Four parts – 26 Days China Trip
We were on the first day of our 8-day trip covering Zhangye, Badain Jaran Desert and Xining This was Part 2 (of four parts) of our 26-day China Trip. Part 1(Beijing) and Part 4 (Xian) were DIY trips. As for Part 2 and Part 3 (Tibet) we had engaged “China Discovery” to provide guided tour with guide, driver, car, accommodation and entrance to attractions.
When planning this 26 days China Trip we figured we would be able to tour Beijing and Xian on our own without guides as these were big cities with good transportation and infrastructures. We had completed touring Beijing successfully, visited all the attractions in itinerary , navigated around easily by taxis/cab, subways and buses and enjoyed Peking duck, fish hot pots and Beijing dumpling etc etc.
8 days ZhangYe, Badain Jaran Desert and Xining
Our original plan was to a 10 days Tibet trip starting from Xining city. It would be a train ride to Tibet which would bring us though beautiful landscapes and the gradual rise of sea level would be easier to manage for those worrying about altitude sickness.
To visit Tibet, foreigners needed to join a guided tour and we selected China Discovery to provide the guided tour. And since we would be in Xining we added on a 8-Day Trip covering Zhangye, Badain Jaran Desert and Xining offered by China Discovery too. The attractions in these 8 days looked like they were located in remote areas which was the main reason leading us to engaged China Discovery to bring us around.
Airport to Hotel at Zhangye
We met two Singaporean friends at Beijing Airport and together we flew from Beijing to Zhangye Airport. The domestic flight was three hours and we touched down in ZhangYe airport at about 11am. Our tour driver met us at the arrival hall and we and our luggage “piled” into a 7 seaters SUV.
Zhangye was a surprising modern and cosmopolitan city with huge highway and high building. It was a short drive of 40 minutes of 30km to our hotel ZhangYe Hotel (张掖宾馆) which was sited just beside Zhangye National Wetland (张掖国家湿地公园)
Dinner in Zhangye
Our guided tour did not include meals which was how we like it. Most of our breakfast would be provided by the hotels where we stayed and as for dinner we would like to try local food and cuisine and picked our preferred restaurants.
Just after resting we were ready to explore Zhangye town. We used Baidu Map Apps to look for nearby cafes and restaurant. It was just three clicks: 1) click Baidu Map Apps, 2) click the “search bar” on top and 3) click the first left most icon (food = 美食). A list of of nearby eateries would be displayed.
Once we selected our restaurant/cafe destination we used Baidu Map or Wechat – “Pay and Services” – “DiDi Ride Hailing” to hail a cab to our destination.
We (four of us) went to Zhangye Mall by cab and the cab fee was only ¥16.75 (SGD$3.17). We went in search of coffee but ended with tea at “Chagee” a tea chain outlet. There was plentiful of tea type for selection. Nice
Then we were back to our hotel to rest and relax till dinner time. Near dinner time we e-hail a cab to a nearby fish restaurant. This time the cab fare for four of us was only ¥8.55 (SGD$1.61). Moving around in China by cab was certainly very INEXPENSIVE.
We had a wonderful fish hotpot meal. The broth was rich and favourful and the amount of fish slices was plentiful. The meal cost ¥280 for four persons..
Zhangye National Wetland Park(张掖国家湿地公园)
Zhangye National Wetland Park covered 1348 Hectares was one of the largest urban wetland parks. During our three days/nights stay at Zhangye Hotel sited beside the wetland we walked twice into the wetland to explore.
Infront of the hotel was a lovely board walk going round a huge lake. The water was calm and the weather was cool and “chill”. On the first evening we walked the board walk completing an entire round of the lake to “walk” away our dinner.
On the 2nd evening, we proceeded from the boardwalk by the lake to the adjacent wetland. The place was very tranquil and definitely a lovely relaxing place in an urban environment. This wetland park was categorized into conservation zones (601.74 hectares), restoration and reconstruction zones (379.84 hectares), and areas for reasonable utilization (366.07 hectares), highlighting its multifaceted approach to environmental preservation and sustainable use.
Our stay for three nights
We stayed three nights at ZhangYe Hotel. It was a lovely hotel with several complexes. The hotel was sited next to Zhangye National Wetland Park.
Our room was huge and the balcony faced a huge green space, “Zhangye National Wetland Park”. We loved the wonderful “greenery ambience”.
The bathroom in our room was big, bright and clean. Doing a check on Trip.com the cost of this hotel was SGD$90-SGD$100 for two with breakfast. We did not book this hotel on our own. It was booked by the tour agency handling our guided tour.
OTHER ACCOMMODATION IN ZHANGYE city
