Travelling China ｜ 去中国玩

29 Oct 2023 - Austin Shen

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我今年也有机会回去中国。先跟家人一起去玩和见亲戚，然后自己去看别的漂亮地方

It had been a few years since anybody in the family had been to China due to COVID. So now that travel to the country is possible again, we did the routine whole immediate family trip to visit relatives - mum’s family in Xiamen and dad’s side in Shanghai. Then, after a short holiday to Xi’an with some of the extended family, I’d go on by myself for some more travel to new cities we hadn’t been to before.

With family | 家人一起

非常高兴能跟家人一起。我门一家人很长时间没有在一起自从我离开Perth以后。妈妈来法国和意大利陪我玩。弟弟妹妹也和我一起去过德国。爸爸今年没来欧洲，我还没见他了。还好我们这次都来上海见面。

我们先去上海看奶奶。爸爸已经在上海了陪奶奶几天。欣怡，逍龙和我从芬兰飞上海。妈妈和 Em 晚到上海一天。舅舅每次都到机场接我们全家人，我觉得有点不好意思。都到了以后先休息几天。欣怡和逍龙在芬兰生病了。我在上海休息了两天以后就跟姐姐去市中心去玩了。她带我们去好的饭店吃饭，喝非常多奶茶跟一点酒，看她和 Eric 的新房子，又买东西。也有几天大家都一起吃饭。早上吃酒酿，吃了姑姑和姑父做的粽子。这段时间我们都吃的玩的很开心。

从上海我们去坐高铁去厦门。姐姐婶婶和姑姑都跟我们去。爸爸从上海回 Perth 家。我们坐了五个小时高铁就到厦门了。非常方便，晚上八点到了。我们先去酒店办了入住，然后跟杨志云，舅舅舅妈一起吃晚饭也喝了白酒。第二天我们去了鼓浪屿玩了一整天。第三天晚上跟杨志云去KTV唱歌喝酒，后来去看舅舅以前的家。我和逍龙以前也住过的房子。就在一个大商场SM旁边。又喝了奶茶。这段时间都玩的很开心。我们很少机会一起度假。

这次我们也去了西安。我们都没去过西安。西安的比上海和厦门都古老。城市有旧的感觉。我了解的西安以前是 Capital of the Qin Dynasty。很多人来西安都会去租古老的衣服穿着拍照。这里一定好看的是兵马俑（Terracotta Warriors）。我们也去了。是很好看的。很厉害以前的人会做那么多也漂亮的雕像。我们也去看大雁塔和钟楼（Clock tower）。我跟欣怡也上城墙（City Walls）骑车。我有一天早上在城墙跑了一大圈十四公里。城墙上面很安静，没有车。跑步和骑车都很舒服。我们一起在西安呆了六天，然后姑姑婶婶和姐姐回上海。妈妈欣怡和 Em 回去 Perth。我坐高铁去成都。

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We used to go every few years to see family in Shanghai and Xiamen. In Shanghai, we’d always stay with our grandma on dad’s side. Her place is in a wholesome gated community/suburb an hour out of downtown Shanghai, where she lives with many friends and relatives from her old village. It was always a relaxing and uneventful time. We were a bit younger so we’d mainly just stay at the apartment, eat the incredible food our relatives took turns making and bringing over, and wander around the neighbourhood doing grocery shopping (for jelly only) and buying takeaway food (bubble tea and cakes). Things had changed a lot over the few COVID years - our parents decided we were old enough to explore Shanghai by ourselves, the city got a heck of a lot more quiet and less chaotic (EVs + strict fines for rowdy behaviour), and we’d gradually gotten close with cousins our age who had more insight into the exciting nightlife and happenings in the city.

So this trip was way more fun than previous years. Our cousin (姐姐) was newly engaged at the time to a great guy Eric (he spent some of his time growing up in the US, so we only know him by his anglo name). They took us around to eat at all of the new exciting malls, the best hotpot and bubble tea, and we went out a few nights to drink in the city. The nightlife was a bit different - instead of clubs we went to these live music venues (“live house” is what 姐姐 called it) where people can sing along to a main performer while drinking and chatting with friends in their own booths. It felt like one of the first trips to Shanghai as independent adults - taking public transport and getting taxis all by ourselves to go wherever we wanted.

After a few day in Shanghai, we took the bullet train down to Xiamen. Our cousin 姐姐 and a few of our retired aunts on my dad’s side came with us - it was their first time visiting the city. Mum and our uncle on that side took us around their home town, which is actually a small island a few minutes by boat from the city. That island (Gulangyu in incorrect pingyin) has changed completely since mum lived there, and is now a very popular tourist destination. Great fun to visit every time - there are a number of beautiful hikes to lookouts, nice gardens and koi ponds, and a bunch of small food stands selling all sorts of delicious food. There’s a street vendor who sells glutinous rice ball with peanut and sesame filling - they’ve been doing it for three generations now and mum has known them since she lived there. We go every time.

We usually go for a holiday somewhere outside of my parents’ hometowns when visiting China, and this time it was to Xi’an - the old capital at the time of the Qin Dynasty. The main attraction of the city is the terracotta warrior burial site. The story is that the first Emperor who united China buried with him a to-scale replica army of terracotta warriors to protect him in the afterlife around 200 BC. The site was lost with time, and rediscovered only recently in the 1970s by a group of farmers. The burial site spans a massive area, and only some of the tombs have been excavated. Apparently the old Qin Emperor’s tomb is still there on the site, and remains untouched. Incredible to see in real life (you will need to use your imagination a little). The historical significance of the city can be seen in many of the buildings that remain today - it’s got high walls surrounding a cobblestone old city, with old-fashioned towers and gates. Nowadays it’s a thriving street food and market area where you can taste all sorts of local food, buy gifts and souveniers, and host modern light shows and festivals.

Solo | 自己

我开始自己去玩的时候有点难。我不知道这么用需要的 app，也说跟读的中文不是特别好。哪里去都要问别人帮我。从西安我坐高铁去成都。

到了还可以，还好我定的酒店在火车站旁边，能走几分钟就到了。我到了以后想找吃的已经觉得难。不知道这么用地图的app，也看不懂字。我走了一会才找到我喜欢的饭店。非常饿了点了太多。以后开始好了。我每天出酒店能买水果吃当早饭，就不要每次找地方吃。在成都玩几天我看到大熊猫，乐山大佛，见了新的朋友，IRRIGATION SYSTEM，也学了这么外卖吃的到酒店了。最总要的是过了这几天我就知道我能自己在中国玩没关系。

下一站是张家界。

从张家界我去桂林。桂林是有很多地方去看的。有龙脊（？）米梯田，几个山可以爬的，和(Li River)风景要看的。市中心里也有几个很好看的。如果要看穿不得，要住几天在几个地方。我带三天在桂林市中心，那后两个晚上在平安村看米梯田。在平安村人非常少。我定的酒店别的人都没有。就是我跟一个家口人住在哪里的。他们对我挺好，两个晚上主饭给我吃。

我从桂林本来想去昆明（Kunming）。但是如果要这样就要坐高铁八个小时过去，那后八个小时回来去广州。觉得不合算，就带在桂林附近多几天。玩完了以后才要坐高铁三个小时从阳朔去广州。我在广州的时候觉得有点预料（BORED）。是，有很多好吃的。我进场吃的饮茶。我也很喜欢在市中心此直行车。但是广州车太多跟就是SHOPPING MALLS去看的。我慢慢在广州玩，看到CANTONTOWER，也用这段时间跑步，健身，和休息。从这里有去见家人在香港。

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I travelled around China by myself for a month after the holiday with my family. From Xi’an I went on to Chengdu to see the giant pandas, to Zhangjiajie to see the incredible mountains of the forrest national park (the iconic filming location of James Cameron’s Avatar), to Guilin to look at the famous rolling green limestone mountains, terraced rice fields, and extensive river network (most notably the Li River on bamboo rafts). Then, after soaking in all of the incredible nature that this region of China has to offer, I was off to the big food cities. Guangzhou for the dim sum (and not much else), Macao for their custard/egg tarts (and to my surprise, fruit mochi), and finished up in Hong Kong (although not technically China) in part for dim sum and logical exit point on my way home, but also for a comfortable end to the long trip being looked after by loving family. A deeply rewarding part of my gap year where I was pushed further out of my comfort zone than any travel I’d done before, which also left me feeling very ready to return home.