February Flyover: From China’s “Chicken Head” to Its “Chicken Belly,” Meeting a Different Winter
It all started with a friend’s suggestion: why not fly from the country’s “chicken head” (Liaoning) to its “chicken belly” (the swath of Anhui, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, and Shanghai)? In the northern winter, trees had long shed their splendid robes, the wind cut sharp and cold, and everywhere looked bleak. Meanwhile, the south in winter was alive with vibrant green trees and blooming flowers—sheer vitality. Our son had been cooped up indoors for ages, so we decided to escape the chill, take him somewhere warm to get an early taste of spring, relax our minds and bodies, and toughen him up a little. And at 118 cm tall, he wouldn’t cost anything extra beyond airfare and a Disneyland ticket. What a perfect window to seize—off we go!
Preparation: People say traveling with kids broadens their horizons and builds skills. I kept asking myself: What exactly should he be gaining, and what abilities are we nurturing? First, I wanted him to have a basic grasp of our destinations so he wouldn’t wander around clueless. So I bought a wall map and a children’s map puzzle. During the holiday, we played map-puzzle games together over and over. Through those games, my son discovered that Heilongjiang Province is shaped like a dinosaur, Shandong like a camel, Anhui like… well, something else, and he learned each province’s capital city and local specialties, along with where they’re located. With that foundation, we studied the map together and designed our route. To avoid backtracking and keep the distances between any two sights under two hours (a critical point!—on our 2009 trip to Kunming, we slogged through nearly 15 hours on a bus from Kunming to Lijiang, which was brutal even for adults, let alone with a child), we strung together the places we wanted to visit that sat close to one another. That’s how we settled on this itinerary:
Dandong – Shenyang – Hefei – Huangshan – Jingdezhen – Wuyuan – Hangzhou – Shanghai – Dalian – Dandong
Second: supplement with some essential knowledge about where we were going. During the break, I often collected information online and then relayed it to my son in language he could understand, sparking his curiosity. For example, Hefei is a historic Three Kingdoms site and the hometown of Judge Bao (Bao Zheng). I told him the story of how a young Bao Zheng interrogated a stone to solve a case, and tales from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, like how Zhang Liao used a small force to defeat a much larger army. That stirred up his desire to see the place. I also taught him a few classical verses praising Huangshan and Hangzhou’s West Lake, showed him videos of the Legend of the Leifeng Pagoda and other folklore, and we watched multiple classic Disney animated movies together. In the process, I learned plenty myself. Looking back, all this was incredibly valuable for a child.
Third: consciously cultivate his abilities along the way. In other words, whenever he could do something himself, we absolutely did not do it for him. Buying metro tickets, picking up train tickets, finding our seats, reading signs to navigate, asking directions, planning sightseeing in an orderly way, managing time wisely, learning safety tips for buses and planes—hmm, we were determined to be lazy dad and lazy mom. :)
Beyond that, you absolutely must download these apps on your phone: Amap (Gaode Maps), Ctrip, Baidu, Huangshan Voice Guide, and the Shanghai Disney Resort app. Trust me, you can’t do without a single one!
On the Road: Day 1 (Feb 10) Hefei
We caught the 6:30 am airport bus to Shenyang, then flew Shenyang–Hefei in two and a half hours. That little guy, riding an airplane for the very first time, was beyond excited. Before takeoff, he paid very serious attention as the flight attendant taught airplane safety, and then he gave me a full demonstration. He fiddled with every button, indicator light, and the tray table tucked into the armrest about a million times. Once airborne, he exclaimed that the houses and cars on the ground looked like his toy miniatures. Through the window, the puffy clouds nearby were just like clumps of cotton candy—he felt he could reach out and pluck a few. Looking farther, the clouds blanketed the whole sky like white waves rolling across a boundless ocean—majestic and magnificent! Just as he was soaking it all in, the plane was already preparing to land. We collected our luggage, walked out of the airport, and the moment the door opened, a warm breeze hit our faces. Ah, Hefei’s winter is wonderful!
Earlier, everyone else had been against staying in Hefei for two days, but I had a different opinion. From reading travel journals online, I’d found that Hefei is a city with deep cultural roots—the hometown of Bao Zheng and an ancient Three Kingdoms battleground. Its most notable sights are clustered around the old town, so there’s no need to dash about. The airport bus dropped us near central Hefei, I pulled up Amap to search for a nearby hotel called the Orange Constellation, and the GPS walked us there in three minutes. The hotel had just been renovated last year—clean, cozy, and charmingly stylish.
After dropping our bags, we strolled over to the adjacent Xiaoyaojin Park. The ancient Xiaoyaojin Ford was a crossing on the Fei River. Just outside the park stands a Xijin Bridge, also called Xiaoyao Bridge, once a key transport gateway for Hefei. The name Xiaoyaojin carries a long history, but the place is most famous as a Three Kingdoms battlefield. Cao Wei and Eastern Wu fought bitterly for 32 years to control Hefei. The most celebrated engagement saw Zhang Liao, with only seven thousand soldiers, routing Sun Quan’s one hundred thousand-strong army—the very battle that raged right here.
A statue of General Zhang Liao
After paying our respects to the hero, we meandered along the lakeside path deeper into the park. In February, most trees were green, dotted here and there with red, yellow, and purple blossoms. For us, so accustomed to the bareness of winter, everything felt new and wonderful! Gentle breezes, shimmering water, leaning against a stone bridge to gaze at pavilions and towers in the distance—pure bliss.
The ancient bridges in the park were various and distinct; my son’s favorite was the one built from stones large and small, where he bounced and hopped from rock to rock.
Drawn by the sound of music, we arrived at the park’s amusement area. It was a weekend, and the place was submerged in children’s laughter and gleeful shouts.
We wandered for two or three hours, sometimes trailing behind a couple of local seniors and eavesdropping on their rich Anhui dialect. It sounded like a foreign language, but occasionally imitating a phrase or two was great fun. Toward evening, we headed to the lively Luzhou Roast Duck restaurant on nearby Huaihe Road Pedestrian Street for dinner. The star dish was unarguably the red bean paste dessert.
After dinner, on our way back to the hotel, we stumbled upon the Mingjiao Temple, also known as the site of Jiaonu Terrace, which originally served as Cao Cao’s command platform. Walking a bit farther, we found the former residence of Li Hongzhang, both right on the same pedestrian street!
Day 2 (Feb 11) Hefei Science & Technology Museum, Lord Bao Park
We rose early and made for the Hefei Science & Technology Museum, which offers hundreds of hands-on exhibits. Not only did a kid like Xiao Mi have the time of his life, but even my husband and I were utterly engrossed—truly a place where learning and fun go hand in hand.
How is food digested and absorbed? How are waste products expelled? The little guy played that exhibit three or four times in a row with intense focus, and while playing, he figured out both questions. He finally understood why I constantly remind him to chew thoroughly and stick to a bathroom schedule!
The tall one is Xiao Mi.
That air cannon—he just couldn’t get enough.
Look, so absorbed.
Haha, a crowd of Xiao Mis! If we really had that many at home, uh-oh…
The whole morning zipped by. After rounds of coaxing, the kid finally agreed to leave. This is the kind of place worth visiting again and again with children, and at moments like this I feel a stab of guilt: If we lived in a city like this, both education and healthcare would be more advanced—better for a child’s health and for broadening his horizons. Sigh. We just have to make sure he travels and sees more!
At noon we returned to Huaihe Road Pedestrian Street, hoping to sample the hugely popular Luzhou Taizai specialty dishes, but the line was impossibly long. So we went to another highly rated place for soul-satisfying noodles. That missed meal will have to wait until next time. After lunch, we visited Lord Bao Park, built to commemorate the famously upright official Bao Zheng of the Northern Song dynasty. The main sights include the Memorial Temple of Lord Bao, Lord Bao’s Tomb, Qingfeng Pavilion, and Floating Village.
The afternoon was sunny and mild, perfectly still, like early summer back home—many people came out for a stroll in the park. Since we had a high-speed train to catch to Huangshan that afternoon, we ambled along the park paths for a while and only visited Bao Zheng’s ancestral temple. First built in the Song dynasty and rebuilt in the eighth year of the Guangxu era with funds donated by Li Hongzhang, the temple consists of a main hall, east and west side halls, the Honest & Upright Spring well, Liufang Pavilion, Huilan Pavilion, the Bao Zheng Wax Museum, and expansive lotus ponds and gardens. Entering the main hall, you’re met by an eight-foot-tall seated statue of Lord Bao, flanked by his four guards Wang Chao, Ma Han, Zhang Long, and Zhao Hu, with the three massive guillotines—dragon, tiger, and dog head—displayed beside them. Heading east, inside a hexagonal pavilion stands an ancient well, originally called Bao Zheng Well and now named Honest Upright Spring. Behind the pavilion is the wax museum, where scenes like “Impeaching the Imperial Father-in-Law,” “The Case of Chen Shimei,” and “Striking the Dragon Robe” are rendered in vivid, lifelike wax figures. To the west, another pavilion named Liufang Pavilion is said to be where the young Bao Zheng studied. Further west is Huilan Pavilion, which houses a cultural gallery that uses Ou sculpture, stone carvings, calligraphy and paintings, and gilded woodcarving to portray Bao Zheng’s life and historical image in rich detail.
Along the way we ran into a sugar cane juice vendor—our first taste ever, and it was incredibly sweet.
At 4:50 pm we took a two-hour high-speed train from Hefei to Huangshan North, then a one-hour bus to Tangkou, arriving around 8 pm at the You Tofu Inn at the foot of Huangshan. We ordered a few local specialties at the inn, and though it was a tiny eatery, the flavors were wonderfully authentic. Only, the hairy tofu wasn’t what I’d pictured with those dramatic long strands of “fur”; the braised pork with fresh bamboo shoots, however, was truly fragrant and delicious!
That evening, sitting down to dinner, I finally experienced the distinctive bone-chilling dampness of a southern winter. The chef and the other staff, whenever they were free, would all sit inside a peculiar wooden box. Curious, we asked and learned that nearly every household has one of these boxes, with a heating pipe underneath. When winter indoors feels too cold, you sit inside, cover yourself with a quilt, and stay warm—a super low-cost homemade heater. Clever people here, aren’t they?
Day 3 (Feb 12): Huangshan Scenic Area
We woke to the sun already high, its rays reaching into every corner of the small town, bringing warmth and lifting our spirits. The innkeeper arranged a car to the bus station, and we hopped on a shuttle to the Yungu Scenic Area. The road wound through a bamboo kingdom, a bamboo world, my eyes riveted by one impossibly straight, emerald-green bamboo stalk after another. Even after a dozen-plus minutes driving through that fine, dense bamboo forest, I still hadn’t drunk my fill.
From Yungu, we took the cable car up to White Goose Ridge. As the car rose higher, I looked down, and the view grabbed my heart instantly. The only word for how I felt at that moment was “awe.” Set against a deep blue sky, peak after peak was exquisitely elegant. Some looked like immortals standing on the mountaintops gazing at the scenery; others like layers of silk ribbons fluttering among the ranges; still others like sharp swords thrusting into the clouds—all punctuated by bizarre, beautiful Huangshan pines, making you doubt they were natural formations rather than masterful carvings by divine craftsmen. Right then, my son suddenly recited loudly: “After viewing the Five Sacred Mountains, no other peaks appeal; after returning from Huangshan, none of the Five Sacred Mountains appeal either.” He must have been trying to voice the feeling at that very moment!
That kid was over the moon to be riding his favorite cable car again!
Once off the cable car, we were already at 1,667 meters above sea level. Following the hand-drawn map the innkeeper had given us, we planned to spend a day and a half exploring Beginning-to-Believe Peak, Lion Peak, Bright Summit, the Stairway-to-Immortality Bridge, Turtle Fish Peak, Hundred-Step Cloud Ladder, Welcome-Guests Pine, and the Jade Screen Scenic Area.
The weather was brilliantly clear, the air incredibly fresh, the temperature just perfect, and on such a high mountain, there wasn’t a breath of wind. Although this meant we’d miss the spectacular sea of clouds Huangshan is known for, only such weather allows you to comfortably roam the mountain at ease.
The voice guide I’d downloaded for Huangshan finally came in handy, offering tidbits and legends at every spot.
Nature, with its magical brush, had painted a vast, magnificent ink-wash scroll, and standing before that enormous painting, my heart felt immensely open.
One of the four wonders of Huangshan—Grotesque Rocks—are literally everywhere. One resembles an immortal drying his boots; another, the race of the tortoise and the hare; yet another, a lion grabbing for a ball. The one that left the deepest impression on me was the Monkey Gazing at the Sea. Climbing Lion Peak and peering into the distance, you see a stone monkey perched on a giant boulder, looking far away—local lore says it’s gazing toward its wife in Taiping County.
The Stairway-to-Immortality Bridge is exactly that—a bridge thrown between two sheer cliffs.
Another wonder—Peculiar Pines—are “odd” mainly in their shape and where they grow. Look: every Huangshan pine is so straight and graceful, and some cling tenaciously to rock fissures with no soil in sight.
Dozens of meters from the famous Welcome-Guests Pine stands a Farewell Pine.
Monkeys were everywhere. When hungry, they rummaged through trash bins, competing with scavengers for a meal. Worse, if you weren’t careful, they’d rifle through bags left on the ground and devour any food they found, leaving us equal parts amused and exasperated.
We stayed at the well-situated Baiyun Hotel on the mountain, where both room and board were terribly pricey. But when you think that all those provisions are carried up, load by load, by porters from the foot of the mountain, it feels worth every yuan.
Day 4 (Feb 13) Huangshan, Tunxi Old Street
The next morning, people gathered long before dawn from all directions at Bright Summit, their hopeful eyes fixed on the east. Thinking back, my trips to Xiamen and Qinhuangdao had both failed to yield a proper sunrise. The last time I vaguely remember seeing the sun rise over the Yalu River was probably some year when I was in primary school. Today, Huangshan was blessed with perfectly clear weather; I believed we were destined to meet her here! At 6:20, that lazy sun still hadn’t gotten out of bed. Time ticked by, and around 6:30, a murmur rippled through the crowd: a rosy glow appeared on the horizon. The blush spread wider, dyeing the sky in gradient oranges. We knew the sun was about to appear and fixed our eyes unblinkingly. At first, like a shy young maiden, she revealed only a tiny crimson curve of her face, then slowly half of her glowing crimson countenance, and finally summoned the courage to show all her beauty. Ten thousand golden rays shone over the mountain ranges and into our hearts; instantly, my heart was filled with warmth, courage, and a surge of positive energy. My camera couldn’t capture even a tenth of that beauty.
In the afternoon, a bus delivered us to Tunxi Old Street in the city of Huangshan. What a wonderful spot this is—you can admire ancient buildings preserved from the Ming and Qing dynasties and appreciate She inkstones. Even more important, we went to Old Street First Restaurant to sample the legendary “stinky” mandarin fish recommended by A Bite of China. The flavor was so extraordinarily savory that even now, just mentioning it makes our mouths water uncontrollably.
Here, we finally saw hairy tofu in its true form. What is hairy tofu? It’s tofu covered with “fur” three to four centimeters long! Oh my, had I known it looked like that, I would have never touched it the other day in Tangkou.
Day 5 (Feb 14) Huangshan – Jingdezhen (2 hours by train)
We planned just one day in Jingdezhen, so we visited only the National 5A-rated Ancient Kiln Folk Customs Expo Area. At the entrance, huge porcelain characters proclaimed “Visit the Forbidden City in the North, Explore Ancient Kilns in the South” — putting itself on par with the Forbidden City? Seemed over-hyped! But once you really walk inside and listen to a guide’s narration, you wholeheartedly admit it’s truly worthy of the fame. In this thousand-year-old porcelain capital, everything from streetlamps and trash cans to tables and even roadside drainage channels is made of porcelain. We watched artisans create porcelain pieces entirely by hand, learning that a single handmade porcelain item requires more than a dozen steps and that each master artisan, from their teens to their seventies or eighties, spends an entire lifetime working on just one of those steps—everything depends on experience. Witnessing their consummate skill, we felt not only the spirit of Jingdezhen’s craftsmen but also couldn’t help exclaiming: This is indeed a city that speaks to the world!
Magical Porcelain Melodies: The women here played vertical harps, drums, flutes, pipa lutes (and some instruments I couldn’t name), all made entirely of ceramic. The music was beautiful and enchanting. Look how engrossed that child is!
A traditional porcelain-making process.
Looks a lot like the winter jasmine back home, but the guide told us this is a type of plum blossom.
Bamboo groves everywhere; no wonder the bamboo shoots here taste so good.
A variety of historic official kilns for firing porcelain, each from different eras with its own strengths and weaknesses. Success depended entirely on the master’s experience.
At the Jingdezhen porcelain market, the kid was captivated by everything in sight, touching and fiddling with every little trinket.
Day 6 (Feb 15) Jingdezhen – Wuyuan County, Shangrao (1 hour by bus)
Wuyuan! I have dreamed of you a thousand times, and today I finally step into your embrace! Gazing up at the mighty ancient trees, I knew you are an elder a thousand years old. Row upon row of Ming- and Qing-style Hui-style dwellings with white walls and dark tiles stand in silence, each recording your historical brilliance, weight, and all you have weathered. This time, we didn’t get to witness your vast golden flower seas in full bloom, but even the endless emerald terraced fields have bowled me over. No wonder people call you the most beautiful countryside in China!
Thousand-year-old trees are seen everywhere.
Today, Wuyuan’s Huangling village already hit over 20°C, giving summer-is-coming vibes. Because it was still February, the rapeseed flowers had yet to explode into full color, so crowds weren’t too large. Wandering along quiet country paths, our eyes filled with the yellow-and-green patchwork of blooming rapeseed, birds chirping merrily, a few butterflies frolicking and dancing among the flowers, honeybees buzzing industriously… Taking it all in, I grew drunk on the scene. In a flash I understood why poets wrote lines like: “Children dash to chase the yellow butterfly, which flits into the rapeseed flowers and vanishes” and “Lingering butterflies dance now and then, free orioles sing so prettily.”
On the high-altitude glass walkway of the Sky Heart Bridge, even my husband, who’s never afraid of heights, felt dizzy after a few steps, yet little Mi bounced and hopped right across—isn’t that what they call a newborn calf fearing no tiger?
Huangling’s unique scene of “drying crops in autumn.”
Inside the Crooked House, everything was deliciously peculiar.
That kid was fascinated by this potable tap water fountain, but he just couldn’t aim it right and kept splashing his face. :)
Sampling the thrill of being a bridegroom, that inside glowing—now, where might your bride be, little one? :)
In the evening: Wuyuan – Shangrao – Hangzhou (3 hours by high-speed rail). We stayed at a Home Inn right by West Lake—great location, great atmosphere, great cleanliness—altogether our two most satisfying nights.
Day 7 (Feb 16) Hangzhou
Visiting Hangzhou, West Lake is a must. After breakfast we headed out to wander, but unexpectedly a fine drizzle began to fall, gifting us the chance to see the wonder of “misty hills in hazy rain.”
A rainy day, though beautiful in its soft blur, felt a bit bothersome—just as I was thinking that, the sky suddenly brightened, the sun drilled out from the clouds and sparkled across the water, and my son shouted: “Mama, Mama, isn’t this ‘sunny water rippling bright’?” Smiling, I told him: “Yes! See how both rainy West Lake and sunny West Lake are beautiful—isn’t it ‘equally lovely whether in light or deep makeup’?”
With the fine weather, we rented two bicycles and started riding around the lake—though it wasn’t the one-yuan-per-hour deal rumored online; we rented for just under two hours and spent around one hundred yuan total.
Adorable squirrels have become so friendly with people; with onlookers gathered around, one nonchalantly gnawed on its giant pinecone.
Because he’d learned about Leifeng Pagoda’s real history and folklore, my son had been longing to see it. Today he finally saw it in person.
My husband’s surname is Li, which made him a true “Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li”—ha ha. :)
In the afternoon we visited the Zhejiang Museum of Natural History, another place perfect for bringing kids.
The enormous dinosaur fossils left a deep impression on all of us.
Day 8 (Feb 17) Hangzhou – Shanghai Disneyland (2 hours by train)
We chose to visit Disney on a non-holiday weekday specifically to dodge the massive crowds, but there were still several thousand people in front of us in the queue. Still, compared with peak season, it was much lighter. This was when our advance planning and the Disney wait-time app paid off. Except for Soaring Over the Horizon and Roaring Rapids, the two super-popular rides we couldn’t squeeze in, we managed to do almost everything else—perfect for a child of Xiao Mi’s age. However, all our southern days had been sunny except this one, which was overcast and bitterly cold—so cold I hardly bothered to pull out the camera.
I feel that before coming to Disney, kids absolutely need to watch the relevant animated movies, so when they’re here, they feel truly immersed.
Scenes from Alice in Wonderland.
All the beloved characters and animals from the films appeared on Mickey Avenue, putting on spectacular performances—warmly waving, hugging, shaking hands with the audience. The atmosphere was electrifying!
High-tech magic made you feel as if you were right inside a scene from Pirates of the Caribbean.
On TRON Lightcycle Power Run, speeding through the tunnel under that magnificent dome—oh, my poor little heart! It was an intense thrill, a truly heart-pounding experience.
The enchanting nighttime light show was breathtakingly beautiful.
Before leaving, my son was determined to bring home the exact same little Mickey he’d seen in “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.” He’d never had such a powerful wish before, so this time we said yes.
Day 9 (Feb 18) Shanghai: Zhujiajiao Ancient Town, City God Temple, the Bund
As soon as we entered Zhujiajiao, people dressed as Monkey King and Mickey Mouse sidled up to my son for photos. Their moves were practiced and coordinated; at first, we thought they were part of an activity to delight kids. Then after two shots, they showed us words written on their wrists: “We are deaf-mute, photo 20 yuan!” Annoyed, speechless, and angry. Let’s just assume it was true. But worse followed: ten minutes later, my son must have touched the Monkey King’s dyed fake fur, because his eyes and their surrounding skin swelled up. Sigh. Those two photos came at a heavy price—lesson painfully learned!
Inside Zhujiajiao Ancient Town, ancient little bridges, jade-green canals, charming black-awning boats, and gray-tiled, white-walled traditional architecture painted a classic water-town scroll unique to the Jiangnan region.
