I had some vacation days to use, so I wanted to explore a new part of China; one that was not as touristy as many destinations on the eastern side of the country. I found Wuyishan, a small city surrounding a national park, by chance, and decided to give it a try.
It would be my first solo trip in China, but after studying Chinese for over a year I felt I could handle it. I may have been a little overconfident in my abilities, and this trip was definitely an ego check for me.
Getting by day-to-day as an English speaker in Shanghai is very easy. Even if people don’t speak any English, at the very least they typically know how to communicate with foreigners–speaking slowly, using basic language, and being patient (most of the time). However, I was the only foreigner I saw during my time in Wuyishan, and never again will I take for granted how easy it is to survive in Shanghai. Wuyishan was hard.
I struggled a lot with day-to-day interactions with the hotel staff and with the national park staff, and spent several hours trying to figure out a discrepancy in my ticket when I tried do the rafting tour that initially attracted me to the park. Because of the rain, it was low season in this town and there were no restaurants open except for a breakfast baozi joint and a KFC. Yeah, I had KFC every day I was there. I ended up taking the train back a day early.
In the end, the park was lovely despite the rain, and the rafting trip early in the morning was beautiful. Afterwards I explored the little old town inside the park, and for only 10 RMB I got to choose a traditional Chinese-style print to make which was a highlight of the trip.
The best part: my hotel was beautiful and quaint, and I’m lucky I brought a lot of my art supplies because I had the most enjoyable time just sitting in the window seat, looking out, and practicing drawing and painting with watercolors. In that sense, it was a lovely solo trip.
