We left for Shanghai on Thursday, June 13. The flight was brutal—none of us got more than two hours of sleep. But we landed at 2 p.m., a full 45 minutes ahead of schedule. At the airport, we were greeted warmly by my parents, aunt and uncle, and Tianyun’s husband, ZR. We powered through the jet lag and managed to stay awake until after dinner.
Our hotel in Qidong had just reopened after renovations and only recently began welcoming guests again. We loved it. Breakfast was included, with an overwhelming variety of choices. One chef from Shanghai took a special liking to our family and looked after us attentively. We had two rooms, which helped with the jet lag adjustment. Both rooms came with fancy toilets that the kids found endlessly amusing. The best part? Each room was only 560 RMB—less than $100 a night.
Dinner that night was a seafood feast hosted by my aunt and uncle. Jackson was so exhausted he started dozing off at the table. The food was delicious, although Norah’s lip became slightly swollen despite her not eating any seafood.
The next day was the long-awaited feast my dad had been planning for weeks, held at my childhood home in the countryside. The kids were curious to see where Mommy grew up—but their excitement lasted all of five minutes. Soon, they were asking to ride scooters. Norah struggled to control hers and fell, which ended that activity. We visited the local watermelon farm in the hot, humid weather. Lunch and dinner both featured more food than we could ever hope to eat. We played cards in the afternoon until the room filled with cigarette smoke. Seeking some fresh air, my dad took us to the river’s edge in search of a mud beach, but it was littered with trash. Disappointed, we returned to the hotel to rest. That evening, at dinner, I reunited with my childhood best friend.
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| 30 years ago |
Sunday morning, the kids joined their cousin for some video games while we visited Grandpa’s house. Tianyun’s family treated us to lunch at an elegant restaurant. My parents took the kids to the beach, but the rain was relentless. Will and I stayed behind to rest and book our Shanghai accommodations. That night, we walked to Grandpa’s house for a cozy homemade dinner. The chicken soup—made with a chicken from a relative’s backyard—was absolutely divine.
On Monday, we made a final visit to Grandpa’s before heading to the airport for our 2 p.m. flight. My parents, aunt, and uncle helped us get settled and shared a nice lunch at the airport. Then the delays began. The flight was pushed back by five and a half hours. I dubbed it the “PVG Airport Tour.” We didn’t arrive at Mei’s house until 11:30 p.m.
Tuesday started early with breakfast at Yonghe with Mei. We took an Uber to the National Palace Museum. I appreciated seeing pieces I’d only known from textbooks—but the kids were thoroughly bored. Our driver for the next four days picked us up at 1 p.m., and we made a stop at a surfing beach before arriving at the Chilan Resort around 4 p.m. We immediately fell in love with it. Nestled in a cloud forest, the hotel is surrounded by rolling hills and overlooks a valley filled with watermelon farms. Jackson said it reminded him of Costa Rica and begged to stay longer. During a tour of the property, we saw a tree full of monkeys—four of them were mothers cuddling their babies.
Wednesday began with the resort’s Tarzan Trail at 8 a.m. We originally joined a guided tour, but the group moved at a glacial pace (most members were over 60), so we branched off on our own. Our driver picked us up at 10:30, and we headed to Taiping Mountain. First up was the JianQing Trail—ranked one of the most beautiful trails by an outdoor magazine. It followed an old mining railroad through a lush forest filled with every shade of green imaginable. After lunch at the visitor center, we continued to a mountain lake, completing a two-hour hike around it—through a thunderstorm, no less. Jackson slipped and wasn’t a fan of this part.
Next, we visited Jiuzizhe Hot Spring, where we each had our own egg-shaped stone tub filled with mineral-rich hot spring water. Monkeys watched us curiously from the surrounding trees.
On Thursday, Will and Norah went surfing and whale watching while Mei and Shifu took Jackson and me to a meditation center. Will and Norah saw dolphins and flying fish; Jackson and I had a peaceful meditation session followed by a delicious home-cooked lunch at a local’s home. We reunited at the hot spring hotel by 2 p.m., then headed to the beach for more surfing. Afterwards, the kids finally got the shaved ice they’d been craving. Back at the hotel, we explored its extensive hot spring facilities, including fish pools that nibbled on dead skin and a variety of temperature pools. We opted for the swimsuit section—not the rooftop naked one!
Friday was a scenic drive back to Taipei. We passed by parks, a repurposed tunnel with bike rentals, and tidepools along Taiwan’s eastern edge. After the San Diego Light Tower, we entered a historic gold mining area and wandered Jiufen’s narrow, food-filled streets. With limited cash, we settled for sausages that cost just $4 total. At Shifen, we visited the waterfall but skipped the paper lanterns after seeing leftover lantern debris scattered across the hills. We returned to Mei’s house around 4 p.m., did laundry, and played cards as a thunderstorm rolled in. That night, we met Shifu, Abby, and Sam for an amazing vegetarian dinner in Shifu's restaurant—she ordered nearly everything on the menu. Afterwards, she took us to the Pokémon store and bought cards for the kids.
On Saturday, Shifu picked us up around 9:30 a.m. for a trip to Taipei 101, the world’s 11th tallest building. From the 91st floor, we had a stunning view of the city, surrounded by green hills and ocean beyond. We had lunch at Din Tai Fung in the basement—a real treat. Then we headed to Sixth Dimension for laser tag. It was a blast! The kids crushed the adults in the team games, but I won the individual round by hiding and sneak-attacking the base.
Mei dropped us off at the airport, and 1.5 hours later we were back in Shanghai, staying at the Holiday Inn near the airport. We again got two rooms—Chinese hotel beds are tiny, each about the size of a twin bed.
Sunday we took the Maglev train into the city and grabbed a Didi to Yu Garden. It was pouring rain and packed with people—we could barely move. We walked past a park to the Bund and took the ferry across the river. We’d planned to go up the third tallest building in the world, but locals warned us the top was clouded over and not worth the $80 fee. Instead, I found a bookstore on the 52nd floor with a free view—thank you, research! It was packed, too. There are just so many people in Shanghai.
We took the ferry back to Puxi and boarded a double-decker bus. Since we arrived early, we scored front-row seats on the upper level. Rain was pouring, and when the ride ended, we dashed into a Western restaurant for dinner. I briefly met up with my college roommate before we caught the Maglev back to the airport.
On Monday, my parents came to send us off. We played cards at the hotel until checkout. At the airport, we were surprised by a performance from the Shanghai Symphony, sponsored by the same restaurant we stumbled upon the night before. Our return flight had three spacious seats, plenty of legroom, and—finally—decent sleep on the way home.
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