My Chinese Dream Tour

I just got back from an amazing trip to China with my cousin, and I still can't believe how much we saw in just over a week. We booked everything through China Comfort Travel after a friend recommended them. The consultant we worked with was a woman named Yushi Dai, and she was incredibly helpful from the very first email, answering all our silly questions about weather, packing, and train tickets.

Our guide for most of the trip was a guy named Lao Wang, probably in his late forties, with a calm voice and a deep knowledge of every place we visited. He had this quiet way of making sure everything ran smoothly without ever making us feel rushed.

Our first stop was Chongqing. That city is wild. The first thing that blew my mind was the Liziba station, where the monorail actually goes right through a residential building. We stood underneath and watched it disappear into the building like magic. My cousin took about fifty photos. We also walked around Shibati, which is this old stairway area with tiny shops and local snacks. It felt so different from the shiny modern parts of the city. Honestly, without Lao Wang, we would have been completely lost. Chongqing's streets are layered on top of each other, and GPS barely works. He navigated those winding alleys and hidden shortcuts like it was second nature. Later, we took the Yangtze River Cableway across the river, and the view of the skyline at sunset was just beautiful. At night, we did the Two Rivers cruise, and seeing all the lit up bridges and buildings reflecting on the water was probably my favorite memory from Chongqing. Hongyadong looked like something from a fantasy movie with all those hanging lights.

That evening, we decided to try the famous Chongqing hotpot. It was delicious, but we definitely underestimated the spice level. By midnight, both my cousin and I were lying in bed with our stomachs feeling heavy and bloated, but fortunately it got better later. 

The following day,  we took a day trip to Wulong to see the Three Natural Bridges. Those giant limestone arches are just huge. You walk down hundreds of steps into this valley, and suddenly you are standing under these massive rock bridges that nature carved out over millions of years. It felt like we were in a dinosaur movie. We also spent some time in Fairy Mountain park, which was cooler and misty, with green hills that went on forever. It was a nice break from the city heat.

From there, we took a train to Zhangjiajie. That place is unreal. We went up the Bailong Sky Elevator, which is this glass elevator built right onto the side of a cliff. As we went up, the view opened up to all these tall sandstone pillars. One of them is called Avatar Mountain because it inspired the floating mountains in the movie. I can totally see why. The pillars just rise out of the forest like giant fingers. We hiked around Yuanjiajie and Tianzi Mountain, and every corner gave us a new jaw dropping view. It was tiring but totally worth it. Lao Wang walked at our pace, never pushing us, and pointed out the best photo spots along the way.

Next we headed to Guilin. The Li River cruise was as pretty as everyone says. The karst mountains look like green cones popping up along the river, and the water was so calm and clear. We sat on the deck most of the time just watching the scenery go by. We also went up to Xianggong Mountain to get a bird's eye view of the river bending around those peaks. That view is famous on the back of the 20 yuan note, and seeing it in real life was pretty cool. In the city, we visited Elephant Trunk Hill, which really does look like an elephant drinking from the water. Reed Flute Cave was also interesting with all those colorful stalactites, but honestly the outdoor views were more my style.

Our last stop was Shanghai, which was a total change of pace. After all those mountains and rivers, it felt like we landed on another planet. We walked along the Bund at night, and the contrast between the old colonial buildings on one side and the futuristic skyscrapers like Jinmao Tower on the other side was stunning. We also explored the busy streets around the Town God's Temple and tried some street food. Nanjing Road was crowded with shoppers and bright signs, and we just wandered around taking it all in.

Looking back, every place had its own character. Chongqing was gritty and exciting, Zhangjiajie was epic and natural, Guilin was peaceful and scenic, and Shanghai was dazzling and fast. My cousin and I kept saying how lucky we were to see all this in one trip. We ate lots of noodles, took way too many photos, and laughed a lot. A huge thank you to Yushi Dai for the midnight medicine delivery and to Lao Wang for being so understanding and patient. It was one of those trips that stay with you for a long time.