Dreams of Natural China - March 2025 - Hostess Roundup - Sim Seri

If you don’t want to read a whole bunch of superlatives, skip reading this report because it will be full of them. This trip exceeded our expectation in all aspects – sights, scenery, food, accommodation, and company. We covered over 7000km and were blown away by the unexpected landscapes, delicious food, history and cultures. We were blessed by great weather (even in subzero temperatures) with only 1 day of light drizzle. To top it all off, it was a fabulous caring group of sisters who shared this amazing adventure.

After arriving in Shanghai, we flew to Guilin, a city renowned for its stunning limestone karsts, picturesque rivers and colourful caves. We trekked through the Longii Rice Terraces and amongst the otherworldly sandstone pillars in Zhangjiajie, made famous in the “Avatar” movie.             

A number of national parks (literally & figuratively) took our breaths away as the high altitudes and multitudes of stairs challenged us. We averaged 15,000 steps each day so definitely deserved the delicious array of dishes served at lunch and dinner. Nothing like the Chinese food we had tried before, every meal was shared as we tried to negotiate the complexities of the “lazy Susan”.

Chengdu provided a base as we explored some satellite towns (Emeishan, PingLe), as well as the symbol of China, the very cute & cuddly pandas.

Jiuzhaigou (Nine Villages Valley) is an awe-inspiring Tibetan settlement only discovered by authorities in the 1970’s. Now it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (1992) as well as a World Biosphere Reserve (1997) with its ragged peaks, sapphire lakes, abundant forest, waterfalls,  endemic flora and 140 bird species.

Xi’an, a former ancient capital, amazed with its relatively recent discovery of the now famous Terracotta Warriors. And a visit to China would be incomplete without walking on the Great Wall of China. We drove several hours from Beijing to Gubei & the Simitai section of the wall. It is a lesser visited section of the wall (fewer tourists) as well as being the only section lit up and able to be visited at night. Technically, we walked it twice and it was a-maze-ing!

Beijing was our final stop, with visits to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City adding another 20,000 steps to our already impressive tally. And, of course, our farewell dinner of Peking Duck.            

All in all, we experienced something very special, visiting places less known (especially to western tourists) and the joy of travelling with a special group of women.