Day 3 : Shenyang - Jilin

I woke up and drew the curtains of my hotel room ... and was excited to see that the surroundings had become white! Shenyang was blanketed in snow!

I quickly did my morning ablutions, and put on clothes. Normally, I would wear a thick thermal, a fleece top. For my bottoms, I only wore a pair of Heattech warm pants and on my feet, I wore 2 pairs of thermal socks. All that plus a long parka is sufficient for minus temperatures up till -20 degrees. 

We were so excited to see the thick snow! 

 After breakfast, we went outside to take photos in the heavy snow storm, right in front of our hotel. 

But then, the heavy snow would make our travels inconvenient. Our first stop was the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It was closed, and I could only take photos of it via a small opening at the gate. 

After that, we went to the Shenyang Imperial Palace or Mukden Palace, a Unesco World Heritage Site. Built in 1624-1636, it was the original palace of the Qing Dynasty's first 3 emperors before they moved to Beijing.

It was snowing heavily ... and we spent quite a long time here, enjoying the snow and taking photos ... I think we were all more fascinated with the snow than with the attractions .... lol ... We walked down the street to have lunch. Opposite the restaurant, there was a local market selling food stuff. We would love to try to street food sold here but too bad, we were full from lunch. 

After that, it was a long drive to Jilin City, the second largest city in Jilin province.

Normally, it would take about 4.5 hours by road. But because of the snow storm, a lot of expressways were closed and there were also speed limits on the ones that were opened. So, we drove for a long time. 

By the time we had dinner, it was at about 8.30 pm! 

Dinner

That night, we checked into Ramada Hotel Jilin Purple Garden ... it was nearly 10.00 pm when we settled in ... 

It was a long, long day, even though we did not see much ... However, because there were a group of use, we were really happy and cheerful throughout the journey. We had so much fun talking and laughing at the back of the bus ... lol ... 

Day 2 : Shenyang

There wasn't a direct flight to Northeast China from Malaysia. There needed to be a stop at a transit city. So we flew in to Shenzhen Baoan. We flew China Southern Airlines, CZ5080, which departed at 1.30 am. 

Breakfast at 3.30 am in the morning 

Arrival at around 6.00 am

Our next flight CZ6385 flew at 9.00 am ... We were flying to Shenyang, the capital of Liaoning province. 

Lucky to be sitting on the front low as I could stretch my legs out ... 

There was braised pork and also a fish dish with rice ... pretty interesting ... 

As soon as I got out of the plane, I felt the chills. So I layered up my clothing. There were special changing rooms at the airport since the weather conditions here were pretty extreme .... and still, as I walked the short distance out from the airport to the bus, I felt the biting cold .... 

Our guide was 孔导, and we were a huge group, 23 of us, with elderly and young kids ... hence ... we would be a very slow group .... the slowest, according to the guide. Heh ... but that did not stop us from enjoying ourselves! 

Our first stop was a clothing store. I hadn't prepared for this trip at all ... I had down jackets but they were short and did not cover my butt. They also did not have enough fill power to withstand extreme cold temperatures. And so I bought myself a long down parka and a pair of snow boots, and heat packs for the boots. We also got a set of thermal underwear for free, a free gift from our travel agent.

We spent a long time here since almost everyone needed to gear up. By the time we were done, it was time for dinner .... 

I love that all meals came with 2 bottles of beer ... 

The 'emperor' welcomed us to dinner ... 

Guobaorou was served at almost every meal! It's a Northeastern China specialty, a dish eaten since the Qing Dynasty in the 18th century, purportedly for foreigners living there at the time ... 

After dinner, a group of us meandered downstairs ... there were a few little shops, so we browsed for quite a long time, waiting for the other members to finish eating. I was getting very restless already but we had no choice but to wait.

That night, we checked into Shenyang Rayfront International Hotel ... the hotel was not so great, a bit old style. Nonetheless, I was glad to have warmth in the room and a comfy bed to sleep in for the night.  

Entry 08.04.2026

05.04.2026

I went to Best Corner at Westfield for breakfast this morning .... I'm glad Ah Di's popiah was still yum ... 

RM4.50

Black coffee without sugar was RM2.95 per glass ... that's very pricey .... I should bring my own drink here next time! 

 Mom ordered the kolo mee with wanton ... 

Looks a bit eew to me ... I did have a bit of her noodles ... and I didn't like it ... 

06.04.2026

06.04.2026 (Monday) was an off day for me ... I brought Mom to Noodle Descendants at Jalan Padungan ... we went early so we did not have to wait too long. The noodles were still so satisfying, and so was the soup ... I'd been eating the noodles for 40 years! The quality is still maintained! 

After eating the noodles, we went around to shop for some snacks ... for ourselves and for my aunt ... 

Sin Poh Poh 

While waiting for my Kueh Chap takeaway, I noticed this vintage window ... so pretty .... 

In the afternoon, I met up with my friend S and N for lunch at The Spring. We went to Ling's Kopitiam ... 

Hainanese Chicken rice

The chicken rice was not yum at all .... I added all the sauces and yet, the taste was not up to par .... There were so many familiar faces at the Spring .... so everyone came out to play on off days ... lol .... 

Day 1 : Kch - Kul

Sometime around Feb 2025, I suggested to my friend that we go to Harbin at the end of the year. She took up my suggestion and helped organise the trip for us. In the end, 9 of us signed up.

Harbin was no joke, as temperatures were extreme and we had to be properly dressed up. First of all, I didn't want to catch pneumonia. And secondly, I didn't want to fall down and hurt myself all over again - I'd fallen down in Iceland in 2024 and broke my left arm. But I was seriously busy and did not really have time to prepare for it. My colleague LP who had been there the previous year shared with me her countless tips ... but by the time I was slightly more free, there wasn't time to buy all the winter gear online. Instead, I went to Uniqlo and bought a pair of Heattech Ultra, and 2 pairs of warm pants. I would have to buy the rest of the stuff in Harbin and pray that the weather would not be too terrible. 

On 21 Dec 2025, we gathered at the airport. Ours was an evening flight .... my friend N brought me to the lounge ... with her Enrich Gold card, she could bring one other person there. But the food was crappy. 

Soon, we boarded our flight to Kuala Lumpur ... 

And upon reaching there, we met up with our tour manager. We'd been in contact on Whatsapp forever! So it was great to meet her in person. It was still a long time before we could check in for our next flight. We would use China Southern airlines .... 

So we hanged out at KFC at KLIA ... and then to my surprise, I saw a familiar face. He had walked past but he turned back, surprise to see me. 

'Hello,' my friend SH greeted him. 

I was surprise. How come SH knew him, Cikgu I, a teacher at my former school. Only then did I find out that Cikgu I and SH were formerly also colleagues at another school. What a coincident, and what a small world. 

He was going to Istanbul with his family for the holidays. We chit chatted a little before saying our goodbyes. 

Check-in started at 10.30 pm, since our flight was scheduled to depart at 1.30 am. We did not take too long to check-in. Thereafter we boarded our flight at the Satellite tower. Lucky for us, the train was working ... otherwise taking the shuttle bus would be bothersome. 

Day 7 : Qiandongnan & Guiyang

This had to be my favourite hotel of the whole trip. 

We had a bowl of noodles and a bowl of porridge .... 

The lobby

Then we went to Danzhai Kala Village ... I did not think we visited the actual village, we merely went to a shop selling silver .... 

They tried to brainwash us to buy the silver, at CNY56.8 per gramme. A comb can be used as a massage tool. I had one weighed and they ranged from 37g to 42g. So a single comb cost about RM2,000. So expensive but there were a few of my friends who bought. 

Nice maple leaf outside the premise ... 

We went for lunch next ...

I enjoyed the glutinous rice with the 梅菜 .... so yum ... after lunch, we drove back to Guiyang ... it took 2 hours .... 

I sat back and enjoyed the view .... 

Jiaxiu Tower is a prominent landmark in Guiyang ... the original tower was built in the 16th century, the existing building was built in 1909. Next we went to Qingyun Market .... this was paradise for foodies and shoppers .... 

I bought 小禄豆糕 to bring home, and also a packet of 脆哨 and 辣椒面 and bagels.

Dinner was at a buffet bbq restaurant ... it was so crowded that I got tired as soon as I walked in. After dinner, we went to the airport. We were the first to check in and so we requested emergency seats at Row 15. I got 15C ... but the seat was slanted ... so it was an uncomfortable ride home, even though I had a lot of leg space.

We touched down in Kuching at 5.10 am .... and by the time I reached home, it was merely 6.05 am. Really, it was my first time flying direct to China from Kuching ... it really saved a lot of time! 

Well, there wasn't much wow factor, this trip ... I believe there are more places in Guizhou to visit ... like the amazing Fanjingshan ... I doubt my ability to climb up but I'd at least like to see the mountain with my very own eyes ... next trip, maybe?

Day 6 : Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village

Today's weather was slightly chilly. Again, our itinerary was so relaxing ... we went downstairs to check out the breakfast buffet. Because of our terrible experience the day before, we dared not expect much. However, there were still some food to eat ... I made myself a sandwich with the bread and sausage and salad. 

We walked around the hotel again after breakfast. Most of the shops were still closed, but there was a park behind the hotel. We found a small steamed bao shop ... so we bought some baos and soy milk to try ... 

We left the hotel at 9.00 a.m. .... today we were going to the Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village - the biggest Miao village in China. By the time we got there, it was time for lunch. I liked a few items here .... 

The steamed rice cake ... spongy and fragrant ... 

Stir-fried zucchini 

There were 2 carts selling 粑粑柑 .... I bought 1 piece for CNY3 ... 

The Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village was huge! The houses were built on the slopes and the streets were touristy ... there were things to see and buy at least ... 

Cannot resist a Mixue soft serve, CNY3 

We took the bus to the viewing platform at the top ... and here ... we were supposed to dress up in Miao costumes and take photos .... but a few of my friends and I opted out. We strolled leisurely down the hill instead ... 

Pork skewers, CNY10 for 12 sticks ... yum ... 

Dinner time was at 6 pm inside the village .... 

The sour fish hotpot was a specialty, but I didn't like it ... 

The only item I liked during this meal was the sweet rice wine ... 

After dinner, it was time to leave the village .... the night scene was so beautiful! 

There was a slight drizzle when we left, we drove an hour to our hotel. We did not dare expect a good hotel that night, but surprisingly, the room was great! We stayed at the Fuli Lan Shan Hotel or The Grand Orchid Mountain Hotel 福利阑山酒店 at Kaili ... The room was nice and it had AI assisstance. Since it was slightly cold, I warmed myself with a cup of Milo and a packet of 呀！土豆！

We always bought and ate this in China!