the sunset.

   

   

We enjoyed our relaxing days in Yangshou and will head on to Longji the next day.

How open-minded is China?

For all of you who have been following up on our journey, we are really sorry for not updating on our travel blog for the last one week. We are still in China, safe and sound. Unfortunately, China blocks ALL blogs and we are not allowed to access to our own.

After hours of serving the internet, Marc found a hole in the China blockage. So, lets cross our fingers (and toes) that soon we will be able to update our blog again. Please excuse us if we are not able to upload any pictures yet.
So, look out for our posts on Guilin, Yangshou, Longji, Xi An, Hua San, Pingyao and an exciting report on how to travel with China public buses!

Entering China

The Chinese train is the most luxurious one for us so far. Getting a whole night of rest was not so easy even we booked on a sleeping class. We were waked up for visa checks, health declarations, passport control in a hourly interval. Once all was done, we arrived in Nanning at 06:30, where we had to get off the train for further checks.

During the stop in Nanning, we bought some food for the journey ahead.

     

In the early afternoon, we arrived in Guilin, our first China stop. We used the time to stroll around the city.

   

Tomorrow, we are taking a boat to Yangshuo – the Switzerland of China.

A day in Tam Coc & Hoa Lu

100km south of Hanoi lays Tam Coc, the ‘Halong Bay’ on land. We took a scenic 2 hours boat ride through the mountain valleys.

   

   

On the way back, we also stopped by at Hoa Lu, the ancient capital city of Vietnam under the Dinh Dynasty. Not  much is left of their palaces of the 11th century.

   

In the evening, we boarded the train from Hanoi to China border, Dong Dang.

  

There were only about 20 other passengers on the train to the border, which operates only twice a week.

Hanoi & our food adventure

On Saturday, we took the local bus back to Da Nang train station. Along the way, school was just over and many were just returning home. The train ride from Da Nang to Hoi An was one of the most scenic one so far. The track over the Hai Van pass, also called ’cloudy pass’, leads along the coast line.

   

 

In the early wee hours we arrived in Hanoi, where we found ourselves outside a locked hotel. After several phone calls, the issue was finally solved when Marc forced opened the roller shutter. Two shocked and barely awaked staff greeted us with suspicion.

We spent the sunny afternoon strolling around the city.

   

   

In the evening we were invited by a former Korean business friend of Marc who is now working in the city. He and his business partners invited us for a special Vietnamese dinner. It tasted like pork and beef and was really yummy! Only when the final dish was served, we were then informed that we have been consuming only DOG meat! April immediately tried to down a few glasses of Vietnamese rice wine and Marc just remained cool.

The next day, we woke up early to visit the Ambassador of Belarus (Mr. Vladimir), as Marc needed a visa once again for his further journey. After a private session with His Excellency, Marc was able to obtain his visa on the same day instead of 4 working days.

In the evening, we went to the famous “water puppet” show.

Tomorrow, we will be making a day trip to Hoa Lu and Tam Loc before heading by train towards China.