China: Exploring Moganshan // 去莫干山跟朋友们

After some quick decision making, a few friends and I threw together a plan to spend a weekend outside Shanghai for some much needed glamping (girls + camping). Our plan was to venture three hours away to Moganshan, a popular tourist destination for Shanghai big-city dwellers, because it is a great place for a nature-filled weekend getaway.

We took the first train from Hongqiao station on Saturday morning and took the last train home on Sunday night. It was a very relaxing weekend filled with amazing organic food, beautiful scenery, stargazing, new animal friends, a lot of bug spray, card games and lots of fun!

We arrived to the guest house mid-Saturday morning and spent the rest of the day exploring the town and walking nature paths. We found lots of little beauties!

The most memorable part of Moganshan would have to be the incredible bamboo forests. Instead of pine trees, bamboo stalks cover every single mountain face. I am really captivated by bamboo because of its durability, pliability and versatility as a building material. Evidently, there are some small businesses in town that feel the same. We were surprised and impressed when we ran into this bamboo harvester on our way up the mountain. Those bamboo stalks look pretty heavy…

In addition to bamboo forests, there were hugeee fields of rice paddies… Just imagine all that fried rice!!! Mmmm.

We even made friends with some dogs and a really goofy goat.

I’m disappointed that I forgot to take photos of the Bamboo Guest House where we stayed. Friends who had visited previously recommended we stay there because 1) the quiet and isolated location 2) the friendly house owners and most importantly 3) THE FOOOOOD.

Most homes and guest houses in town appeared to have their own gardens but MAN – these guys at the Bamboo Guest House really knew how to grow and cook some delicious grub. We feasted on an amazing BBQ Saturday night (they made me BBQ’d eggplant and tofu, aw). We couldn’t even eat it all and it was too good to waste, so we saved the leftovers to be eaten the next day.

Sunday morning I woke up early to do some writing outside. I sat down, ordered a latte, took a sip and was blown away by how tasty it was. Just everything about this place kept surprising me! The espresso and milk tasted so silky and fresh –  even the froth was done perfectly.

After a quiet morning, we hopped in our rented van and made our way to the top of Moganshan. The weather graced us with blue skies so it was the perfect day to get some great scenic views – and we were not disappointed!

This happy guy was getting a lot of attention for his tea, albeit it did spell really nice.

1992 – Year of the Monkey, y’all!
The most humorous and slightly annoying part of this day was running into the huge tour groups. They were primarily Chinese tourists, all wearing very colorful outdoor gear and blasting poppy music deep into the quiet, wilderness. This made seeing natural wildlife pretty much impossible. They also all had walking sticks, like the kind you use when you’re skiing – that stick into the ground. I had to laugh at this because it was kind of pointless because you were either climbing stairs or walking on asphalt or very hard Earth. Not to mention, the hiking wasn’t even difficult but some of these guys were dressed like they were going to climb Everest. NO LIE.
Overall, it was a magical weekend and it just reminded me of how big China is and how much more I still want/need to see and experience. Time to check one destination off my list and add another!

Shanghai is absolutely massive and in that way, it can really feel like a bubble sometimes. After all – Shanghai’s population is larger than some countries’. You have your favorite places and your routine, but there’s something about getting on a train or a plane and going somewhere new that is so refreshing.

It’s like opening a window in a stuffy house that’s been untouched for a long time – just to let in a gush of cold, fresh air. It wakes you up with a jolt or a shiver, and with it brings new thoughts, new emotions and new perspectives.