My cousins take me on road trips every time I go to Shanghai. We usually drive a few hours out to Chinese countryside tourist spots, like Hangzhou, Wuxi, or this summer “Qiandao Hu” (Lake of a Thousand Islands.) It is always so much fun because we play old Chinese music, stop for food breaks, and talk non stop on the drive there. When we get to the location, we’ll go hike and see beautiful views. At night, we’ll eat traditional Chinese foods, and play poker and watch movies in our hotel rooms for hours.
I love how refreshing it is to visit the countryside. I’m definitely a city girl, but I think beautiful natural scenes really speak out to everyone. I love moments where I’m sitting on the shore, looking at a clear lake spread out before me, feeling as if the world is empty and whispering to only my ears for a second. I think nature is so serene and beautiful that it can overpower human unhappiness for a moment.
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