Day nine for us started quite early with Brekky at 6.30. We were on a mission to get to the top of the Huangshan mountains by about 8am! We had a couple of delays (there is that on words on in every group!) but eventually we made it to our pick up point, hot on a bus and headed part of the way up until we got to the cable car station.

8 people in a car, 6km up a very steep mountain and we reached our starting spot about 2/3 of the way to the top. The plan was to walk/hike/ climb our way over a couple of other peaks and then get a different cable car down (8km). The views at the top were breathtaking! We were literally in the clouds with glimpses of various mountains peeking through. With an elevation of 1864m it is home to more than 72 dramatic granite peaks and is known as Chinas most beautiful mountains. It is not hard to see why!

The walk started off quite easy, but soon became much more challenging with huge steep staircases going both up and down. We did have some rain to contend with and it took some concentration – I am glad that J and I invested in some hiking poles- although I’m pretty sure I won’t be in a hurry to use mine again! It was lovely walking with a supportive group who were quick to offer encouragement when needed…. And trust me when I tell you I needed it! 8 hours and 11km of hiking later (including 50 flights of stairs) we made it to the second cable car and made our way back down.

A very welcome bus ride back in to the village had us at the hotel and into hot showers in no time! Free time for the afternoon meant a massage, an early dinner and bed time for us.

Day 10 was a much slower start, which we were all grateful for! A bit of a sleep in was definitely necessary! We left our hotel at 10am and headed further into the countryside. The drive was lovely, especially the encounter with some geese being walked along the street (happily I was quick enough to take a picture through the windscreen!). We spent the afternoon and night in a village called HongCun.

Hong Cun was established in about 1100AD and is now World Heritage listed. It was originally established and engineered by a woman, and is known for its amazing drainage system. It has never been flooded. Most recently it has become known as the setting for the movie ‘Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon’ – which I have not seen. It is spectacular. Loads of different alleyways and weird corners, a stunning lake and a million quaint little shops. It is really beautiful!

We had a yummy group lunch when we arrived, and then a walk around the village and lots of information with our tour leader Gary. The evening was spent with ‘free time’ and further exploring the village, and some drinks with the group on a rooftop top overlooking the central lake in the village. Our guesthouse for this visit was probably the most basic, and my least favourite, but it served the purpose that it needed to!

Day eleven (and our last full tour day) started quite early with the group getting into a mini bus to head back to the train station. We had some Brekky at the station – and poor J fell over again and added to her bruises, before getting onto another Bullet train back to Shanghai. There was some kind of mix up with our tickets, which meant we also had to catch the metro on two different lines to get back to our hotel!

A quick shower and a change of clothes and we were back out exploring the city. Today’s mission was to see the French quarter which is home to the national congress and a museum dedicated to the Chinese communist party. J and I decided that while the French area looked beautiful, we were not into shopping for big brand labels, so we chose to take ourselves on a walking tour back to some of the areas we saw on our first night in Shanghai, and I am so glad we did! It was really fun wandering around on our own and doing a bunch of souvenir shopping, as well as a bit of a fancy afternoon tea.

We reconnected with the group for our farewell dinner at a well known spot called ‘Shanghai Grandmother’, and it’s probably been my favourite meal! It was nice chatting with everyone about their favourite parts of the trip and reliving some of the moments. We finished the night with more roof top drinks at a bar overlooking the Bund area before heading back to the hotel to repack our bags ready to head home.

Day twelve… time to head home! We had a bit of a slower morning, making sure all bags were packed appropriately and getting ourselves sorted for about 24 hours in transit. We left the hotel around 11am to get to the airport with plenty of time. The homeward journey started with a little bit of frustration with the confiscation of all of our power banks (x3 in my case) because apparently between arriving and departing they no longer meet the aviation rules for such things! An expensive exercise! Our first flight was delayed and then changed, and we were unable to sit together, but we did get back to Guanzhou with a couple of hours to kill, and then onto Brisbane overnight. I have thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this trip, it’s been a proper adventure… but I am pretty happy to be heading home!

I’m really proud of myself for the physical challenges I have done during this trip! I have absolutely pushed myself far beyond what I thought I would be capable of. I have been amazed at the things we have been able to see and do and I feel very privileged to have these opportunities (especially now with all of the chaos in the world). China was a place that Claytie and I had talked about visiting years ago and I feel like I did this one for both of us, our boys all went when they were at school and my parents have also been and loved it… if it’s on your list of places to visit, I would 10/10 recommend it!