5-Day Tour of the Land of Yan and Zhao: Zhengding, Shijiazhuang, Xibaipo, Handan, and the Wahuang Palace

9:00 AM flight from Pudong T1 Satellite Hall. Took the first subway to the airport. Although it was a 6-day trip, we traveled light with just one carry-on suitcase, no checked luggage. We went straight to the gate, taking the small train along the way, arriving at the gate around 7:40 AM. Only Starbucks was open inside, so we grabbed a quick breakfast.

The first flight was basically on time, no delays. We crossed the North China Plain and arrived at the land of Yan and Zhao, east of the Taihang Mountains. The first day's schedule was tight, so I booked a pickup in advance through Ctrip. Shijiazhuang Airport isn't large—you can call the driver to pick you up as soon as you reach the baggage claim area, usually directly at the drop-off zone. The airport is in Zhengding, so we started our tour in the ancient city of Zhengding on the first day. First, we checked into the James Joyce Coffetel on Zhaoyun Road, right next to the City God Temple. It was a quiet location in the midst of the bustle, and the price was reasonable, though it had doubled during the National Day holiday. James Joyce Coffetel is a Jinjiang Hotel brand that combines café culture with hotel accommodations. Named after James Joyce, each room has a copy of his book. The initials JJ match Jinjiang, morphing into the Chinese character '喆' (zhe). It promotes a 24-hour Coffetel concept, with drip coffee in the rooms and a social space in the lobby combining a café, cultural bookstore, etc. But as hurried travelers, we didn't have time to enjoy these.

The flight didn't serve meals, so our first stop was to find food. Chatting with the driver who picked us up, we learned local specialties are mainly flour-based: beef pulled noodles, oven-baked sesame cakes, donkey meat sandwiches, etc. We went to Shentai Quanniu Restaurant on Zhongshan West Road and ordered a bowl of beef soup with he le (a type of noodle), two baked sesame cakes, a portion of beef, and a cucumber salad—total 53 yuan. Based on our experience over the following days, portions here are huge, and cold dishes can be mixed—you can take a bit of each item on display. From that meal, we ended up with one leftover sesame cake, which we packed and carried in our bag for three days without a chance to eat. From the very first meal, our stomachs were constantly at full capacity.

To reach Longxing Temple, we walked east along Zhongshan West Road. First, we passed an oven-baked sesame cake shop: a sugar and rose flavor for 2.5 yuan each, crispy and fragrant, perfect as a post-meal dessert. Soon after, we saw the Sumeru Pagoda at Kaiyuan Temple, commonly known as the Brick Pagoda, built in the Ming Dynasty in Tang style. It was backlit at that time; we would see it from the front the next day. Continuing, we arrived at Tianning Temple, where we could see the Lingxiao Pagoda, commonly known as the Wooden Pagoda, from the front. Due to time constraints, we took photos at the entrance. After about half an hour, we reached Longxing Temple at 1:50 PM.

Longxing Temple entrance ticket is 50 yuan, the most expensive in Zhengding; other temples are generally 20 yuan. It's known as the top temple outside Beijing, with the most treasures, including the 'Six Must-Sees.' The entire scenic area is long and narrow, expanded by successive emperors. It features a Sui Dynasty stele, Song Dynasty cross-shaped hall and thousand-armed Guanyin, Ming Dynasty murals and Vairocana Buddha, and Qing Dynasty double-sided Buddha and imperial stele pavilion. Strolling through, you have a timeless dialogue with the ancients. The most representative is the Mani Hall from the Song Dynasty, with the reversed-seated Guanyin inside—the Oriental Beauty Goddess that Lu Xun kept on his desk—and the Ming Dynasty murals, contemporary with the Renaissance, using flat lines and colors, somewhat lacking in three-dimensionality. Additionally, the Song Dynasty revolving sutra library, used for storing scriptures, has many tilted beams and pillars but can still rotate, praised by Liang Sicheng as 'a masterpiece of wooden architecture.' There's also a massive thousand-armed Guanyin built by Song Taizu: 42 arms, with 20 arms on each side besides the two palms joined in prayer, each holding a ritual implement and decorated with an eye. The statue is 21.3 meters tall, the largest ancient copper statue in China. Emperor Wanli also built a bronze Vairocana Buddha here, 6.42 meters tall, with 1,072 Buddha statues on three layers. For details, I suggest watching related videos before coming to truly admire the wisdom of ancient laborers. Inside, we also encountered a traditional costume song and dance performance, seemingly not organized by the scenic area, more like a flash mob, giving a hint of time travel. The bubble tea shop inside sells freshly ground coffee, but with too few beans, it tasted weak. On the right, there's a small memorial hall for Liang Sicheng, offering deeper insights into the ancient architecture; you can finish it in about 20 minutes.

Next to Longxing Temple is the Zhengding Museum, but we didn't have time to visit. We took a taxi to Zhaoyun Temple. The ancient city isn't large; calling a Didi usually costs about 10 yuan. The phrase 'I am Zhao Zilong of Changshan' is as iconic as 'Bond, James Bond'—a guaranteed quality. His deeds: the Battle of Changban, refusing marriage in Guiyang, escorting the bride in Eastern Wu, seizing the child at the river, conquering Shu along the river, the empty camp stratagem, slaying generals in his old age, declining rewards at Jigu—he is the perfect model of an ever-victorious general. Changshan is Zhengding. Zhaoyun Temple doesn't have much; most things are newly built. The most impressive is the statue at the entrance, dynamic in profile—'able to advance and retreat, a true instrument!'

We took a taxi to Linji Temple, where we could walk around the Chengling Pagoda, commonly known as the Green Pagoda. I think it's the most beautiful of Zhengding's four pagodas. Not far from Linji Temple is Yanghe Tower, a high point in the ancient city where you can see all four pagodas. Nearby is a pedestrian street; pomegranate juice was 25 yuan for two full pomegranates with ice, very refreshing. A note on the temperature: 29°C during the day, hot in the sun, but it cools down quickly at night; a light jacket is advisable. Along Yan-Zhao South Street, we reached the South Gate Barbican. It was past 5 PM; restaurants on both sides were moving tables and chairs onto the street to attract customers, full of vibrant energy. Suddenly hungry, we found a halal restaurant named Lao Ma Shao Mai. Learning from lunch, we ordered one serving of shao mai and one serving of beef 'zhaobing' (one layer of bread and three layers of meat). Again, we couldn't finish; the portion of zhaobing was too generous.

We walked to the South Gate as dusk fell and the lights came on, making the city gate tower suddenly beautiful. It was the Mid-Autumn Festival (August 15th lunar calendar). Climbing the city wall, we saw the resplendent gate tower with a large moon hanging in the distance. From the Three Kingdoms to now, 'People of today cannot see the ancient moon, but the ancient moon once shone upon the people of old.' While lamenting, suddenly the power went out... pitch black, only moonlight spilled on the city wall. If this happened at my workplace, it would be a major production accident during the holiday! But it was more suitable for moon-gazing. We walked around the barbican wall, marveling at the ingenuity of ancient city defense design. Even if a thousand people charged in, they'd be wiped out in minutes. By the time we descended the gate, the power still hadn't returned. It was still early, and two drivers recommended the night market at the small commodity market, so we decided to check it out.

The Zhengding Small Commodity Market stunned me! Apparently, it's a parking lot in the afternoon, cleared after 4 PM to become a night market—all street food, stretching endlessly. I hadn't visited such a bustling night market in a long time. It's not just one street; it's a food matrix! And you can pay with UnionPay QuickPass. I only regretted having one stomach. I loved it, loved it! Mao eggs, crawfish, grilled grasshoppers, grilled pig brains, small goods, crispy pork, corn cakes, grilled chicken wings, rice cakes. Even though I just had my health checkup and the report showed high blood lipids, high blood pressure, fatty liver, in this atmosphere, I went for it—Zilong had only courage! Although vendors start packing up after midnight, we spent a full hour eating and walking, covering only about 60%—we couldn't eat or walk anymore. We went back to the hotel, satisfied, ending Day 1 successfully.

I got up early to visit Kaiyuan Temple, hoping to see some Tang Dynasty relics. But at 7 AM it was still closed, so I could only take photos from outside the wall. The rising sun illuminated the pagoda body with golden light; indeed, it's best to come early.

After breakfast at the hotel, we checked out at 8:30 AM. A Didi from Zhengding to Hebei Museum cost only 29 yuan. We arrived right at 9 AM to check off the 'Four Treasures.' Museums are much more popular than a few years ago; I had to set an alarm last week to grab a reservation at night. You can follow the 'Le You Ji' (Happy Travel Hebei) official account to reserve most Hebei attractions. The museum front desk also offers luggage storage; I recommend touring empty-handed, as carrying a big backpack in crowds is inconvenient. Well, here they are: the Changxin Palace Lamp, the Jade Burial Suit sewn with gold thread, the Gold-Inlaid Bronze Boshan Incense Burner—all illustrations from history books, now right in front of us, visible from all angles. The large blue-and-white underglaze red jar is valued at at least 200 million yuan—just looking at it feels like earning a lot. Also, the silver-inlaid bronze double-winged mythical beast and the gold-and-silver-inlaid bronze four-dragon four-phoenix case base from the tomb of King Cuo of Zhongshan. We caught a free guided tour that lasted about 2 hours. There are many more treasures, but we had to head to Xibaipo in the afternoon, so we left around 11:30 AM, just in time to check in at the hotel next door.

The Shijiazhuang Hilton Hotel is the tallest building in the international city (a nickname for Shijiazhuang). During National Day, it was 958 yuan per night—worth it for the night view alone, since you'd pay 150 yuan for the Oriental Pearl Tower in Shanghai. The west-facing rooms have the best view: you can see mountains during the day and the CBD lights at night from the sofa. The other directions show endless houses. Also, since it's the tallest, when we went swimming on the 31st floor at night, we discovered the locker room and bathroom had floor-to-ceiling windows. It was the first time I took a shower while watching the night view—truly bold design. Back to noon: near the hotel, across from the People's Hospital, there's a row of restaurants. We entered a donkey meat sandwich shop and ordered a bowl of lamb soup, one donkey meat sandwich, one bowl of fried sauce noodles, one cold dish, and a bottle of Da Yao orange soda—total 57 yuan, very filling.

After lunch at 1 PM, we had arranged with yesterday's driver for a round trip to Xibaipo for 550 yuan—a bit expensive, but I couldn't find direct public transport from Shijiazhuang. I was worried about getting a ride back. Since 'New China came from here,' even if difficult, we had to come—this must be true love. The one-way trip took 1.2 hours, even with the expressway. Back then, this place was truly a good spot for both offense and defense! Commercial vehicles are stopped early at the scenic area entrance; you can't drive in unless you stay at a guesthouse inside. There's no entrance ticket; they make money from the eco-car fee of 20 yuan per person. Without it, it would take at least 4 hours to explore. With the ticket, you can hop on and off quickly. The first stop was the Former Site of the CPC Central Committee in Xibaipo, where the leaders lived. The adjacent village history museum is basically a souvenir shop; not necessary. The whole village is built on the mountain, with air-raid shelters dug into the mountain, with entrances to the war room and the residences of Mao, Zhu, and Liu. The photo of the site of the Second Plenary Session of the Seventh CPC Central Committee is exactly like in history books. The session made six rules: 1. No birthday celebrations; 2. No gift-giving; 3. Less toasting; 4. Less applause; 5. No naming places after people; 6. Don't equate Chinese comrades with Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Stalin. Then we took the eco-car to the Five Great Leaders statue—a landmark: Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi, Zhu De, Zhou Enlai, and Ren Bishi, standing by the lake looking toward the future of New China. I must complain about the surrounding planning: it's messy, with small restaurants and inns each doing their own thing, very uncoordinated, and vendors scattered around. The same type of site in Ruijin looks much cleaner. The whole scenic area took about 1.5 hours; we saw the key parts. On the way back, there's a huge five-pointed star and party emblem, a good spot for photos. The driver stopped, and we returned to Shijiazhuang by 5 PM.

We asked the driver to drop us at Shijiazhuang's landmark. So we arrived at the Shijiazhuang Liberation Monument and the Big Stone Bridge. This bridge is a dry bridge built over the Beijing-Hankou Railway to avoid hitting people and livestock. Now the railway is even more advanced—the entire section within Shijiazhuang is underground, completely enclosed; it feels more impressive than the subway. Shijiazhuang is also a major train station. For dinner, we went to Xiao Fang Niu restaurant. Its style is a bit like Haidilao; the staff are very enthusiastic, giving freebies. Although called 'Niu' (cow), their signature dish is 'Shenxian Chicken' (Immortal Chicken), crispy on the outside and tender inside, very tasty. After dinner, we returned to the hotel to see the night view. Shijiazhuang lacks a river passing through the city; high-rise commercial buildings are lined up along Zhongshan Road, quite straight, making the overall landscape a bit less lively.

Since we paid over a thousand for the hotel, checking out too early would be a waste, so we booked a 1:12 PM train to Handan. We slept in, visited the gym, and had breakfast. The hotel breakfast costs 168 yuan per person separately but is very rich: local pulled noodles, meat pies, various pastries; for Western options, there were four kinds of cheese, standard hash browns, baked beans, roasted tomatoes, salad, etc. For drinks, besides coffee, milk, and soy milk, there were seven fresh juices. We ate until 10 AM, planning to skip lunch on the train.

We checked out at 11:30 AM and took a Didi to Shijiazhuang East Station for 17 yuan. Unfortunately, we couldn't get tickets departing from Shijiazhuang main station, so we had to go to East Station and ride back. But even East Station surprised me: it was completely empty! Only the two of us at the huge station entrance, even during National Day—amazing. There were fewer than 20 people in the entire waiting hall, but four staff members. What a comfortable job! The train wasn't full either, so I don't know why tickets were so hard to get. The high-speed train quickly arrived in Handan. Handan isn't large; a Didi ride within the city is usually about 10 yuan.

We chose to stay near the museum again, at Hilton Hampton Inn. Great location: one side faces Longhu Park, diagonally opposite Handan Museum, and the other side is Meile City shopping center. These three could fill a whole day. After checking in at 3:30 PM, we headed straight to the museum, but unfortunately, Handan Museum was fully booked for the day as well. Good thing I had a Plan B—I quickly booked for the morning after next. So we went to Longhu Park instead.

Longhu Park is newly developed along the Fuyang River, with large lotus flower beds. There's also a Constitution Square with a marble constitution monument 8.2 meters high and 5.4 meters wide, representing the 1982 and 1954 versions. Just after the Mid-Autumn Festival, trees were hung with lantern riddles related to idioms. Handan is known as the capital of idioms and allusions. Among the over 5,000 known idioms, those related to Handan include 'learning to walk in Handan,' 'riding in Hu dress,' 'offering a humble apology,' 'fighting a paper war,' 'pipe dream,' 'burning boats,' 'hair standing on end,' 'lips gone, teeth cold,' 'a word worth nine tripods,' 'safe and sound,' 'abiding by the law,' 'white horse is not a horse,' 'indigo blue from indigo plant,' and over 1,580 more. The park also has a peculiar attraction: a boat ride to Fuyang Park, with a lock in between. It costs 50 yuan per person at night, with just a few rows of willow trees and 4-5 bridges along the way. A taxi for 10 yuan can carry 4 people, so I don't understand the added value of 50 yuan. A tour of Longhu Park takes about 1.5 hours; if pressed for time, you can skip it. We returned to the hotel to grab a jacket and then went to Huiche Alley.

Huiche Alley runs north-south for only about 500 meters, but its history spans over 2,000 years. A random photo of a neon chariot and the story that Lin Xiangru reversed his chariot here 2,000 years ago to avoid a conflict with Lian Po—this post surprisingly received the most likes on my social media during these two days. That's the cultural depth of Handan, and of China as a whole. At the entrance, there's an academy, and further inside are several buildings imitating Warring States style. Not many shops have moved in, but unlike other ancient streets that are all bars, restaurants, and souvenir shops, this one has grocery and meat shops—not just for tourists. There's also a church; a kind aunt called us in to introduce it and asked if we believed. At the end, there's a city gate. At the foot of the gate, there's a restaurant called 'Draw a cake to satisfy hunger.' Attracted by the poetic name, I decided to have something small there. A high-end fried cake with meatball soup cost 22 yuan. The fried cake was aromatic, and we were quite full. We saved some stomach space for the night market.

Exiting the city gate and turning right, across the street was the South City Night Market. Unlike Zhengding, besides food, they also sell clothes, bags, and accessories. Having been shocked yesterday, I was calmer today. We first had a steamed bun from Ye Shan Shan, then a bowl of lu zhu (stewed offal), and a piece of cantaloupe. Basically, we couldn't eat anymore. Watching people squatting on the ground eating grilled steak and pasta—what a strange combination! It was inconvenient to call a taxi here, so we walked one kilometer out and then called a Didi. On the roadside, there was even a '2 Yuan Store'—2 yuan, folks! Don't miss it if you pass by; you won't lose anything at 2 yuan—the familiar spiel. That's the vibe of everyday life.

Today's only task was Shexian Wahuang Palace. Again, no direct transport. After searching online, we had to first go to Handan Bus Terminal near the train station, take a long-distance bus to Shexian, and then a taxi to the scenic spot. There's a regular bus, Route 812, costing 24 yuan, about 150 minutes; an express bus costs 40 yuan for 90 minutes. Buses depart from 7 AM with the last return at 6:20 PM. Route 812 runs more frequently; the express bus runs every half hour. We took the express going and the regular bus returning. The regular bus is larger, so you can stand if tired. Either way, you can buy tickets in advance on the mini-program 'He Li Chu Xing.' But we didn't know, so we missed the 8:30 bus. We departed at 9 AM and reached Shexian at 10:30 AM. Actually, you can get off once you enter the county and take a Didi to Wahuang Palace, saving the trip through town. The distance is still considerable; the taxi cost 36 yuan.

Wahuang Palace entrance ticket is 70 yuan, eco-car 20 yuan, cable car 70 yuan—worthy of its 5A rating. It is said to be the place where Nüwa molded humans from clay and mended the sky. It was first built in the Northern Qi Dynasty, known as the 'Ancestral Temple of China,' on par with the Mausoleum of the Yellow Emperor and Yandi. It is one of the national pilgrimage sites for ancestor worship. The eco-car is unavoidable; they've fenced off a large area, and walking would waste time and energy. As for the cable car, perhaps to avoid disrupting feng shui, it's built very far from the main temple. I originally bought a round-trip ticket, but after seeing the cliff inscriptions, I wasn't willing to walk back. Anyway, I recommend taking the cable car up; the mountain is not low. Between the cable car and the main temple, there's a Buzi Terrace (sky patching platform) with many steps and nothing on top. Not recommended for those with weak stamina.

As the only scenic spot with natural scenery on this trip, Wahuang Palace's feng shui is excellent: backed by mountains, surrounded by water, with the left green dragon, right white tiger, front vermilion bird, and back black tortoise. The palace is built on a steep cliff, with Fenghuang Mountain behind acting as a screen. You can ring the bell in the bell tower on the right for free, though it's a bit crowded. The main pavilion has three floors, named Qingxu, Zaohua, and Butian, each housing a statue of Nüwa. She is indeed beautiful, but you must not have mundane thoughts, or else Daji would be reborn. Wahuang Palace is known as a 'living building and hanging temple,' suspended above the cliff, fixed by nine iron chains behind the temple. When crowded, the chains tighten; when few people, they slacken. To see the chains, go to the second floor of the pavilion and walk to the back; don't miss it. Besides the suspended pavilion, the cliff inscriptions in the left cave are precious cultural relics, with over 130,000 characters, carved over ten years starting from the Northern Qi Dynasty. This was a transitional period from clerical to regular script, including the Wei tablet style. All three calligraphy styles are present, hailed as 'silver hooks and iron strokes, unparalleled in the world.' After seeing the inscriptions, I decided to abandon the return cable car ticket and walk down—after all, the Nüwa statue is also below. Going down the winding path was exhausting, especially the steps before and after the Nüwa statue, which look daunting.

Overall tour time: boarded the eco-car at 11:25 AM and returned to the entrance at 3:50 PM. We had lunch on the road with dry rations and an apple. At that time, it was hard to find a Didi back, and we were nervous because the last bus back was at 6 PM. After waiting about 15 minutes, we finally got a taxi and even picked up two college students also rushing back to Handan; they were taking a 4:45 PM train back, which is also an option—about 2.5 hours. Our Route 812 bus wound through Shexian for a while, and we returned to Handan before 7 PM. If driving, I recommend eating at Chishuiwan Ancient Town on the way back, or you can stay in Shexian—the conditions are good, with property prices reaching 9,000 yuan per square meter.

We had dinner at Meile City, which seems to be Handan's hottest commercial complex. It even has an ice rink, a rooftop garden, and a viewing stand facing the Handan Grand Theater. Outside, there are night market stalls, a small playground, go-karts, and a super long slide—very lively. A thorough tour would take half a day. Every restaurant requires a queue, with per capita spending around 70-80 yuan. After dinner, we went to the rooftop Teresa Teng Music Square for a walk, enjoying the night view across the street—very pleasant.

We had a reservation for the museum at 9 AM and caught the first guided tour. There were many excellent items. The most beautiful: a gold-gilt jade-inlaid three-dragon ornament; the most precious: a gold-and-silver-coated wide-rimmed three-bear-foot vessel (originally thought to be for steaming buns but actually for wine); the most majestic: a replica of the Great Buddha Cave at Xiangtangshan; the most vivid: an openwork kui-dragon patterned gold plaque; the cutest: the 'Handan Smile'—a red sandstone laughing arhat; the most adorable: a duck from the State of Zhao. Also, a simplified version of the Boshan incense burner, an early version of the Changxin palace lamp... We finished the tour in exactly two hours.

We took a taxi to Xuebu Bridge (Learning-to-Walk Bridge). Hua Hua wanted to learn to walk properly, so we came to this city with the best walking style to soak up the good luck. Although it's a newly built bridge, the stone lions on it have been polished shiny by touch. Both sides of the Qin River are quite peaceful, but one block away, in front of the First Hospital, it's a completely different scene—full of stalls! Small carts lined up along the sidewalk, selling various noodles, fried rice, pancakes, and fruits. Beef noodles: large or small bowl? Small bowl? Wrong! It should be one bowl. Even a small bowl was too much; we couldn't finish it. We also ordered a bottle of Congtai liquor. As the saying goes, 'Lu wine is thin, and Handan is besieged.' With a 2,000-year history, it's known as the first cellar of northern strong aroma; we had to taste it. Of course, we couldn't finish 500 ml; we just sipped a bit to appreciate it.

After lunch, we walked to Congtai Park. The park is free, but climbing Congtai costs 5 yuan. Standing at the top, you really feel like a ruler overlooking the land. Wuling Congtai: 'Connected and not singular, hence Congtai.' King Wuling of Zhao adopted Hu-style cavalry and archery, strengthening Zhao. He built the terrace for military reviews and ceremonies. Below, warhorses gallop; with a flag signal, ten thousand arrows fly. Above, music from strings, flutes, and drums plays, while Zhao maidens dance gracefully. A poem goes: 'Beautiful women dance at Congtai, expanding territory showcasing talent; warhorses neigh and soar, brave men pacify the country with banners unfurled.' Later, Cao Cao built the Three Terraces of Yecheng nearby: Jin Feng Tai, Tong Que Tai, and Bing Jing Tai. Inside Congtai Park, there's also a Memorial Hall of Qin Shi Huang's Birthplace, using a series of murals to recount the legendary 51-year life of the First Emperor. Truly an extraordinary man.

After seeing Congtai, it was before 2:30 PM. Originally, we planned to visit Zhaoyuan Park or the Huangliangmeng Luxian Temple, but after taking 20,000 steps each day for several days, both of us middle-aged people were exhausted. So we decided to experience the northern bath culture. We went to Liangpin Zu Dao massage parlor next to the Century Crown Hotel. The men's section had a soaking pool, but the women's didn't, even though the price was the same—136 yuan per person for bathing and foot massage. Scrubbing cost 49 yuan; they were skillful, and I probably lost a pound. The foot massage was so comfortable that I fell asleep. When I woke up, it was time for dinner. Originally, we wanted to go to Ermao Roast Chicken, but it was closed. So we went to Dongliu West Street near Meile City, which has a completely different style—all small eateries (literally 'fly restaurants'). We didn't want more noodles, so we chose a restaurant called 'Jie Li.' Though upstairs, it looked elegantly decorated. Pickled vegetables, metal chopsticks—standard Korean diner setup. We couldn't handle grilled meat, so we ordered a tomato beef cheese baked rice and a chicken tender salad, plus Calpis—total 96 yuan. We ate happily. Then we walked through Meile City to buy some local specialties before heading home.

Day 6: We had breakfast early at the hotel, left at 7:20 AM, and took a taxi to the airport for 40 yuan. The 9:40 AM flight was no pressure. The airport also had a specialty shop, so we bought vacuum-packed Ermao Roast Chicken and Dayan double-yolk duck eggs. To be honest, the packaged roast chicken wasn't very good—too salty. The duck eggs were also salted eggs, perfect with congee. You can take a couple; double-yolk eggs are a good gift for kids to get 100 on exams.

Overall, for the 6-day, 5-night trip, transportation costs accounted for 50%, accommodation 29%, tickets 5%, food and snacks 8%, and shopping 8%.

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