Harbin and Guiyang

Ever since I found out I was going to be able to spend time in China learning Mandarin, I was so excited to travel in such a huge country. For me January was spent discovering more of the amazing country we are so lucky to be studying in.

Our first stop was Harbin in Northern China, which meant temperatures as low as minus 25 and losing count of the amount of layers we were wearing! Despite the extreme temperatures, Harbin is a must see place for anyone traveling in that area of China! On the first day we visited the ice and snow festival, which was breathtaking, not just because of the cold. The tall vast ice sculptures were amazing to look at and the lights at night made it even more mesmerising. We even got to go sledging and ice cycling.

After Harbin Ailsa and I went further south to visit a few of our Chinese friends we met during our first semester at university. We flew to Guiyang where we were lucky enough to stay with Lulins (露露琳）family. They were so welcoming to us and really made us understand more about Chineseculture and the way the people live in their homes. We went for dinner with many members of her family where we ate traditional Chinese food and although we found it difficult to communicate with them fully it was amazing to be welcomed into their home. In Guiyang we visited the biggest waterfall in Asia and swam in the hot springs. 

From Guiyang Ailsa and I headed to Lijiang where we stayed in the old town , the streets were so quiet and peaceful and everyone there seemed to be very chilled out , it was a great place to stay. We got a bus in the morning to the tiger leaping gorge which is one of the most spectacular places I have ever been to. The gorge stretched high above us on both sides as we walked along the paths and up very nerve racking ladders…

After Lijiang we went to Dali, here we drove around the stunning lake and made some Chinese friends along the way! Dali was a much more rural area and it was great to see another very different part of China to what we’re used to in Tianjin.

Our next stop was Like’s hometown, Zunyi! Again we got the chance to stay for a few days with a Chinese family which was another amazing time. Her mum made us dumplings and her little sister was so excited to have wai guo ren 外国⼈人 staying in her house！Her family were so kind and we enjoyed a night with Like’s cousins at KTV, which is a karaoke room. We were also excited to be taken to her high school where we were welcomed by Like’s high school teachers.

From Zunyi we went to Chongqing which has an enormous population of 30 million!! We took a cable car over the river to see the view of the city and also visited market streets at night time which were bustling with people and filled with foods that looked way too spicy!!!

Our final destination before I headed back to Tianjin was Chengdu, which is famous for Pandas! So of course our first day was spent with the loveable bears. In Chengdu we also celebrated Like’s 19th birthday which was a great way to end our time traveling together. We went out for a Chinese meal and gave her some birthday gifts from our home in Scotland.

Writing about our time traveling reminds me of how lucky I am to be getting the chance to live in China and I think it is important to try and explore more of this amazing country, I hope you have enjoyed reading about our January adventure in China!