My Second Trip To China With My Mum One Year Later
This is my third trip travelling out of ASEAN region, where I have to plan every bit of the itinerary myself (the first was back in May 2024 where me and my mum travelled together to Japan, and the second was back in November 2024 where me and my mum travelled together to Hangzhou and Suzhou in China). With the prior experience from the China trip, I am less concerned and worried about what to plan for our itinerary this time round, as I would have roughly known what my mum would like to experience, and hence what to include and what to exclude in the planning. In addition, I have learnt how to use Alipay and Amap one year ago, so all in all, this trip is less intimidating for me. However, as we are going to the mountainous region this time, what worries me more is the weather conditions and the temperature differences between the morning, noon and evening time. Being unpredictable, I could only overpack, as it is better to be over-prepared than under.
Without further ado, I will share the travel journey below:
Day 1
As there is no direct flight from Singapore to ZhangJiaJie, therefore it would be my first trip with connecting flights this time, therefore our first 2 days will mainly be on the move.
We had a late flight at 5pm on the first day, so we just went to the lounge for a hearty lunch and munch away our favourite laksa before progressing to boarding. This was my first time taking a non-budget and non-local airline - Sichuan Airlines. Our first leg was to fly from Singapore to Chengdu, before transiting from Chengdu to ZhangJiaJie on the next day.
In the middle of the flight, the flight attendants started distributing meals. The 'sua-ku' me did not know that the meal was included in the flight tickets (because for budget airlines, inflight meals are required to be purchased separately and I know I did not make such a purchase) and wanted to reject the meal. However the flight attendants were afraid that my mum and I would go hungry so she insisted that I should take the meal set. As such, in order not to waste food, we ate one more time in flight.
After 4.5 hours, we finally made it to Chengdu Tianfu International Airport (成都天府国际机场). Chengdu, being the capital of Pandas, will definitely decorate their airport with many pandas too! We took some pictures along the way to our hotel located in the airport, Joyhub Cheer Hotel (天府空港悦享酒店). Hotel is conveniently located, but still quite a walk from the arrival hall. Overall this hotel is a little pricey, but I guess it pays for its convenience.
Day 2
Rise and shine, and cold. It is 9°C in the morning and we got ready by 7.30am for breakfast. Hotel breakfast was quite good with lots of variety and tastes good too. So this makes the hotel pricing more worthwhile.
After breakfast and a short rest, it is time for us to pack up and go to our main destination, ZhangJiaJie (张家界). The flight from Chengdu Tianfu International Airport to ZhangJiaJie HeHua Airport (张家界荷花机场) was a short one via Sichuan Airlines again, and I must say, I am quite impressed with the service on board. The only negative point is the purchase process online is quite hard, and online check-in is quite impossible for foreigners without China-registered contact number. Overall it is a pleasant flight experience.
After reaching ZhangJiaJie HeHua Airport, we took Didi to our hotel, Morning Inn Hotel (莫林风尚酒店). It was a simple hotel located just opposite the ticketing office for TianMen Mountain (天门山), one of the attractions we will visit in this trip, with enough amenities around the hotel, which is good for our stay in ZhangJiaJie. After resting, we went to our first touristy destination, 72 Strange Buildings (七十二奇楼). When we arrive, the lights were not on yet, so we just strolled around and luckily able to watch the evening light up ceremony. It is quite an interesting dance to watch, involving the various Tujia (土家) tribes.
72 Strange Buildings
After the ceremony, we went to have dinner at 索溪山寨 to have traditional XiangXi dishes (湘西菜). I think I over ordered, but the dishes taste good.
Dinner with XiangXi Dishes
After the meal, we went to take some pictures, but it was too cold for mum so we just ended the day early and went back to hotel.
Day 3
Today started later because mum seemed tired yesterday. So we woke up later than usual, and we just had a simple breakfast at the next door restaurant. Due to the hazy weather today, I think it would not be nice to travel up the mountains today. So I adjusted the itinerary and include a new tourist attraction I did not intend to visit initially, Huang Long Cave (黄龙洞).
Huang Long Cave
Huang Long Cave is a natural cave discovered in 1983. It is a karst cave with a variety of limestone formations like stalactites, stalagmites, and stone columns. Other unique stone features include helictites, stone flowers, stone pearls, and curly stones, along with underground waterfalls and acoustic stones.
We joined the tour within the cave (included in the ticket price), but we were told that after the short river cruise, there will be a hiking trail involving more than a thousand steps. As it was with a group and we would have a hard time catching up with the group with so many steps involved, so we just ended our tour after the short cruise and u-turn back. Luckily we did not continue because the path back was also quite long with lots of steps, but because now we were alone, we could take our time to stroll back. Overall it was quite a fascinating tour with the lightings that made everything looked magical, coupled with the story of the dragon and the nine sons. I believe it would be a good tour for the younger folks. After exiting, w took Didi back to the hotel for a short brief rest.
After the short rest, it was time for our next itinerary to Furong Town (芙蓉镇). We took Didi to ZhangJiaJieXi Railway Station (张家界西站) and took the high speed rail to Furongzhen Railway Station (芙蓉镇站). From the station we took a taxi to the scenic town. Similar to 72 strange buildings, it was quite a normal old town, but the magic would gradually appear after sunset.
Furong Town At Daytime
Since we had some time, we went for an early dinner. Dinner was ok, and it was our first time trying rice tofu, which basically tasted like carrot cake. Apparently all the food here has some elements of Mala, and mum was not a fan of the dishes. Me on the other hand, enjoyed the spice a little bit more.
Rice Tofu
After dinner, it was time for lights up. We went to view the waterfall, which is the highlight of this town. Indeed with the lightings, the whole town became more magical and beautiful. However, there were lots of steps to conquer too, before we reach the beautiful views. Indeed, many places are hard to reach if mobility is lacking. I am glad my mum got to see all these herself.
Furong Town At Night
After some photo taking and a short stroll, we watched a short performance and continue with our journey back to the hotel.
Day 4
Today would be a relatively short day, as I only planned for the TianMen Mountain (天门山) itinerary. We had a simple breakfast near our hotel, and just strolled to the cable car entrance which is just at the back of our hotel. At the ticketing office, I received the bad news that the cable car route is partially under maintenance and hence we will have to take the bus ride through the 99 turns (九十九弯). We boarded the cable car up to mid mountain, before transiting to the bus ride through the 99 turns to reach TianMen Square.
TianMen Square
Without direct cable car to reach the top, it means we need to climb more steps than expected and took a total of 12 escalators up to the mountain top (and later 12 escalators down).
The Escalator Within The Mountain
By the time we reached the top, mum was already a little tired. Based on the vlogs I watched, I decided to take the west loop, and maybe the east loop later. However, after walking about 1% of the entire journey, which was filled with steps, mum was exhausted.
Steps Above The Mountain
So we decided to rest a while, took some photos, at least try out a very small-scale glass walk (玻璃栈道) and just descend the mountain afterwards. Apparently the way down is also quite a along walk. When we reached the exit, we would have to take another bus ride which would drop us back at the ticketing office. Finally we got back to the starting point, and went for a late lunch at 寨子里的钵钵菜, which was just a opposite our hotel. After meal we just went back to hotel to rest early, and TV binge-watch for the night.
Day 5:
Today, it was time for us to visit the renowned Avatar Mountains. We had an early breakfast nearby, and took Didi to ZhangJiaJie National Park (张家界国家森林公园). Once again, this itinerary just proved that it was absolutely physically demanding to view the outstanding scenery and astounding work of nature. Although there were shuttle buses to link one tourist attraction to another, but the roads to these places were winding, and the walkway from the drop off points to the scenic views were not simple, involving lots of steps up and down, with loads of walking. I am glad mum could still take it, though with lots of rests and breaks in between.
We started off simple with tram rides at 十里画廊 to appreciate views out from ancient Chinese paintings.
The Three Sisters
After the ride, we proceeded to Golden Whip Stream (金鞭溪) to have a short leisure walk along the supposed famous stream.
Golden Whip Stream
However, we thought that the stream was nothing spectacular, so we decided to turn back and proceed to our last destination, YuanJiaJie (袁家界) by shuttle bus. This was the main attraction for this trip, to view the Avatar Mountains. To reach there, we also took the famous Bailong Elevator (百龙天梯) all the way to the top of the mountain.
Entrance to Bailong Elevator
However the walk from the elevator exit to the scenic sights was long and arduous, as we needed to pass through Enchanting Terrace (迷魂台), Southern Sky Column (乾坤柱), also known as the Avatar Hallelujah Mountain, and finally to World's No 1 Bridge (天下第一桥) Just for 袁家界 alone, the walk took almost 2 hours and I could sense that mum was starting to feel tired and bored with the rocks.
Views from Enchanting Terrace
Southern Sky Column
World's No 1 Bridge
All in all, the trip to ZhangJiaJie was considered free and easy and as leisurely as possible, within my mum's physical limits. This also meant that we just took things slow, and skipped many other attractions, but that was fine. However, food wise was far from her liking. Hopefully our next journey to Guangzhou will be better with more suited Cantonese cuisine!
Day 6
This was going to be another day of travelling. We woke up early for breakfast, coffee, and got ready to leave ZhangJiaJie. We would be traveling from ZhangJiaJieXi Railway Station (张家界西站) to Guangzhou Baiyun Railway Station (广州白云站). This was not the nearest station to our hotel in Guangzhou, but based on the timings and the seats available available when I purchased the tickets, this was probably the best option, and considerably nearer than Guangzhou South Railway Station. As this was a long 6 hours journey, I bought the better 1st class seats (2 + 2 arrangement) instead of the usual 2nd class seats (3 + 3 arrangement) to ensure better comfort for the long journey.
1st Class Seats In HSR
Finally after 6 hours, we arrived at Guangzhou Baiyun Railway Station and we took Didi to our next accommodation, Zhipin hotel (致品酒店). After a brief rest, we went to Beijing Walking Street to try out the famous 陶陶居 for dinner, after which we just strolled along the walking street and took some pictures.
陶陶居
Day 7
Today will be a day of bloom. Based on recommendations from Reels, I decided to bring my mum to 文化公园 to watch the chrysanthemum exhibition (菊花展), and 珠江新城 to see the garden expo (园林博览会). Before exploring, we started the day with the hotel breakfast. It was a little disappointing, as it was not as sumptuous as depicted in the photos when I booked the hotel via Trip, but it was still ok I guess, and that would be the same breakfast for the next few days.
We decided to try out the metro in Guangzhou instead of Didi. Other than some initial hiccups to understand how purchasing of the tickets work, everything else was quite smooth. Signage was clear despite the massive rail network. First stop was the chrysanthemum exhibition, which was quite beautiful and captivating.
Chrysanthemum Exhibition
After walking around, taking photos of the various exhibits, we moved to our next attraction, the famous Sacred Heart Cathedral (广州圣心大教堂).
Sacred Heart Cathedral
The cathedral is majestic and beautiful. After that, we went to the expo. However the expo was quite disappointing, and not as splendour as the chrysanthemum exhibition in the morning. Soon it started drizzling, and we decided to skip the night cruise tour (珠江夜游). Since it was almost 4pm, I decided to bring my mom for a late lunch/early dinner at the famous Minji Claypot Rice (民记煲仔饭).
Minji Claypot Rice
I thought that it was good timing because it was not dinner time yet but I was wrong. The queue was long and there was massive crowd waiting outside. Thankfully the turnover was quite fast and we managed to get our food relatively quick. The claypot rice was good, fragrant and crisp. The meat was succulent and juicy, definitely lived up to it's reputation and worth the wait. After the meal, we were quite full and thus decided to stroll back to hotel from Beijing Walking Street. That was the end of the day and back to tv binge-watch in the hotel!
Day 8
Today is a trip to Foshan ShunDe (佛山顺德) via metro. This trip took about 1.5 hours and had to change 4 trains before reaching 大良钟楼站 at ShunDe tourist area. First venue we visited was Qing Hui Garden (清晖园). It was the residence of scholars in the ancient times. However, Qing Hui Garden is nowhere as beautiful as Lingering Garden in Suzhou that we visited last year.
Qing Hui Garden
Qing Hui Garden
After a while, we just moved on to 华盖路步行街 and 金榜街 to visit the old alleys with great delicacies. There are many things to try but we only tried 双皮奶, 姜撞奶 and 炸牛奶. They were interesting desserts and tasted quite nice. 双皮奶 tasted like curd, while 姜撞奶 tasted like beancurd with ginger.
双皮奶
姜撞奶
炸牛奶
In addition I also get the chance to try free samples of the various types of chicken biscuits (鸡仔饼), one of my favorite childhood delicacies.
After that, we tried the famous Sauna Chicken (桑拿鸡) for early dinner. It was an interesting experience and the meat was tender and nice. All in all it was a sumptuous meal.
Steamed Meatballs and Lala
The Soup BeneathAfter dinner we just took the metro back to hotel. All I could conclude was, ShunDe is a place for delicacies, but nothing much to see as we were not too interested in museum visits.
Day 9
After breakfast in the hotel, we went to Yuexiu Garden (越秀公园) to have a stroll. However it started to drizzle lightly. We just had a walk around the garden (which was also a little taxing with the ups and downs), went to look for the famous Five-Ram Sculpture (五羊石雕) to take some pictures and decided to head back to hotel first due to the rain.
Five-Ram Sculpture
After resting, we headed to 点都德 for a long awaited dim sum late lunch. I know mum was not impressed with a dim sum lunch/dinner because to her it was not a proper meal, but it was our last day in Guangzhou, and I got to try 点都德 at least once. It was still raining, and I supposed it was going to rain for the whole day today. At 点都德, once again, I over-ordered due to me wanting to try the various dishes, forgetting that their portions were quite big, but we basically finished 95% of the food.
点都德
Special Crispy Rice Rolls
After the meal, we took a 25min stroll to the pier (天字码头) in the drizzle to board the cruise for the Zhujiang Night Cruise (珠江夜游). Luckily I booked the tickets for the 2nd level deck (out of 3 levels), so being indoors, we would not be drenched but at the same time the view would also be less impressive. Nonetheless it was still good as mum would be able to see the landmarks like the Canton Tower (广州塔- 小蛮腰) and LieDe Bridge (猎德大桥) in the comfort of her seat.
Canton Tower
LieDe Bridge
All in all, I thought it was a pleasant cruise trip, especially when the tickets I bought via Trip.com were subsidized through rewards redemption.
After the cruise, which lasted close to an hour, we strolled back to the hotel amidst the drizzle. That was the end of the final night in Guangzhou!
Day 10
It was the end of this trip, and time to make our way to Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (广州白云国际机场). We just had Ajisen Ramen for breakfast, and made our way through immigration to boarding. Flying back to Singapore via Scoot Pokemon!
Post-Trip Thoughts:
This is the third time that my mum and I have travelled together outside of Southeast Asia for more than 7 days. To be honest, this trip was smoother than last year's trips to both Japan and China. My mum was more tolerant of all the itineraries I arranged for this trip, except the slight complaints regarding the food being spicy, or having dim sum for lunch instead of rice or noodles. Most of the time, she just tried her best to cooperate, accommodate and did her best to walk as much as she could to all the scenic places. At the same time, I am also more aware of my mum's comfort levels, to tell her to rest more, and suggesting in-between breaks as much as possible. I suppose we are accommodating each other better for this trip. Looking forward to our next trip in 2026!
Just some numbers for the trip!
Flights (via Sichuan Airlines) for 2 from Singapore to ZhangJiaJie: SGD 638.80
High Speed Rail for 2 from ZhangJiaJie to Guangzhou: SGD 307.54
Flights (via Scoot) for 2 from Guangzhou to Singapore: SGD 347.72
Accommodation (1N in Chengdu, 4N in ZhangJiaJie & 4N in Guangzhou) for 2: SGD 493.98
Insurance for 2: SGD 223.92
Transport + Meals + Shopping + Souvenirs: SGD 864.67 (Via Credit Card tied to Alipay)
Total Damage: SGD 2,876.63
Bye bye China, you are definitely a place worth visiting despite loads of walking. See you again next time. Barista FIRE, here I come...!
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