The first week of October marks the Chinese National Holiday. The girls began their holiday on the afternoon of Thursday, September 30. They would be off from school until the following Wednesday – just enough time for a small get-away with Grandma & Grandpa. My parents arrived on Tuesday for a 3-week visit of Shanghai. The weather was perfect to visit Moganshan, an area known for the bamboo forests.
The drive is about 3 hours from Shanghai. We arrived around 4pm to find the Naked Retreat Hotel. The Naked Retreat has traditional farmhouses which have been restored into rustic bungalows.
Before taking us to our bungalow, we went on a “decompression hike” of 15 minutes. It gave us a view of the beautiful area. We all thought the trees came out the pages of a Dr. Suess storybook.
Then, we drove to the end of the road. I didn’t realize we would have to climb a steep hill to get to our bungalow. The girls ran up it, but the Grandparents were a bit slow going up. Good thing we didn’t have to go back down until tomorrow.
The bungalow was a simply, cozy converted farmhouse. At checkout, we were told the story of our bungalow. A couple in their 90’s lived in this house prior to The Naked Retreat purchasing it. My father was most amazed that 90-year old people walked up and down the steep stair path. He was beginning to realize that Chinese people live longer and are healthier than Americans.
The gentleman carrying all of our luggage at one time was 65 years old. He put the luggage on a pole and climb the steep steps to the top.
We had delicious dinner prepared for us in our bungalow. The ayi made a rosemary chicken with all the trimmings.
In the morning, the girls were busy catching butterflies. Jim and I left for a short hike with plans to meet everyone at the lake. I had arranged for the girls to go fishing with Grandpa & Grandma.
It was a beautiful day for a hike. The bamboo forest has dirt and stone paths to follow. You can spend the whole day hiking all over the hillside. We planned to be gone a couple of hours before meeting the family.
The workers cut and carrying the bamboo down the steep paths. The bamboo sticks are piled at the bottom near the road.
A farmhouse of a bamboo worker.
As we hiked the paths, we came upon two old churches beautifully built in the forrest.
A tea field among the Bamboo trees. Green tea is a speciality of this area.
This fences is an brilliant example of using natural resources. The fence and gate are made of twigs. It creates a unique look.
We finished our hike by walking down to the lake to find the family. Love the sign at the lake.
The girls were not having too much fun fishing. The hotel gave them fishing poles that were a pole with a sting on the end. No casting of the rod…no fun. The best part of fishing is casting the line. Elle was stilling trying to get the string in the water which was impossible with her height.
Emmy was “fishing” on my iphone. She said she can at least cast her line in the game!
The fishing gang watching the water and waiting. We really didn’t plan to catch anything, but the girls were disappointed in the rods.
After our fishing “fun”, we walked back to our bungalow for showers and dinner. Tonight’s dinner was local cuisine, which was very tasty.
The next morning, our man carried our luggage back down the hill for us. Mr. Nie picked us up to take us to our next adventure…Hangzhou.
