TRAVEL

Informative

Zhangjiakou Chongli Yunding Ski Resort Itinerary

I love skiing, this winter I want to go skiing, after repeatedly thinking, I decided to go to Chongli Genting Ski Resort to have good skiing to do. A few months earlier, I had already come to Chongli Wanlong Snowfield once, so this is indeed an excellent place to go. Miyu Genting Resort is located in Chongli County, Zhangjiakou, which is a 3-hour drive from Beijing. Chongli County was elected to hold the Winter Olympics, so Chongli County is continuously developing its equipment and facilities in recent years. Chongli County locals are amiable, believe that anyone who comes here has a different feeling. Here are the best snow conditions in China; every winter snow season is the first to start and the last to end; believe that anyone who comes here has a different feeling.
Genting Paradise is also ranked as the best in China under its good hardware facilities. Genting Ski Resort has 22 gondolas with a total length of about 30 kilometers. It is equipped with gondolas where skiers can rest and avoid the wind, not only the gondolas but also the chairlift shields to block the wind and ultraviolet radiation. Genting ski resort is the most exquisite chalet, and every ski resort should have a single chalet. Genting’s chalet is the most comfortable built, on the second floor, can also enjoy the beautiful scenery outside the window. The first floor has a variety of food and drinks to provide sufficient energy to maintain physical strength. The first floor has a variety of food and beverages to provide the power necessary to maintain stability. Of course, all the medicine is paid for by yourself. If you have forgotten something, you can find the right shop and merchandise in the ski equipment hall.
Many beginners may not know that Genting and Wanlong Ski Resort are connected. You can ski from Genting to Wanlong and ski down to Genting from Wanlong, but it’s only the last trip of the day because you can’t do the lift on the other side of the mountain, so as long as you go through the other ski resort, you can’t go back unless you are willing to climb the hill.
Genting has some of the best trails for beginners, especially for snowboarding. You can often see many novice snowboarders practicing pushing the slopes here.
Genting ski resort has an essential snow park, I love to play park, and Genting park difficulty is not significant, want to play park novice can come to Genting try. Genting jumping platforms of considerable size and small can be divided into large, medium, small three kinds. The largest compared to other snow also is not significant, here suitable for park novice, can let you less injury, here from time to time will also have park gods appear, if you do not understand the big can with them to ask for advice.

Another thing worth describing Chongli, Miyuan, and Genting Paradise is its accommodation and cultural characteristics. The facilities in the Genting Hotel are of the highest quality, and the overall view is elegant and detailed. As soon as you enter the hotel from the parking lot’s side entrance, you will find the bar. The bar is filled with a wide variety of wines. You can find different liquor and vintages of various brands such as Chivas, Ballantine’s, Hennessy, Macallan, John Jameson, and so on. Passing through the sports bar is the impression bar. Guests can come here to have fun, relax and stretch their legs after a long break. If you pass the Impression Bar, you will see the lobby of the hotel.
The first thing you see is the large lotus flower in the central pool, and then you look up to see the chandelier on the ceiling. The overall combination of cold and warm tones brings an inexpressible sense of peace and comfort to the human heart. Genting Hotel 1 floor is the lobby, Genting Bar, 2 foot is mainly snow hall, ski school, etc., three bed is the restaurant, four-floor above all guest room accommodation. Housing conditions in the Genting Hotel are not known, but I feel very comfortable and warm. The standard room has two adult beds and two children’s beds. The facilities are complete, and it is a double bathroom! There is a small cupboard in the room, and instant coffee and tea bags are also available. The crib is about 2 meters long, so even one adult can sleep on it (except for those who are very tall). The crib is also equipped with a curtain, so you can curl up in the corner and have a nice, relaxing sleep.

The same Chongli is not only cost-effective but also very convenient to get around. First of all, we can take a flight to Zhangjiakou airport. Each hotel has a 1-hour airport connection, Zhangjiakou airport is a small airport, but they connect flights to Shenzhen, Shanghai, Chengdu, Shijiazhuang, Xiamen, Harbin, Shenyang, Guilin, Xi’an, and Hangzhou. Secondly, we can go there by high-speed train, which takes only one hour from Beijing to Zhangjiakou. We can also choose to drive there, and it only takes 4 hours to go from Beijing to Chongli.

 

 

Personal

I’m good on airplanes, flying above the Earth in a small cylinder has never bothered me. I try to sit back, relax, and enjoy the flight as pilots often advise. However, on my flight to the Bahamian Island of Andros, the pilot added a step to the overused gimmick and asked me to hold the plane door open. I found myself sitting in the cockpit of a six-seater Beechcraft Bonanza A36 next to a pilot I had met five minutes ago, holding the airplane door open. Suffice it to say, I was sitting straight up, stressing out, and beginning to question my life choices.

View from the cockpit

Accompanying me on the plane were my bags, full of SCUBA gear, and three other volunteers who were all grateful they weren’t the ones holding the plane door open. The pilot, a competent flyer, felt no need to offer an explanation for the seemingly bizarre request. The gate agent didn’t even check my ticket at the terminal in Nassau. This was my first taste of the ‘go with the flow’ attitude the islanders in the Bahamas had.

To my great relief, the pilot asked me to close the door just before takeoff and we landed in Andros 45 minutes later. We were picked up by a taxi driver who threw our bags in the bed of the truck. He threw me in the bed as well after realizing there were enough seats in the cab. This capped off the craziest travel experience of my life.

Over the next few weeks, the group of volunteers honed our diving skills and scrubbed unhealthy algae off of coral nurseries. Under the water, I had a purpose and a schedule to follow. Everything is timed when diving: O2 levels, depth, time spent underwater, but above the waves was a different story.

The Beach I lived on in Andros, pictured at sunset

Life felt like it slowed to half the speed of what my life in America felt like. Bahamians relaxed like professionals. Timeliness was an option, arriving casually late was the norm. People took the time to greet everyone they saw at the store, bar, or on the beach.  I was told by the locals that it was considered rude to not greet strangers when passing by.

At first, I struggled to relax despite the beauty that surrounded me. I had moved to the Bahamas for a reason, I was on a mission of sorts, to help out an issue I felt passionate about. With so much free time throughout the day, I began to feel aimless and even useless. It was hard for me to feel content or satisfied with my day when I would accomplish nothing. A week of bad weather kept us landlocked, which only contributed to my restlessness.

I got to spend more time with the locals that week since I wasn’t diving. I noticed that everyone around me was almost always in high spirits. People were content with relaxing and taking life at a slower pace. Someone had to remind me how lucky I was to be there, and how much my surroundings could teach me.

I was failing to appreciate the beauty around me and was focusing too hard on things beyond my control. So, the next time I went to the local shop, I tried to remain in the moment. I wasn’t annoyed that the shopkeeper took ten minutes to show up, instead, I embraced the sounds and sights around me.

My life is so fast-paced in America, I don’t realize all of the little things in life that we all just glance over. When things slow down, my focus expands and I began to learn more about myself and the people around me. I took the time to build connections and create memories. Little tasks started to feel like grand adventures which helped me learn in the end, how to relax.

As I said farewell to the island of Andros and boarded the skinny prop plane, I felt no rush to get home. I sat back in my seat, held the airplane door open, and enjoyed the flight.

Personal

Personal Article

Cuba

 

Have you ever been to a place that changes the way you think?  I used to think this wasn’t possible.  I thought it was just some stupid thing people put in Instagram captions after their study abroad experience. That changed, however, when I visited Cuba for the first time in 2017.

I, as I’m sure is the case with many people, had always had the impression that Cuba was some wild and lawless place.  I had heard bits and pieces about Cuba and communism in movies and television, but that was the extent of my knowledge.  With this small bit of information bouncing around in my head, I found myself slightly nervous in the weeks leading up to my Cuba trip.  Though the trip was labeled as an “educational excursion,” in reality, it was a fishing trip.  We were set to arrive in Havana, where we would for two days before traveling south to a small fishing village along the coast.

When I arrived, I almost found comfort in seeing that my preconceived notion of Cuba seemed to check out.  The airport was old, sweaty, and broken down, not to mention the armed guards and strange people in lab coats walking around.  After convening with our group for the next 10 days, we loaded into a cramped van and set off for our hotel.  As we drove through the city of Havana, I felt as though I had stepped into a time machine.  The buildings were old, the cars were very old, and I did not see many brands that I recognized.  By the time we made it to the Hotel National in old Havana, I felt I knew it all about Cuba.  Boy was I wrong.

That afternoon we met our tour guide for the next two days, Orlando.  I was surprised to see him wearing a fresh pair of Nike sneakers and nice clothes.  As Orlando began showing us his city and his people, I began to realize that my ideas may have been wrong.  After hearing rumors of an oppressive government and seeing the broken down society I thought surely the people must be unhappy.  To my surprise, I learned that the opposite was true.  Over the next day and a half I learned Orlando’s story, as well as the truth about life in Cuba.  It turns out that most of my preconceived ideas were actually true, and the truth is the that life is very challenging in Cuba.  However, what I did not expect to learn is that the Cuban people are some of the friendliest and most resourceful people you will ever meet.  Additionally, there is a tremendous sense of pride amongst the people.  This took me by surprise.  Orlando told us that due to the government restrictions, it is incredibly difficult to make a substantial amount of money to support your family.  I was most surprised to find out that tour guides and taxi drivers are actually some of the wealthiest people in Cuba (hence the nice clothes and Nikes).  What is even more amazing is that Orlando taught himself English by listening to Eminem CDs.  As we left Orlando and the city of Havana the next day, I wondered if the people in the tiny fishing town would share the same sense of pride and generosity that I had experienced in the city.

When we arrived in town the roads were dusty and filled with strays, and many of the houses seemed to be falling apart.  Nevertheless, immediately we saw children laughing and playing soccer in the center of town, as well as groups of older citizens enjoying an afternoon drink together.  Over the next week I experienced some of the most humbling generosity that I have ever witnessed in my life.  Not only were these people willing to share what little they had, but they were excited to do so.  Each night our group was hosted at a different home for delicious meals.  The owners would sing songs and teach us all about the food we were eating and where it came from.  When the time came to leave at the end of the week, I found myself reflecting on what I had experienced during my time in Cuba.

I often think about the Cuban people and their amazing ability to make light of almost any situation.  One story in particular often comes to mind when I am trying to describe the Cuban people to someone who has never been.  Every day while staying in the fishing village, we had to take an hour long van ride along a dirt road to the flats we would be fishing.  This dirt road had not been serviced by the government in who knows how long and, as I said before, the van was extremely old.  Midway through the week after a long day of fishing we were taking our long and bumpy van ride back to our hotel, when the one of our axels legitimately fell off of the van.  Luckily, there was a second van behind us which was able to take us back to town.  But what of our driver and the van?  A couple hours later back at the hotel we watched a government truck bring our van and our driver to the hotel.  Before long, our driver had his toolbox out in the driveway of where we were staying and began working on the car.  By the time we left for dinner that night, our driver had been joined by some of his friends and the hotel staff.  At this point there was a few chairs surrounding the van and at least one bottle of rum.  When we returned from dinner, I was amazed to see the group of “mechanics” had grown to about 10 people, with an extension chord running from indoors to power a monitor which was playing a soccer game, and at least 5 bottles of rum.  The van was seemingly in pieces and it was already about 10 pm.  Needless to say, I was sure that the van would not be running the next day.  But sure enough, bright and early the next day our driver Julio was waiting with a smile and a running van.  He later told us that they had been up till 3 am fixing the van.  Most anyone I knows day would have been ruined if their van broke down with no licensed mechanic around for miles.  Instead, Julio made a night of it.

There is definitely a lesson to be learned from people like Orlando and Julio who may not be rich in wealth, but have no shortage of happiness.  When I returned to the US, I could not help but feel guilty for all the times I got upset or frustrated over a minor inconvenience.  Ever since I have done my best to learn from the great people I met and to view life in a similar way.  I feel incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to experience the Cuban culture and am longing for the day when I may return.

Personal

I love to read when I travel, and travel when I read. I always look forward to my annual “book binge” in the summertime, the only actual part of the year I have time to enjoy dozens of books. However, there is nothing like traveling physically and traveling mentally at the same time. It’s extremely satisfying to buy a book at the airport, read it on the plane, and finish it while on a vacation. The book began the journey with you, and it became a part of the journey itself.

I recently got into “beach reads” while on a recent trip to Florida. These are usually romance novels taking place somewhere dreamy and warm. I usually go for psychological thrillers and murder mysteries, but this past summer I yearned for something a bit different. I noticed a contrast in how I viewed and experienced my vacation depending on what book I read… As aforementioned, I’m a big fan of mystery novels, the intensity, and twists make my blood pump and heart race, I love a book I can’t put it down. However, what I discovered in the stillness and satisfaction of a beach read–while on a beach, how perfect–is that I enjoyed every page as it came and every day as they passed. I was calm. I was still fully invested in the stories, as I would be in a thriller, but it was different, the “can’t-put-it-downess,” was similar but distinct. And my young traveler’s heart felt different as well.

Once I became invested in this specific author, Elin Hilderbrand, I couldn’t stop the rest of the summer. She writes the most amazing stories, the places and the characters are so detailed it feels like I am witnessing a whole world, a whole life, unfold in front of me. Even when I got home, far away from the beach, I still felt the soft calmness of the quiet ocean rushing up the sand to touch my toes, the kiss of the breeze and the sun on my nose. I was transported completely into the worlds Hilderbrand created. It was a blessing to have her books as an escape this year. COVID has prevented most, if not all, of us from fulfilling our wanderlust. But we can still travel, in a way, I can open a book and be on Nantucket or St. John. I can travel anywhere at any time, a global pandemic can never take that away.

I have never been to St. John, but it feels like I have. I am extremely grateful for the fated moment I picked up my first Elin Hilderbrand novel at an airport book store. 28 Summers is the only book that has ever made me cry, I may have started it in Florida and finished it back at home but the whole time my mind was on Nantucket, experiencing a life I couldn’t have experienced otherwise. I love to read when I travel, and the only traveling I can do right now is through books. My heart and soul are in St. John, a place I have never been to, but it’s an island I want to one-day call home solely because I saw an enticing cover at an airport bookstore. Since then, she’s all I’ve been reading. A new book of hers, the final to a trilogy, was recently delivered to my apartment, now I’m headed back to St. John.

 

 

Multimedia

Probably the thing we’d like to do most in 2020 is to get out and walk. The epidemic has stopped us from going out and slowing down our own lives, allowing us to spend more time with our families. But while spending time with our families we still want to see the outside world. As the saying goes, it is better to read a thousand books than to travel a thousand miles. The outbreak in the United States is still ongoing. China has an epidemic relatively under control. After National Day, I also had time to go out with friends for a walk around the city.

 

Multimedia

The magic of the Bowron Lakes can only be truly experienced in person. That didn’t stop me, however, from trying to capture some of it along the way. This video is a series of moments from a canoe adventure that I’ll never forget. I’ve left music out of the video so you can really hear what it is like to paddle alone!

Enjoy!

Multimedia

To meet this week’s prompt, I have created a Prezi presentation about visiting Stavanger, Norway. The pictures without image or source credits belong to my family – they’re pictures my parents took when we lived there. I hope you enjoy!

https://prezi.com/view/XvJh0aUpRn5dXwLru0xM/

Multimedia

I decided to stick with my travelogue subject of my Amalfi Coast vacation.  Mostly due to the fact that I am horrible about taking photos when I visit cool places.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CGi47kVAax6/?igshid=1ksn29gpbti1v

 

 

Multimedia

Because the new coronavirus stopped me from returning to the U.S., and secondly very thankful that this outbreak has given me more time to stay in China and have time to walk around the country a bit. Coincidentally, I just completed a driving tour of Yunnan with a friend last week.

  1. First, we went to Lijiang. On the first night, we stayed in an inn in the ancient city of Lijiang. There are many inns in the ancient town, each with its characteristics. The next day, we strolled around Lijiang’s old city, Lijiang ancient city as a minority city, from the town’s overall layout to engineering, architecture melts Han, white, Yi, Tibetan ethnic essence well from the Naxi unique style. The ancient city of Lijiang was not affected by the side of nine miles, next to the three gates, nine meridians, and nine latitudes in the country, through the nine tracks of the Central Plains built the city copy. No rules in the city road network, no city walls, the layout of the ancient city of three mountains for the screen, a river connected; water system using three rivers through the town, family water; street layout meridian set with a song, ghost, narrow, up to the style. The pattern of Lijiang’s ancient city is the spontaneous formation of sitting northwest toward the southeast direction of the form. The Old Town of Lijiang has colorful local ethnic customs and entertainment activities, such as Naxi ancient music, Dongba ceremony, divination culture, the antique town bar, and the Naxi torch festival, unique style. The Old Town of Lijiang embodies ancient Chinese urban construction’s achievements and is one of the distinctive types of Chinese dwellings with specific characteristics and styles.
  3. Yulong Xueshan: Yulong Xueshan is the nearest equatorial snow mountain range in the northern hemisphere, across the Jiangxi and Zhongdian Xueshan, east and Miamian Mountains, north from the mouth of the Sanjiang River, extending south to latitude 27 ° north, like a fan to the ancient city. The mountain’s 13 peaks from south to north longitudinal arrangement, the main peak fan steep highest elevation of 5596 meters, year-round snow, snow line-height between 4800 ~ 5000 meters. It is the closest temperate marine glacier in Asia and Europe to the equator.  Jade Dragon Snow Mountain is called “Oulu” in the Naxi language, which means “Heavenly Mountain.” Its thirteen snow-capped peaks are incessant, resembling a “dragon” soaring and dancing, so it is called “Jade Dragon.” And because its lithology is mainly limestone and basalt, black and white, it is also known as “black and white snow mountain.” It is the Naxi people’s sacred mountain and is said to be the incarnation of the Naxi protector god “San Duo.”

– Ganhaizi

Ganhaizi is located in the Yulong Snow Mountain’s eastern foothills, formerly a high mountain glacial erosion lake. Due to the snow line’s rise, the stagnant water decreased and dried up, known as “dry sea,” which is a highland meadow surrounded by mountains on three sides, the entire considerable meadow length of about 4 km, the width of about 1.5 km.

– Blue Moon Valley

The Yulong Snow Mountain, where the snow and ice melt into a river, is a valley at the eastern foot of the snow mountain because the moon is reflected in the blue sky in the blue lake, and because the valley of the blue moon in the “Vanishing Horizon” by British writer Hilton is similar to this. Therefore, the name “Blue Moon Valley” is derived from the fact that the blue moon is reflected in the blue sky.

The mountains block the river in the Blue Moon Valley from flowing, forming four larger water glasses, known as Yu Liquid Lake, Mirror Pool Lake, Blue Moon Lake, and the Listening Lake. The lakeshore is surrounded by lush vegetation and backed by snow peaks in the distance.

– Baishui River

There is a valley, the valley woods, streams, streams, valley bottom spring long flowing river, called the white water river from the dry sea to the spruce ping. Because the river bed and tableland are made of white marble, charcoal stone fragments were a gray-white; spring from the stone flowing through, was white, because of the color named “white water river.” The water of the White River comes from the meltwater of the glacial snowfield at the height of four to five thousand meters.

3. Dali’s Erhai: Erhai is the “mother lake” of the Bai people, the Bai ancestors called “golden moon,” is a beautiful plateau freshwater lakes, with superior location advantages, remarkable comprehensive function, massive history and culture, right development environment, is the basis for the sustainable development of the economy of Dali Prefecture. The cradle of Dali’s politics, economy, and culture, and also the basis for the sustainable development of the autonomous prefecture’s economy. The clean and transparent surface of the sea is just like the blue sky, which gives people a tranquil and distant feeling and makes them appreciate the poetic and picturesque mood of “boats floating in the blue waves and people swimming in the paintings.” In the southernmost tip of the Erhai, there is an Erhai Park in Tianshan, an excellent place to enjoy Mount Cang and the Erhai.

The point: all attractions in China are now free to medical professionals.

 

 

Travelogue

The summer before coronavirus hit, my family and I had arranged for plans to explore the best of Europe in 14 days. We were a part of a travel guide company in which they took us through France, Italy, Switzerland, and Germany. This was my first time traveling across the Atlantic and to say I was excited was an understatement.

Our first destination was Paris. On the plane, all I could think about was the movie Ratatouille and that was my only envisioning of Paris. It was however, a completely different experience. For one, Europeans act like air conditioning was never invented so each night was a sweat fest. That didn’t matter to me as much as my brother because I would sacrifice being uncomfortable for Paris any day of the week. The food, city, and people were amazing as we stayed a few nights in the art district. Our tour guide was able to take us to the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, and many other art museums. Watching people live their daily lives immersed in a different culture was the greatest thing pulled from my trip.

My second destination was Switzerland. I was able to see the towns of Stechelberg, Wengen, Mürren, and Lauterbrunnen. The waterfalls were amazing. No, really, I’m serious. My family and I ventured inside a mountain that contained over 20 waterfalls flowing inside. We were also able to hike in the Swiss Alps and reach the Swiss Skyline, it was also where one of the James Bond movies was filmed. The only way to reach this 10,000 ft landmark was through cable car. The views were spectacular. The country of Switzerland was by far the prettiest of my whole trip.

Italy was the third stop of our tour and it, did not disappoint. Venice, Rome, Florence, and Tuscany were the cities I got to visit. Venice was by far my favorite as the whole city was its own island with no roads. We were able to ride the gondolas at night through the Grand Canal. Going inside St. Mark’s Basilica was another check off the bucket list and we were able to go all the way to the top. After Venice, we made our way to Rome where we were able to see the Coliseum, the Roman Forum, the Trevi Fountain, and ride Segway’s through the streets. Seeing the ancient ruins was like looking through an in-person history book. Once, leaving Rome we made our way to Florence. Florence was filled with pure art as we saw the Statue of David and the Florence Cathedral. Then to top off our tour of Italy, Tuscany was the last stop. Staying in the countryside, the local inn made our entire group a home cooked meal that was to die for. Tuscany was by far the most relaxing destination of the trip before we headed to the big city of Munich, Germany. As a group, Tuscany was a great way for all of us to slow down and appreciate everything we had seen as each day was filled with new sights.

Munich, Germany is one of the more westernized cities in Europe. Munich after WWII lost a lot of culture and historical monuments and traveling there today looks very similar to an American city. As a group, we headed to the Marienplatz on the first afternoon which is the central square of Munich. Shortly after we headed to the famous beer halls and had a traditional German dinner. The city was filled with loads of tourists as Munich is a hot destination spot because of Oktoberfest. Local shops and restaurants are lined all throughout the plaza for all to find souvenirs and tasty food. Munich was the last top to our journey of Europe before we headed home.

Traveling to each of these countries helped me discover a newfound respect for different cultures. Even diving into the different cultures of each country within Europe was refreshing in itself. In America, we take a lot of things for granted (like AC) and I had a blast emerging myself into a different world. Trying new foods, languages, and activities allowed me to live like a European for two weeks and journey outside my comfort zone.