The Tour We Join: Xian Private Day Tour: Huashan Mountain

Our short break to the famous Mount Hua nearby Xian was memorable and priceless! Just for recommendation, do not hike in winter because the weather could be cold enough. Not recommended for kids or elder travelers here because the hiking trails really steep and narrow in some parts. 

Mount Hua can be reached from Xian for about one and half hours drive. Arrived at Mount Hua, we entered from the entrance gate and were recommended to take the cable car up to the North Peak, and that was what we did.

From the North Peak, we should have continue to hike up for enjoy more beautiful views. Best visit on weekdays when less crowded because the hiking trails seem little bit dangerous and almost vertical.

Here it is vertical stairs that we should hike for more stunning views above. The vertical stairs with two chains was amazing. I should be really careful to climb it.

Mount Hua or Huashan in Chinese, is one of the five sacred mountains of China. The original trail was built and used by Taoist monks over 1000 years ago. Mount Hua consists of five peaks with the highest South Peak at 2161 meters.

Reached south peak at 2161 meters which are surrounded by lots of red padlocks hanging on the chain.  In fact, lots of visitors were able to hike till this peak and marked it with leave their name on it.

Moreover besides hard hiking trails, we can feel the spiritual sense presented by the natural world, the temples, the sacred symbols, and ancient writings in surroundings. We were very satisfied for what that I did, It was all worth for such an amazing view that we could get.

The Tour We Join: Beijing Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace Day Tour by Bus

During this one day Beijing group tour, we did visit 4 famous historical sites after Great Wall. Those places are Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven and Summer Palace. You might unfamiliar with these places but with these pictures, it might help you to memorize and remember it.

A first spot we did visit is Tiananmen Square which regarded as the largest public square in the world. It said can hold one million people at the same time, and I think I believe it. Since the square was so huge so nothing impossible.

After took pictures in front of the entrance gate of Forbidden City then we entered the palace and find this huge hall called Taihedian in Chinese. It is the most important hall of Forbidden City, used as the place where hold several important ceremonies during Ming and Qing Dynasty.

The next place is Temple of Heaven, a sacrificial altar of Ming and Qing Dynasty worshipped heaven and prayed for good harvests. Our guide said that Temple of Heaven nearly four times larger than the Forbidden City and this is the main building of Temple of Heaven we did visit this time.

Come to our last sites called Summer Palace, a beautiful imperial garden of Qing Dynasty. This is a long corridor at Summer Palace, richly decorated with paintings on the beams and the ceiling. You can see the details of those paintings by wandering along the corridor.

Summer Palace consists primarily of the Wanshoushan (Longevity Hill) and Kunming Lake and houses more than 30 classical structures are scattering on the hill and around the lake.

Since we did visit this garden on winter, so this was the picture that I could get! Locals walk across the freezing manmade lake without any problems. The garden was quite peaceful in winter, less tourists. Do not make cold weather stop your travel plan, it was worth enough even travelling when winter.

The Tour We Join: 1 Day Guilin Li River Cruise & Yangshuo Bus Tour

After a short trip explore downtown Guilin and visit those famous natural attractions in town, we headed to the next trip. Since Guilin has its breathtaking scenery that everyone who loves nature should be admire, then we like to explore Guilin more and more.

A cruise from the port near the city took us cruised along Li River to get far away from the city, to Yangshuo. Yangshuo is a small town nearby Guilin offers best scenery of its karsts hill, winding river and mountain. The views along Li River were indeed absolutely gorgeous. The karst peaks seem to line the riverbank and then extend back into the distance in layers.

We floated down the Li silently, slowly most of the way, meeting up with other boats occasionally. Along the way, we see the most dramatic karsts landscapes. It was really relaxing experience, far from the city, crowded as well as pollution.

Arrived at Yangshuo, our guide took us to see some beautiful spots surroundings. Filled with high karsts hill, it looks brightly clear.

Explore Yangshuo is an excellent way to get deep into the countryside and see a lot of culture and locals life style in a short time. Till we arrived to West Street, a small pedestrian street in town where everything from souvenirs stores, bars, restaurants, cafes, and hotels are available here.

Pointing out the symbol of West Street pedestrian only here! The street was not crowded as I thought before. It was very peaceful and we had a comfortable here. After a short excursion here, it is time we left Yangshuo. We did feeling relaxed and renewed, ready to face our daily life again.