Flying from ‘Rooster’s Head’ to ‘Rooster’s Belly’ in February: A Different Winter Encounter

The idea of flying from the 'Rooster's Head' (Liaoning) to the 'Rooster's Belly' (the area covering Anhui, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, and Shanghai) came from a classmate’s suggestion. In the northern winter, the trees have long shed their splendid clothes, the wind cuts like a knife, and desolation stretches in every direction. But in the south, winter is still full of vivid green trees and blooming flowers, a scene of thriving life. Thinking that our son had been cooped up at home for a long time, we decided to take him to a warm place to get a head start on spring, to relax and unwind, and to get some exercise. Besides, at 118 cm tall, he didn’t need any extra tickets except for the flight and Disneyland—so it was the perfect chance to seize the moment and set off!

**Preparation: Expanding Knowledge and Building Skills**

People say that taking children traveling broadens their horizons and nurtures their abilities. I kept thinking: what kind of horizons should my child actually be broadening? What abilities should he be developing? First, I wanted us to have a basic understanding of our destinations so we wouldn’t just wander aimlessly. So I bought a map and a children’s puzzle map. During the holidays, we often played map puzzle games. Through these games, my son discovered that the shape of Heilongjiang Province looks like a dinosaur, Shandong Province like a camel, Anhui like… In the games, he also learned each province’s capital city, local specialties, and where they are located. With this foundation, we looked at the map together and designed our travel route. To avoid backtracking and to keep the distance between any two scenic spots under two hours (a lesson learned from that 2009 Kunming trip, when we spent nearly 15 hours on a bus from Kunming to Lijiang—even adults find that hard to endure, let alone when traveling with a child), we strung together the places we wanted to visit into a single itinerary:

Dandong – Shenyang – Hefei – Huangshan – Jingdezhen – Wuyuan – Hangzhou – Shanghai – Dalian – Dandong

Second, I supplemented some necessary background knowledge. During the holidays I often browsed online, collected relevant content, and then retold it to him in child-friendly language to spark his interest. For example, Hefei is an old Three Kingdoms site and the hometown of Bao Zheng. I told him the story of young Bao Zheng interrogating a stone, and tales from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms about Zhang Liao defeating many with few, stirring his desire to see these places. I also taught him some classical lines describing the beauty of Huangshan and Hangzhou’s West Lake, showed him videos of legends like Leifeng Pagoda, and we watched many classic Disney animated films together. In the process, I learned a lot too—and looking back, these were all very important for our child!

Third, during the trip, I focused on cultivating his abilities. That meant if he could do something himself, we wouldn’t do it for him. Things like buying subway tickets, fetching train tickets, finding seats, reading signs to lead the way, asking for directions, visiting places with a plan, managing time wisely, and learning safety tips for trains and planes… we just played the role of lazy mom and dad :)

Beyond that, you must download the Amap, Ctrip, Baidu, Huangshan audio guide, and Disneyland apps on your phone. I honestly think these are absolutely essential!

**The Journey: Day 1 (Feb 10) Hefei**

At 6:30 a.m. we got on the airport bus to Shenyang, then a two-and-a-half-hour flight to Hefei. For the little guy taking his first flight, his mood was beyond excited. Before takeoff, he very earnestly followed the flight attendant’s safety demonstration and even gave me a demo. He also fiddled with all the buttons, indicators, and the tray table in the armrest a good n times. Once airborne, he excitedly told me that the houses and cars on the ground looked just like his little toys. Looking out the window, the nearby clouds were like cotton candy—he felt that reaching out he could pluck a few. Gazing farther, the white clouds spread across the entire sky like a vast, boundless ocean churning with white waves—majestic! While we were still watching, the plane was already preparing to land. We collected our luggage, stepped out of the airport, and the moment the door opened, a warm breeze greeted us. The winter in Hefei is lovely!

Earlier, everyone had advised against spending two days in Hefei, but I had a different opinion. From reading travelogues online, I found that Hefei is a city with deep cultural roots—it’s not only the hometown of Bao Zheng but also an old Three Kingdoms site, and its most famous sights are clustered in the old town area, so you don’t have to travel far. The airport bus dropped us near the old town. Using Amap, I searched for a nearby hotel called Orange Constellation Hotel, and the navigation took us there in three minutes. The hotel had been renovated just the previous year—clean, cozy, and charmingly unique.

After dropping off our bags, we strolled over to the nearby Xiaoyaojin Park. In ancient times, Xiaoyaojin was a ford on the Fei River. Outside the park, there’s a Xijin Bridge, also called Xiaoyao Bridge, which was an important traffic thoroughfare for Hefei. Xiaoyaojin’s name has a long history, made famous by the ancient Three Kingdoms battlefields. Cao Wei and Eastern Wu fought over Hefei for 32 years, and the most famous battle here was when General Zhang Liao defeated Sun Quan’s 100,000-strong army with only 7,000 men. That battlefield was right here.

A statue of General Zhang Liao

After paying respects to the hero, we wandered along the lakeside path deeper into the park. In February, most trees were still green, and red, yellow, and purple flowers dotted the landscape here and there. For us, accustomed to the bareness of winter, everything felt so novel and beautiful! A soft breeze stirred, the water rippled, and leaning against a stone bridge to gaze at pavilions and terraces in the distance was simply blissful!

The park had many ancient bridges in varied and unique shapes. My son’s favorite was the one made of large and small round stones; he bounced back and forth on it happily.

Following the sound of music, we found an amusement area in the park. Because it was the weekend, the place was overflowing with children’s laughter and cheer.

We spent two or three hours strolling in the park. Sometimes we’d trail behind two or three local elderly people and listen to their authentic Anhui dialect; it felt like a foreign language, though trying to imitate a phrase or two was rather fun. Toward evening we went to a very popular Luzhou Roast Duck Restaurant on Huaihe Road Pedestrian Street for dinner. The best thing there was the red bean paste with sago.

After dinner, on the way back to the hotel, we bumped into Mingjiao Temple, also known as the old Jiaonutai site—originally Cao Cao’s command platform. A bit further on, we saw the Former Residence of Li Hongzhang, also right on this pedestrian street.

**Day 2 (Feb 11) Hefei Science and Technology Museum, Bao Park**

We got up early and headed to the Hefei Science and Technology Museum, which boasts over a hundred hands-on science activities. Not only did kids like Xiaomi have a whale of a time, but even the two of us grown-ups were totally engrossed—truly a place of edutainment.

How is food digested and absorbed? How are waste materials expelled? The little guy concentrated so hard he repeated the exhibit three or four times, figuring out both questions in the process. He finally understood why I’m always nagging him to chew slowly and have regular bowel movements!

That tall one is Xiaomi

Air cannon—the kid had a blast

Look how attentively he’s listening

Haha, a bunch of Xiaomis. If there really were this many at home, then…

The whole morning flew by in what felt like an instant. After bargaining again and again, the little guy finally agreed to leave. This place is just perfect for bringing children back again and again. Every time I’m in places like this, I feel especially sorry for my child: if only we lived in a city like this, where education and healthcare are more advanced, it would benefit both his health and his world view. Sigh—all we can do is bring him out to see more!

At noon we returned to Huaihe Road Pedestrian Street, hoping to try the signature dishes of the most hyped Luzhou Taijia restaurant, but the queue was just too long. We ended up eating at another highly rated noodle shop called Soul-Selling Noodles, leaving that regret for a future visit. After lunch, we went to Bao Park. This park was built to commemorate the famously upright official Bao Zheng of the Northern Song Dynasty and mainly consists of the Bao Zheng Memorial Temple, Bao Gong’s Tomb, Qingfeng Pavilion, Fuzhuang, and other sights.

The afternoon was sunny, the temperature pleasant, and there wasn’t a breath of wind—almost like early summer back home. Many people were out strolling in the park. Since we had a high-speed train to Huangshan later, we only ambled along the park paths for a bit and visited just the Bao Zheng Memorial Temple. The temple was first built in the Song Dynasty and rebuilt in the eighth year of the Guangxu era, with funds donated by Li Hongzhang. The complex includes the main hall, east and west side rooms, Lianquan Well, Liufang Pavilion, Huilan Pavilion, a wax figure hall of Bao Gong stories, and extensive waters and gardens. Entering the main hall, you see an eight-foot-tall statue of Bao Zheng seated squarely in the center, with Wang Chao, Ma Han, Zhang Long, and Zhao Hu standing on either side, and the three guillotines—Dragon-head, Tiger-head, and Dog-head—placed nearby. Walking east, there’s an ancient well inside a hexagonal pavilion, originally called Bao Gong Well and now known as Lianquan Well. Behind the pavilion is the wax figure hall, where dramatic scenes like “Angrily Impeaching the Emperor’s Father-in-law,” “The Case of Chen Shimei,” and “Beating the Dragon Robe” are depicted with extraordinarily lifelike wax figures. To the west, a pavilion called Liufang Pavilion is said to be where the young Bao Zheng studied. Further west is Huilan Pavilion, a cultural corridor that uses various crafts—Ou sculpture, stone inscriptions, calligraphy, paintings, and gilded wood carvings—to portray Bao Gong’s life and recreate his historical image in meticulous detail.

On the road we came across a sugarcane juice vendor; it was our first time drinking sugarcane juice, and it was wonderfully sweet.

4:50 pm Hefei – Huangshan North (2 hours by high-speed rail), then Huangshan North to Tangkou (1 hour by bus). Around 8 pm we arrived at Youdoufu Inn at the foot of Huangshan. At the inn we ordered a few local specialties. Though it was a small place, the flavors were super authentic. Just that the hairy tofu didn’t have the long hairs I had imagined, but the braised pork with fresh bamboo shoots—oh, so fragrant and delicious!

But having dinner sitting there made me feel that special bone-chilling damp cold of a southern winter. Whether it was the cook or other staff, when not busy they would all sit inside a box. We were quite curious and after asking learned that nearly every household here has such a box, with a heating pipe underneath. In the cold indoor winter, people sit inside the box and cover themselves with a quilt; they won’t feel cold. It’s a very low-cost homemade heater. Aren’t people here clever?

**Day 3 (Feb 12): Huangshan Scenic Area**

In the morning, the sun rose early, its rays sprinkling every corner of the small town, bringing us warmth and lifting our spirits. The innkeeper arranged a car to take us to the station, and we boarded a shuttle to the Yungu scenic area. The road was flanked by a kingdom of bamboo, a world of bamboo. My eyes were riveted by the upright, emerald-green bamboo shoots passing one after another, so that even after a ten-minute drive through the dense sea of bamboo, I still couldn’t get enough.

When the bus arrived at the Yungu area, we got on the cable car to Bai’e Ridge. As the cable car climbed higher and we looked down, the scenery instantly captured my heart. I can only use “awe-inspiring” to describe my inner feelings at that moment. Against the deep blue sky, the peaks looked exceptionally delicate and handsome. Some resembled immortals standing on the summit admiring the view; others looked like layers of colorful silk fluttering among the mountains; still others were like sharp swords thrusting into the clouds, with uniquely shaped Huangshan pines dotting them everywhere, making one doubt whether it was nature or master craftsmen who sculpted them. At that moment, my son loudly recited: “Returning from the five sacred mountains, one doesn’t look at other mountains; returning from Huangshan, one doesn’t look at the five great mountains.” He must have wanted to express his feelings with that line!

That kid on his beloved cable car again, grinning from ear to ear!

Getting off the cable car, we were already at an altitude of 1,667 meters. Following the hand-drawn map the innkeeper had given us, we planned to spend one and a half days visiting Shixin Peak – Lion Peak – Bright Summit – Buxian Bridge – Aoyu Peak – Hundred-Step Cloud Ladder – Greeting Pine – Yuping Scenic Area.

The weather was so clear, the air so fresh, the temperature so pleasant, and at such a high peak there was no wind. Though this meant we wouldn’t see the spectacular sea of clouds over Huangshan, only such weather allowed you to roam Huangshan in complete comfort.

The Huangshan audio guide app I’d downloaded earlier finally came in handy; at every spot there was an introduction and related legends.

Nature used its magical brush to paint a vast, magnificent ink-wash painting. Standing before this giant scroll, my heart felt especially expansive.

One of the Four Wonders of Huangshan—Fantastic Rocks. Strange rocks are truly everywhere on Huangshan. Some look like an immortal drying a boot, some like the tortoise and the hare racing, some like a lion snatching a ball. The one that impressed me most was Monkey Gazing at the Sea. Climbing up Lion Peak and looking into the distance, you see a stone monkey sitting on a huge rock, staring far away. It’s said this monkey is gazing at his wife over in Taiping County.

Buxian Bridge—the bridge built between two sheer cliffs.

Another wonder—Uniquely-shaped Pines. Their uniqueness lies in both their form and where they grow. Look, every Huangshan pine is so straight and handsome; some even survive tenaciously in rocky crevices without soil.

A few dozen meters from the Greeting Pine is a Farewell Pine as well.

The monkeys here are really abundant. When hungry, they dig through trash cans themselves, competing with the garbage pickers for their meals. Some even take advantage when tourists aren’t looking, rummaging through bags left on the ground and looting all the food. Everyone was caught between laughter and tears.

We stayed at the well-located Baiyun Hotel on the mountain, where both accommodation and meals were very expensive. But thinking that all the food was carried up bit by bit by porters from the foot of the mountain made it feel worthwhile.

**Day 4 (Feb 13) Huangshan, Tunxi Old Street**

The next morning, to see the sunrise, people streamed to Bright Summit from all directions early, eyes full of hope towards the east. Thinking back to my trips to Xiamen and Qinhuangdao, I’d always missed the sunrise. The last one I vaguely remember was by the Yalu River, probably back in primary school. Today was an exceptionally clear day on Huangshan, and I believed we’d finally meet her here! At 6:20, the lazy sun still hadn’t risen. Time ticked by, and around 6:30, a sudden murmur rippled through the crowd. A red glow appeared on the horizon, its area spreading larger and larger, dyeing the sky into a gradient orange. We knew the sun was about to rise, so we fixed our gaze without blinking. At first, the sun was like a shy girl, peeking out a tiny crescent of her blushing red face, then slowly revealing half her pink cheeks, and finally mustering the courage to show all her beauty. Ten thousand rays of rosy light shone between the mountain ranges and into our hearts, filling me with warmth, courage, and a surge of positive energy. That scene—my camera couldn’t capture even a tenth of its beauty.

In the afternoon, a car took us to Tunxi Old Street in Huangshan City. This is truly a wonderful place: you can admire ancient buildings from the Ming and Qing dynasties, appreciate She inkstones, and most importantly, we went to Old Street First Lou to taste the stinky mandarin fish recommended on *A Bite of China*. The flavor was so incredibly delicious that even now, just talking about it makes our mouths water.

This time we finally saw what hairy tofu really looks like. What is hairy tofu? It’s tofu covered with hairs three to four centimeters long! Oh my, if I’d known it looked like this, we definitely wouldn’t have eaten it back in Tangkou.

**Day 5 (Feb 14) Huangshan – Jingdezhen (2 hours by train)**

We planned only one day in Jingdezhen, so we just visited the national 5A-rated scenic area—the Ancient Kiln Folk Customs Exposition. At the entrance, a porcelain mosaic spells out “See the Forbidden City in the north, visit ancient kilns in the south,” actually equating itself with the Forbidden City. Isn’t that a huge exaggeration? But when you truly step inside and hear the guide’s explanation, you’ll exclaim that it’s entirely deserving. In this thousand-year-old porcelain town, everything from street lamps, trash cans, and tables to the drainage ditches by the roadside is made of porcelain. Here we watched the entire handcrafted porcelain-making process, learning that a single piece of handmade porcelain goes through over a dozen steps. Each master, from their teens to their seventies or eighties, devotes their whole life to just one of those procedures, relying entirely on experience. Witnessing such consummate skill, we deeply felt the spirit of Jingdezhen’s artisans and couldn’t help but sigh: it truly deserves its title as a city in dialogue with the world!

Marvelous porcelain rhythms: The harps, drums, flutes, pipas (and some instruments I don’t know the names of) played by these women are all made of ceramic. The melodies are beautiful and pleasing to the ear. Look how absorbed that kid is!

Traditional porcelain-making process

It looks very much like the winter jasmine back home, but the guide told me this is a type of plum blossom.

Bamboo groves are everywhere—no wonder the bamboo shoots here are so delicious.

These are the various official kilns used to fire porcelain. Kilns from different periods each had their advantages and drawbacks. Whether a firing succeeded or not depended entirely on the master’s experience.

At the Jingdezhen porcelain market, the kid was interested in absolutely everything he saw; he had to touch and play with every tiny trinket.

**Day 6 (Feb 15) Jingdezhen – Wuyuan County, Shangrao City (1 hour by bus)**

Wuyuan! I’ve dreamed of you a thousand times, and today I finally set foot here! Seeing the towering ancient trees, I know you are already a millennium-old elder. Rows of white-walled, grey-tiled Ming and Qing Huizhou-style houses stand quietly, silently recording your glorious, profound, and weathered history. Although I didn’t get to see your boundless golden rapeseed flowers in full bloom this time, the terraced fields stretching a thousand shades of green have already won my heart. No wonder people call you: China’s most beautiful countryside!

Thousand-year-old trees are everywhere.

Today in Wuyuan Huangling the temperature was over twenty degrees Celsius, making it feel like summer had arrived. Since it was February and the rapeseed flowers hadn’t yet entered their full blooming season, there weren’t too many visitors. Walking along quiet village paths, my eyes were filled with yellow-green rapeseed blossoms, birds chirped merrily, two or three butterflies frolicked and danced among the fields, and bees buzzed industriously… gazing and gazing, I became utterly intoxicated! In that moment I suddenly understood why poets wrote lines like “Children hurry after yellow butterflies; the butterflies fly into the rape flowers, nowhere to be found” and “Playful butterflies linger and dance from time to time; carefree orioles sing so perfectly.”

On the high-altitude glass walkway of the Heart Stacking Bridge, Xiaomi’s dad, who never usually fears heights, felt dizzy after just a few steps, yet Xiaomi himself bounced and jumped along without a care. Is this what they call a newborn calf not fearing the tiger?

Wuyuan Huangling’s unique “drying autumn harvest” households

The House of Oddities is full of strange things

The kid was fascinated by this directly drinkable tap water, but he could never aim right and got his face all wet :)

Experiencing the feeling of being a groom, his heart filled with secret delight. Where will your bride be? :)

Evening: Wuyuan County – Shangrao City – Hangzhou (3 hours by high-speed rail). We stayed at a Home Inn by West Lake; the location, environment, and cleanliness were all top-notch—the two most satisfying days.

**Day 7 (Feb 16) Hangzhou**

When in Hangzhou, West Lake is a must-visit. After breakfast we got ready to wander around, but unexpectedly a fine drizzle began, gifting us with the chance to admire the “misty mountains, so enchanting in the rain” scene.

Rainy days—though the scenery is hazy and beautiful—always feel a bit inconvenient. Just as I was thinking that, the sky suddenly brightened, the sun broke through the clouds, and its light shimmered on the water’s surface in rippling gold. My son shouted: “Mama, mama, this must be ‘The shimmering water on a sunny day is just right,’ isn’t it?” Smiling, I said to him, “Yes, you see, whether it’s rainy West Lake or sunny West Lake, both are beautiful. Isn’t it ‘Light or heavy makeup, always suitable’?”

Taking advantage of the fine weather, we rented two bicycles and started circling West Lake. However, it wasn’t just one yuan per hour as the internet said—we paid almost a hundred yuan for less than two hours.

A cute little squirrel has already become friends with humans; no matter how many people gathered around, it went on nibbling its big pine cone as if nobody was there.

Because he had watched the true history and folklore of Leifeng Pagoda, my son had it constantly on his mind, and today he finally saw its real face.

My husband’s surname is Li, so he really is the “Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li” in name and fact :)

In the afternoon we went to the Zhejiang Museum of Natural History—another place well worth bringing children to.

The enormous dinosaur fossils left a deep impression on us.

**Day 8 (Feb 17) Hangzhou – Shanghai Disneyland (2 hours by train)**

We chose a non-holiday to visit Disneyland to avoid the big crowds, but there were still a few thousand people queuing ahead of us. Still, compared to peak season it was much less crowded. That’s when the strategy guide we’d prepared and the Disneyland queue-status app came in handy. So apart from skipping the two hottest rides, Soaring Over the Horizon and Roaring Rapids, we managed to do almost everything else—really suitable for a child Xiaomi’s age. However, all our days in the south had been sunny; only this one was overcast. The gloomy, chilly weather made me too lazy to even take out my camera.

I feel that before coming to Disneyland, you should definitely let your child watch the related animated films, so that when he plays here, he feels like he’s really in the scenes.

A scene from Alice in Wonderland

All the characters and animals from the animated films appeared on Mickey Avenue. Their wonderful performances, enthusiastic waves, hugs, and handshakes—the whole atmosphere was just sensational!

A high-tech creation that makes you feel as if you’re inside a Pirates of the Caribbean movie scene.

Disney’s TRON Lightcycle Power Run speeds through a tunnel under a magnificent dome. My poor little heart—it got such a jolt, truly an electrifying experience!

Gorgeous evening light show

Before leaving, my son insisted on taking home a little Mickey doll that looked exactly like the one he’d seen in *Mickey Mouse Clubhouse*. He’d never expressed such a strong wish before, so this time we granted it.

**Day 9 (Feb 18) Shanghai Zhujiajiao Ancient Town, City God Temple, The Bund**

As soon as we entered the Zhujiajiao scenic area, we saw people dressed as the Monkey King and Mickey Mouse coming right up to pose with our child. Their movements were smooth and in perfect sync. At first I thought it was a fun activity organized by the scenic spot! After two photos, they showed me what was written on their wrists: “We are deaf-mutes, photos 20 yuan!” I was very helpless, speechless, and angry. Let’s just pretend they were telling the truth. But worse was yet to come. Ten minutes later, my son must have touched the dyed fuzz of the Monkey King costume, because his eyes and the area around them swelled up. Oh well, those two photos came at a heavy price—live and learn!

Inside Zhujiajiao Ancient Town, old bridges, emerald-green waterways, distinctive black-awning boats, and white-walled, grey-tiled traditional houses weave together a classic Jiangnan water-town scroll.