Owed Travel, What Do These Goddesses Have to Say?

**Travel Plans and Reflections on the Year of the Rat** **Activities and Travels:** – Self-driving adventures – Independent travel experiences […]

**Travel Plans and Reflections on the Year of the Rat**

**Activities and Travels:**
– Self-driving adventures
– Independent travel experiences
– Budget travel for the wise
– Weekend getaways to recharge

**Places Visited:**
– The luxurious Hyatt on the Bund in Shanghai
– The enchanting Taiping Lake Dream World

**Post Details:**
– Posted on: March 10, 2020
– Time: 21:48

**Reflections on the Year of the Rat:**
At the beginning of 2020, the Year of the Rat, we faced unexpected challenges that disrupted our traditional celebrations. We missed out on the joy of watching the Spring Festival Gala, the warmth of visiting relatives, and the excitement of watching New Year’s films with our loved ones. These events have left a lingering sense of regret.

**Women’s Day Celebration:**
On this Women’s Day, we invited travel goddesses to share their travel plans. They dream of freely exploring, savoring delicious cuisine, meeting cherished people, and immersing in the beauty of nature and culture. Let’s listen to their stories, which come with a special surprise at the end!

**Goddess Ada’s Arabian Peninsula Dreams:**
In January, as the chilly winds swept through Shanghai, I daydreamed of my upcoming annual leave on the warm Arabian Peninsula. However, the sudden outbreak of the epidemic changed everything. Social media was abuzz, and travel platforms offered a flurry of refund and change policies. My family and I decided to cancel our trip, choosing not to burden our nation in a time of crisis. Yet, Sharjah, the pearl of the Arabian Peninsula, still captivates me.

**Childhood Stories and Cultural Curiosities:**
Stories like One Thousand and One Nights, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, and Aladdin’s magic lamp sparked my curiosity about this land. The Arabian Peninsula, home to countries like Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Israel, and the United Arab Emirates, is the largest peninsula in the world. Sharjah, an emirate and ‘Cultural Capital of the Arab World’, offers a journey back in time through its ancient houses and castles.

**Arabian Architecture and Calligraphy:**
The Heart of Sharjah transports you to a bygone era with its shell gravel and sand-built outer walls and circular wind towers. Arabic calligraphy, originating from the Quran, is a testament to the Arab people’s wisdom and a spiritual treasure for human civilization.

**Hotel Recommendation:**
I recommend The Chedi Al Bait Sharjah, UAE, as a place to stay. Once the epidemic subsides, I hope to make a wish for world peace by polishing Aladdin’s magic lamp.

**Sharjah Information:**
A flight to Dubai Airport followed by a 15-minute drive will take you to the cultural heart of Sharjah. The images shared are from The Chedi Al Bait Sharjah, UAE.

**Goddess Linda’s Quest for a Restful Place:**
The pandemic has made us appreciate the value of life. Goddess Linda wishes to embark on a spontaneous journey, inspired by Bai Yansong’s words about Quanzhou being a city one must visit at least once in a lifetime.

**Quanzhou: Ancient History and Cultural Riches:**
Ancient streets and alleys preserve the traditional Minnan red-brick house style, where the Minnan people have lived for generations. The historical roots, Buddhist culture, and architecture are awe-inspiring, as are the devout worshippers in the temples.

**Anxi Yuequan Hotel:**
Linda was delighted by the Anxi Yuequan Hotel’s environmental design, which blends traditional Minnan architecture with a rustic Zen tea charm. She dreams of standing under a century-old banyan tree, sipping fragrant tea at dusk, and basking in the tranquility of the tea springs.

**Goddess Alice’s Breath of Fresh Air:**
Goddess Alice’s plans were also disrupted by the pandemic. She had envisioned a family retreat to a secluded mountain forest during the Spring Festival, but instead, everyone stayed quietly at home. Despite the setbacks, she looks forward to visiting the Anji Bamboo Sea Oxygen Bar for a deep, revitalizing breath.But with the concerted efforts of the whole country, the pandemic has been slowly recovering. Now, I look forward to the day when it is safe to take off the masks, and I can take my family to Anji for a deep breath in the bamboo sea oxygen bar.

Anji, with its endless bamboo sea and forests covering the mountains, offers an excellent vacation way to escape the city and live like in a paradise. This is the filming location of ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,’ where scenes of Chow Yun-fat and Zhang Ziyi flying atop the bamboo forest were filmed. Even director Ang Lee said that it was the beautiful landscapes of Anji that made the movie a success.

What I long for most here is a hotel, the Anji Banyan Tree Resort, located in the Lingfeng Tourism Resort within the Anji National Tourism Resort in Huzhou City, Zhejiang Province, surrounded by green mountains and clear waters. Surrounded by mountains, shaded by bamboo, and fragrant with tea gardens, this mountain retreat is an ideal place to escape the noisy city life and embrace the fresh nature. The hotel has a total of 151 rooms, including 121 spacious rooms and suites and 30 villas. The architectural and interior design showcase local cultural characteristics, with excellent privacy and enchanting mountain views. The most stunning feature is the 270-degree lake and mountain view from the outdoor lobby bar, the long landscape pool surrounding the lobby bar, and the stunning infinity pool merging into one scene. You can easily pretend to be in Bali, with different beauties in the misty morning or at sunset.

After the epidemic ends, I want to come to Xi’an, which is not only a culturally ancient city with a thick history but also a vibrant internet celebrity city. From the bricks and tiles of the ancient city wall to the brush pastry at the Academy Gate, from the beef and mutton泡馍 in the Muslim Street to the fashionable buyer’s shop in the commercial center, from the silver sachet in the historical museum to the internet celebrity little sister at the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, measuring history with footsteps will definitely let you understand a different ‘Chang’an’. For travel, I strongly recommend everyone to stay at the Xi’an Economic Development InterContinental Hotel. The hotel just opened at the end of last year and is the first hotel of the InterContinental brand in Xi’an and even in Northwest China. The hotel’s location is convenient, with two subway lines intersecting. It is very convenient to go to the Bell and Drum Tower or the Datang Everbright City, not to mention following the in-depth understanding and attentive service of the InterContinental Concierge, which allows you to better understand the local culture and explore the charm of this city like a local.

In addition, staying in a hotel can give you a different experience. The garden view king bed room is especially recommended. It is also known as the ‘Chang’an Mansion’. Because the layout cleverly uses the ‘three-entry courtyard’ design of a courtyard house and also inherits the traditional Chinese etiquette order of family status. ‘Entering the mansion gate, passing through the courtyard, and entering the hall’. It is like a large family in ancient Chang’an, cleverly separating the space and ensuring the privacy of staying. There are more clever designs waiting for you to explore.

When spring is warm and flowers bloom, wait for you to come to Nanjing.

The beauty of the world is always interconnected, and the four seasons repeat in cycles. The missed beautiful scenery will eventually meet again. Let’s start from the spring of 2020 and feel the colorful spring, the lush summer, the orange and yellow autumn, and the snow-covered winter. ‘Near the residence of Confucius, one is never tired of refined food and minced meat. Beside the left bank of the Qinhuai River, always with beautiful flowers and a full moon’. The unique charm of Nanjing, the ancient capital of six dynasties, and the prosperous atmosphere full of modernity are waiting for us to feel. For hotels, I recommend Hilton Nanjing Langsheng. It is located in the core business district of Jianye District, Nanjing – Jiangdong Middle Road, close to Wanda Shopping Center. The design of the hotel combines the royal cultural characteristics of Nanjing, the ancient capital of ten dynasties with ‘tigers crouching and dragons coiling, beautiful landscapes’, and combines with modern design, elegant without losing ancient charm. It has 333 elegantly decorated rooms, providing comfortable facilities and equipment, allowing guests to enjoy comfort and coziness. All rooms have an independent air conditioning control system, wireless network coverage, a 42-inch LCD TV, and a comfortable sofa, bringing a relaxing experience. The ‘Yueyang’ Chinese restaurant has an elegant environment and mainly serves Chinese characteristic delicacies, including famous Huaiyang dishes.It wholeheartedly presents high-quality Huaiyang cuisine, allowing the authentic flavors to linger between the lips and teeth. Appreciate delicacies and taste perfection. Have fun in the newly popular online celebrity city Changsha. Sister Joanna who loves spicy food. Fireworks at Orange Island attract hundreds of thousands of tourists to gather and watch. Super Wenheyou has 20,000 waiting numbers a day. Hunan Satellite TV’s evening party, 777 drones shining on Qixi Festival. Changsha, the newly popular online celebrity city, has its popularity soaring rapidly, and its proud data frequently dominates the screens. Staying at home for too long, I look forward to a Changsha exploration trip when spring is warm and flowers bloom. For two days and one night, use a weekend to have fun in the hot and spicy Xiangcheng. Taste authentic delicacies, stinky tofu, sugar oil cake, Chayanyuese, and a double afternoon tea. Check in at online celebrity landmarks. Come and take pictures at the ‘new landmark of Changsha’ loved by the younger generation. Eh? Under the influence of a strong artistic atmosphere, the soul seems to become more advanced. Speaking of the new online celebrity landmark in Changsha, we must not miss Meixi Lake. The neat straight lines of the twin towers soaring into the clouds set off Zaha Hadid’s legendary Meixi Lake International Culture and Art Center. The smooth and flexible ultra-modern parabolic curve impacts the visual senses of people coming and going and attracts wave after wave of check-in people. If you don’t want to play anything and just want to rest quietly during the long-awaited holiday and then return to the battlefield of life, then come and check in at the new online celebrity landmark ‘a paradise in the city’. I recommend Meixi Lake Jinmao Luxury Collection Hotel in Changsha, enjoying a one-stop satisfaction of body and mind. Luxury Collection custom bedding, a long-awaited sound sleep experience. After recharging your energy, go downstairs and look for authentic delicacies at Taohuayuan Chinese restaurant. Focus on dish innovation and local flavors. Select seasonal fresh ingredients and interpret the pure natural pastoral cuisine movement. Their home-based Meixi bakery, with its enthusiastic team of chefs, offers a fusion of Chinese and Western desserts, each bite full of delightful surprises for the taste buds. PS: Zheng Yunlong from Hunan TV’s ‘Voice into Heart’ has praised our Napoleon as particularly delicious. By the Xiangjiang River and Yanghu Lake, the blend of culture and nature comes together effortlessly. When completely surrounded by works of art, a tranquility from within gradually spreads in your heart. Far from the city, in the poetic fairyland of Goddess County, where would you like to go after the pandemic ends? If it were me, I would definitely take off my mask at the first opportunity, choose a hidden rural idyll, avoid crowds, and go to the mountains and streams to watch the spring blossoms. I recommend Changxing Kaiyuan Fragrant Grassland Country Hotel. The hotel is located in the original ecological Huizhou Village, with its back to Taihu Lake, and is only about a 2-hour drive from Shanghai. Huizhou Village boasts the beautiful landscapes unique to Jiangnan, hiding a vast sea of flowers and a secret forest, a paradise not far from the city. If you want to choose a secret place to escape the city and a poetic dwelling, Changxing Kaiyuan Fragrant Grassland Country Hotel offers tea, bamboo, scenery, people, objects, and sentiment. This hotel is hidden in a paradise of 400 acres of private tea gardens and bamboo forests, with a high forest coverage rate, making it a true natural oxygen bar. It’s a place where mountains are within sight and fragrance wafts in the air. Fragrant Grassland is low-key and simple, blending with the local scenery, and the first impression feels like traveling through rural homestays. The surrounding tea gardens, bamboo forests, and streams, however, bring you back to reality, telling the arrival that this is the most authentic traditional Chinese rural scenery, where you can experience a modern pastoral lifestyle. With its low-density characteristic wooden houses and green grasslands at the core, it has 178 rooms/suites distributed in bamboo forests, tea gardens, and lawns. Whether it’s a cozy wooden villa or a spacious and comfortable main building standard room, hidden in the green hills, natural fragrance comes through the window. Looking out the window, it’s an addictive view of lush greenery, and inside the room, there’s a sense of natural wood, modernity, and a touch of humanistic sentiment. When you lie leisurely on the wooden bed, with the windows open and the breeze blowing, the chirping of birds and the rustling of bamboo leaves in the wind, that long-lost tranquility away from the city can instantly calm your restless heart. Feel the breath of each season in the cycle of nature, feed cute little animals inDuring this time when I opened my eyes every day to the hot search news of COVID-19, and then one day I became indifferent to the daily increase. It may be an inexplicable certainty that has overcome fear, or it may be the instinct of a leek. Rather than letting emotions be taken on a roller coaster by sometimes surreal and sometimes touching news, it’s better to take the initiative to use this gap, desperately watch documentaries in the collection, read novels that have been bought for several years but never turned over, and eat food without MSG that I made myself. To be cruel, this is a temporary tribute to the limited edition of leisure life for the lucky. Those who know me, B Station! When B Station recommended a documentary called ‘Hexi Corridor’ according to my preferences, I was delighted to catch up on what I had missed. The wonderful copywriting and the deep, unaffected narration made me impulsively buy a monthly membership and watch the entire 9.9-point documentary in one go.

The Hexi Corridor, a geographical passage resembling a corridor located in the central part of Gansu Province, has been an integral part of Chinese history since Emperor Wu of Han won the scepter from the Xiongnu. Stretching from northwest to southeast, Wuwei, Zhangye, Jiuquan, and Dunhuang run through the entire Hexi Corridor. These four cities have retained their names since Emperor Wu established the Western Regions’ four commanderies more than two thousand years ago: Wuwei, signifying martial prowess and military might to showcase the Han Empire’s strength; Zhangye, cutting off the Xiongnu’s arm, expanding the Han Dynasty’s influence; Jiuquan, named for the spring beneath the city with water as clear as wine; Dunhuang, meaning grand and splendid. Setting aside the complex history, the Hexi Corridor boasts every type of terrain except for oceans, making it worth visiting for sightseeing alone. I have quietly set a goal to travel from Lanzhou, following the Qilian Mountains from east to west along the Hexi Corridor when spring arrives, allowing my footsteps to overlap with history. For accommodation, I recommend the Lanzhou Wanda Vista Wanda Hotel, an iconic building in Lanzhou and a highly regarded hotel in Gansu Province. Guests can enjoy the convenience of a large urban complex with shopping, entertainment, dining, and leisure facilities all in one place.

Before the start of the 2020 Spring Festival holiday, no one expected it to be extended to more than a month and a half. At that time, I was looking forward to the fireworks in March and planning a spring outing with friends. Due to the pandemic, the Spring Festival holiday turned into a ‘winter vacation,’ and the rest of 2020 only had weekends available for outings, prompting me to embark on frequent short trips. My first destination was Jiaxing, the most representative destination with water town characteristics. In the well-preserved canal ancient town, one can lean on the railing to watch the bridges, taste zongzi and tea, sleep by the water, and pay homage to the Red Boat of South Lake. The quality of accommodation is my top priority when visiting a place, so I first checked hotels and settled on the newly opened Jiaxing Marriott Hotel, with a good brand and proximity to the attractions, meeting my needs perfectly.

I look forward to the day when masks can be taken off, to exploring new destinations, and to the continuation of beautiful days after the pandemic ends. Each person has a place they yearn for deep in their heart, and I have a childlike longing for Lijiang. Lijiang, a cultural ancient city, gathers the spirit of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and the essence of Naxi culture, while possessing magnificent natural scenery and profound cultural heritage. It has become one of China’s charming tourist destinations. Lijiang has three ancient towns, the largest being the bustling Dayan Ancient Town. In contrast, I prefer the tranquil and simple Shuhe Ancient Town, feeling the centuries-old sound of horse hooves on the Tea Horse Ancient Road as I walk on the stone slabs. Following the stream down, I experience the comfort of small bridges, flowing water, and homes. I chose the Lijiang Jomaron Hyatt Regency Hotel, which is close to Shuhe, and was immediately impressed by its architectural style upon entering. The hotel combines traditional Naxi architecture with modern design, interpreting the elegant Chinese-style buildings in the bustling local village with a modern touch, making guests feel as if they are walking on the streets of the ancient city of Lijiang.

Secondly, what was even more delightful was the hotel’s menagerie of adorable animals, including lovable South American vicuñas, English ponies, peacocks, black swans, mandarin ducks, and goldfish. The hotel is equipped with professional animal keepers who provide meticulous care. As an animal lover, I purchased feed from the keepers andHolding hands, we strolled by the banks of the Huangshan Taiping Lake. During this pandemic, how long has it been since you’ve seen the person you miss? I hope that not only does spring arrive as promised, but also you, safe and sound after the pandemic, smiling as ever.

We walked hand in hand by the Huangshan Taiping Lake, the sunset reflecting on the mountains, the rosy light cascading over the hills, the soft afterglow gently spreading over the lake surface, sparkling waves. I looked at you, thinking that if you were always by my side in the future, I would fear nothing.

The Huangshan Taiping Lake Green Crowne Plaza is located in the Taiping Lake Scenic Area. The hotel is built by the water, with all lake-view comfortable rooms equipped with large viewing balconies. You can lean on a lounge chair, sipping tea while admiring the picturesque landscape that resembles a fairyland.

The hotel’s unique outdoor infinity pool, if a lakeside marriage proposal were to be held here, at that moment, the sunlight and breeze, the lake and mountains, would all become the most generous gifts and blessings from nature.

It is said that the bottom of Huangshan Taiping Lake still hides an ancient city that has been there for thousands of years. People in the past called it ‘Three Miles of Qinhuai’. Here, a story of ‘Huangshan Lovers’ is widely circulated. Surrounded by mountains and waters, with stars scattered around, the gentle breeze blowing on our faces seems like a whisper between lovers, let us return to the dream world of the two among the green pines and bamboos!

Interactive Gifts – Many people must be planning to walk freely under the warm spring sun after the pandemic is completely over, amidst the bustling world, eating their favorite spicy hot pot, and taking off their masks to enjoy life~ So, tell the editor, where do you want to go for your next trip? Let’s meet in the comment section.

We will select one high-quality comment and give away a G·U·M Sonic Vibration Electric Toothbrush gift box. This G·U·M Sonic Vibration Electric Toothbrush is absolutely an essential item to carry with you on your travels. Sonic vibration helps to more effectively remove dental plaque. It is thin and light, easy to hold, with a straight handle design recommended by dentists, close to the size of a manual toothbrush, making it easy to grip when brushing.

With 9,000 sonic vibrations per minute, it makes the toothpaste foam more delicate and evenly covers the gums and teeth. The bristles at the top are soft and gentle, with three branches, and the brush head is as thin as 2.6mm. The thin brush head helps to brush the difficult-to-reach areas of the molars.