Journey to Jiaxing 🌞 Escaping Shanghai

Overlooking Nanbeihu 📷 by Sergio Bao García.

The journey is more important than the destination

They say that the people you are with is more important than the places you go because the experience is what matters most. For those who know Lauren and me, we take this literally, and that’s how we ended up in Jiaxing, China.

For those who have been in Shanghai for over three consecutive months, you might agree that staying sane requires a short weekend escape from the concrete jungle. And to many foreigners, China may be a daunting place to travel or a pure hassle to plan around. While that may be true, let us share our journey to Jiaxing, and hopefully convince you otherwise. (Btw, Jiaxing is a city just 30 minutes outside Shanghai.)

Day 1

Although this is our first trip together outside the Hai, like most of our adventures, each one is slightly thrilling and slightly crazy. For starters, we barely made it onto the train having made poor assumptions about travel time (remember, traffic in SH can be pretty awful, especially on the freeways). That's not all. I couldn't get my ticket at the booth so we ran around the station trying to get my boarding pass, and one of the guys who was supposed to join us missed the train. Although we all eventually arrived at Jiaxing South Station, the events leading up to the start of our trip went completely haywire without Ctrip.

Disclaimer: the rest of the trip ran smoothly thanks to the Ctrip team that organised our sponsored weekend getaway. Had we been left to our own devices, Lauren and I might've just ended up in Russia (because we almost did earlier in the month).

Day 2

As of writing, Nanbeihu (North South Lake • 南北湖) is one of my favourite scenic spots closest to Shanghai for a quick (< 1 hour) weekend escape. Not only is Nanbeihu absolutely picturesque—I mean check us out below!—it is one of the few places in China that allows for a complete peace of mind. There weren't tour groups waving their flags around and shouting. There weren't any crowds to fight through or cars beeping their damn horns. Instead, you get an entire lake surrounded by mountains all to yourself.

After Nanbeihu, the gang went to the Temple of Seagod at Old Yanguan Town (盐官海塘及海神庙) for some Qing Dynasty history. They say that if you touch the head of a Pixiu (Chinese mythical creature known to draw Cai Qi 財氣) wealth will come to you. So naturally, Lauren and I approached the Pixiu guarding the entrance of the temple.

Lauren and I spent our second night together and had the most comical sleepover. Ditching our healthy lifestyle, we opted for an entire jar of cookies (we were about to order twelve mooncakes but they were sold out). 😞 I tried to persuade the In-Room Service department to give us complimentary fruit and milk. Although we didn't score any freebies, this was the most entertaining phone conversation I've had with any hotel staff. We destroyed the cookies over Central Intelligence—what I thought it was another movie, and Lauren's never going to let me down on this one. After a much needed chill session, we recharged ourselves in the most comfortable bed at the Ramada hotel. According to Lauren's Xiaomi fitband, she had her best sleep, ever. I thought I scored my longest deep sleep, but my Xiaomi disagrees. Xiaomi and I will probably debate this forever, but I could be Sleeping Beauty and stay in that bed forever.

Day 3

For the longest time, Lauren and I have wanted to do a weekend out to a water town. Well, we finally got what we wanted, and more... In Wuzhen (乌镇), we were greeted by large crowds and the place was packed with tourists by 10 AM (for those who commute to work via subway will understand). Seeking escape, we sprung onto a boat for a peaceful 15-minute cruise through the town of Wuzhen, and I maybe (definitely) tried to convince the oarsman that I was a professional rower, and should therefore take command of the boat. Unfortunately, he didn’t believe me so we peacefully cruised down the canal. For those who want to experience a quiet water town, I would recommend going as early as opening time around 7~8 AM depending on the season.

For lunch, we had serious Chinese eats. I'm not the biggest fan of Chinese food, but this was incredibly delicious and fresh! The dishes ranged from everything between lamb, pork fat, baozis, lotus root, wood ear mushrooms, and so, so much more.

So much food I be like…

Following lunch was a visit to Pinghu Mo's Manor (平湖莫氏庄园), the residence of a high official during the Qing Dynasty where we leisurely toured the estate and played house in Mo's kitchen where I served imaginary tea and food to our crew.

Would I go back to Jiaxing?

Absolutely. That said, I'd make a couple tweaks to the itinerary. Depending on what you like, I'd recommend staying overnight in Nanbeihu so you can enjoy a full weekend outdoors or going to one of the nearby Golf clubs for a relaxing weekend of golf. For those considering Nanbeihu, you can rent a bike or peddle boat to entertain yourselves for the day. Supposedly, you can also camp on some of their grounds. Otherwise, you can stay in one of their guesthouses for less than 100RMB a night plus food. There is a small entrance fee to get inside Nanbeihu; I'm not sure how long the pass lasts, but it seems valid until you leave the scenic area.

As for transportation, we bought our train tickets off the Ctrip mobile app—it took us less than five minutes to book—it's that easy. There are trains running between Shanghai and Jiaxing every 10 minutes, so don't worry about booking tickets in advance. If you're feeling extra spontaneous, just taxi to the railway station, hop onto the train, and arrive at Jiaxing faster than you would be going to Lujiazui from the Former French Concession. Read Lauren's version of Jiaxing, and send us a shout if you plan to go there!