China Trip Mar 2018: Travel Prelude

March 23, 2018

China is a country I had always wanted to visit from young. Being a Chinese and having a love for the language, I really wanted to go back to my “roots” and tour as many provinces and cities in China as possible in my lifetime. A China Trip would also be a good cultural immersion for my kids.

However, there were many stories about China that deterred us from visiting. Stories that painted a bad impression of China included high rates of child abduction, cleanliness issues, polluted air and rude people. Thus, we planned many other travel destinations and kept shelving this visit.

Finally, we had acquired quite a list of countries and while planning where to go after coming back from Thailand last December, we finally agreed on Shanghai. I had threw Vin, Hong Kong, as an option but he preferred going to somewhere new this year (Hong Kong was the first country we visited as a couple sans kids).

Why Shanghai?

It’s because I would most likely want to visit The Great Wall of China (on our bucket list) but it would not be possible with a 2-yr-old- toddler climbing up the steep steps. We would end up carrying her most of the time or would not be able to walk much of the long wall. That would be a disappointment. Hence, I would wait until she is much older (around 4-5 years old) to finally experience China’s Beijing to Xi’an route. I think we would have a better time that way.

What Attracts Us To China?

Adding to this, Dar also desired Shanghai as he loves tall skyscraper and collects models of them whenever we visit one in a country. He had been wanting to go to Shanghai Tower since a long time ago, ever since he saw the documentary of its construction. Hence, it’s a must-visit itinerary for our trip to Shanghai.

For me, I care more about China artifacts in museums and old Chinese Arts/Architecture. I love traditional, ancient and cultural stuff and couldn’t wait to see old things in China. Thus, for this trip, I decided to plan it more for myself instead of accommodating places for kids.

For our last trip to Thailand, it was relaxing and all about places for kids. Coming back from that trip, I realised I didn’t fully enjoy it. I told Vin, if we do not travel China now, we might not have the energy to walk about the natural places/architecture when we are older. I really do not want to visit China, only when I’m in my sixties/seventies and not physically fit.

Suzhou and Hangzhou As Side-Itineraries

When I was planning Shanghai, I found that people often make weekend trips to Suzhou and Hangzhou, as they are only an hour plus away from Shanghai by high-speed rail. I was so excited to discover this as these are two places in China that had been on my bucket list for a long while!

There’s a saying in Chinese in ancient times, “上有天堂，下有苏杭“, derived from a book written in the Song dynasty about how the most beautiful place in the skies, is Heaven, while the most beautiful places on Earth, is Suzhou and Hangzhou. The Qianlong Emperor also made these places famous because he visited 江南 Jiang Nan (as these areas are collectively called in the past) very often.

Thus, the adventurous us started planning Suzhou and Hangzhou as 3 days 2 nights itineraries in between Shanghai. It was because we did not want to have to rush back on the last day from Hangzhou, to board the plane in the afternoon in Shanghai. Involving too many transportation and travelling hours might be risky for our flight back to Singapore.

With luggage and an active toddler, navigating the train stations would be a challenge but for my dream to visit them, we just had to do it.

Why March?

Due to our schooling kid, we could only afford to travel during school holidays. After reading about how the summer holidays in China are always jam-packed with tourists, we do not wish to pick June. September hols is out since it is too close to exams. Wintry November and December in China is too cold for us and extremely inconvenient with a toddler and a growing child. There would be a wastage of winter clothing ($$$) since they would outgrow their outfits by the next trip.

Thus, we quickly decided on March. I read that Spring is good for travelling in Shanghai. Alas, we checked the weather forecast only after we hurriedly snatched up SIA tickets.

We then realised that Early March is not exactly “Spring” yet. The temperature in Shanghai, Suzhou and Hangzhou would be around lowest 4 degrees Celsius to highest 12 degrees Celsius! I regretted it then as I would still have to spend a bomb on the clothing for the children (things like heat-tech, block-tech raincoat, lined wear, outer coat). As if coldness wasn’t enough to dampen our moods, there was going to be rain too! (T_T).

Which Day to Where?

We would be arriving in China on a Saturday, the first day of the March School Holidays and thus, we planned Shanghai first, as I read that Suzhou and Hangzhou are best visited on weekdays.

Many Shanghainese visit Suzhou as a weekend trip due to the proximity, hence it would not be wise to put Suzhou for a weekend visit. We would want to visit the classical gardens in Suzhou, so I would prefer to actually “see” the gardens instead of crowds of people.

Going to Shanghai, it is a must to visit the new Shanghai Disneyland. Hence, we placed it as a Monday Itinerary where people are typically in school or work and thus, less people to fight for rides! For the rest of Shanghai, we had no choice but to visit them as weekend attractions crowded with people.

Accommodations

We booked three different type of accommodations in China – A boutique hotel, A mid-range hotel and a serviced-apartment. I would review the places in a post later.

Tip: It is best to book accommodations in Shanghai three months in advance as they sell out fast! The hotel room prices also goes up significantly near dates of arrival.

For example, I booked a room for our last night in Shanghai for around SGD$260 but when I checked the rates again a few days before, it had already gone up a hundred dollars.

Flight

Since the last Korean Air experience, we rather choose flights with early timings. With young kids, we prefer an airline that is comfortable and trustworthy. Hence, Singapore Airlines seemed the most suitable for us. Booking air-tickets early also helps to secure cheaper fares. The early morning flight at 7 plus am, would see us reach Shanghai around afternoon, just in time for check-in.