The trip to Shanxi started from Taiyuan and walked around in Shanxi, Pingyao, Hukou Waterfall, Li Family Courtyard, Huangcheng Xiangfu, Banshan Scenic Area, in the middle went to Luoyang Longmen Grottoes, and then went to Datong Yungang Grottoes , Huayan Temple.
When you go to Xi'an, you must go to the Terracotta Warriors and Horses and the Shaanxi Museum. It is a coincidence to see the ginkgo trees in Zhongnan Temple, and the leaves are turning yellow in this season.
It was granddaughter Xiaoqing who accompanied our second grandmother (grandparents) to play, and went out more often before she went to school.
D1 (No. 10.19) Itinerary: Guangzhou to Taiyuan to Pingyao Ancient City.
In the morning, fly Hainan Airlines to Taiyuan from Guangzhou at 11:30, and arrive at Taiyuan Suwu Airport T1 Terminal at 15:00. After picking up the luggage, I call the airport store of the car rental company, and they immediately send a car to pick up the store for car rental procedures. I have booked a car model before, paid a good price, bought full insurance, checked the car glass and tires for any problems, and then drove away.
We first get the QR code of the temporarily registered motor vehicle from the car rental company (you can handle it on your mobile phone), and then start our self-driving tour after completing the registration on the 12123 app. Otherwise, it will be very troublesome if there is a penalty for violation of regulations. The company sends the original driving license to the store in your city, and then brings your own driving license, original ID card, and lease contract to the vehicle management office to handle violations. When picking up the car, the motor vehicle registration must be completed. If there is any violation, 12123app can directly fix it.
The cities we are going to, Taiyuan and Luoyang, have motor vehicle restrictions, so after we checked, we asked the car rental company to provide numbers with the ending numbers 2 and 7, which can avoid the restrictions and facilitate our travel. Nowadays, there are more and more cities where motor vehicles are restricted. Traveling by car is very challenging.
It was 15:30 when everything was done, and we officially started the trip to the ancient city of Pingyao by self-driving. Fortunately, the store is very close to the entrance of the expressway, 102 kilometers away. It took 1:51 minutes to reach the ancient city of Pingyao at 17:30. After parking the car outside the ancient city, we contacted the inn and someone came to pick us up.
To enter the ancient city, you need to check the ticket. Tickets for the ancient city are 120 per person. Now it is free on weekdays. As long as you make an appointment on the official account of the ancient city, you can scan the code to visit.
Check-in: Pingyao Yonghuage Humanities Inn Master Room, including two breakfasts, big kang
The inn is located in a street parallel to the South Street of the ancient city of Pingyao, which is very convenient and quiet.
All set, we're going out to dinner. As night falls, the streets are already brightly lit, and you can eat Pingyao's specialties at "People in the North" on South Street.
Pingyao South Street at night is very lively. We took our granddaughter Xiaoqing for a leisurely walk in the ancient city, enjoying the happy time of traveling, and bought her favorite cotton candy by the way.
D2, (No. 10.20) itinerary: eating, drinking and having fun in the ancient city
After breakfast, go out to visit the south gate at 9:30. Climb the city wall to see the panoramic view of Pingyao ancient city. The entire ancient city has six gates, one in the north and one in the south, and two in the east and west. The city wall is 6.2 kilometers long. Now only a small section of the south gate is open.
After going down the city wall, visit the former residence of Lei Lutai, the founder of Rishengchang Bank. There are three courtyards, well located, and the layout of the courtyards is the same. The rooms are symmetrical and self-contained, which is very comfortable.
Then visit Pingyao County Government Office. It was the government office in the Ming and Qing dynasties. After liberation, it became the seat of the Pingyao County People's Government. After that, most of the old buildings were demolished and rebuilt. In 1996, the yamen and lobby were restored, and in 2000, it was officially opened to the public. Although it is a new thing, you can understand what the government office looked like in ancient times by looking at it.
After lunch at the small restaurant at the gate of the county government office, go back to the inn to rest. This is the benefit of living in an ancient city.
In the afternoon, I went out again. The ancient city attractions are concentrated in South Street, West Street, and a small section of East Street, such as the city building, Rishengchang Bank, North China Bureau of Baoding Bureau, etc., just look at it while walking.
Xiaoqing refused to sleep at noon, and fell asleep in the stroller as soon as she went out. She didn't see anything, and she didn't wake up until she ate.
For dinner, we had Pingyao specialties at "Hongwuji" on South Street, such as Castanopsis, Pingyao Beef, etc. The set meal for two was 98 yuan, with 5 dishes, and the portion was so big that we couldn't finish it.
Xiaoqing finally woke up after sleeping for more than 2 hours. She got up and ate some Kao Kao, and said to go shopping for a while, and asked us to go for a walk. In fact, she wanted to eat marshmallows.
D3 (10.21) itinerary: Shanxi Yellow River Hukou Waterfall～Hejin City (accommodation)
It took me 30 minutes to get on the expressway in the city, and I drove 290 kilometers from the ancient city of Pingyao all the way to the Hukou Waterfall of the Yellow River, which took 5 hours. The trees on both sides of the expressway turn golden and red because of autumn, and the trees on the mountain are even more beautiful. The red leaves all over the mountain dye the mountain red. Traveling in autumn will really bring you an extraordinary visual experience.
At 2:00 in the afternoon we arrived at Hukou Waterfall in Jixian County, Shanxi. We had been to see Hukou Waterfall in Shaanxi before, and this was the first time we saw it in Shanxi. The waterfall here in Shanxi is very spectacular because of the wide river surface. The water splashing in the wind often splashes people watching the waterfall.
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There are many people watching the waterfall in Shanxi, because the tickets are free on weekdays (120/person). Shuttle bus is inevitable, 20/person, because the parking lot is 2 kilometers away from the entrance of the scenic spot, it is impossible to walk. Think about this natural waterfall, a total of 140 yuan / person, ... huh, there are so many people. It’s time to seize the free time and play more.
The interests of children are different from those of adults. Xiaoqing has no interest in waterfalls, but she immediately fell in love with the little donkey on the bank for photo taking. After she rode the little donkey, she was very happy and ran around on the bank.
At the end of the tour, I drove for two hours from Hukou Waterfall at high speed to stay in Hejin City, 110 kilometers away.
Check-in: H Hotel (Hejin Xingeng Street)
Includes double breakfast, twin beds, large room, new facilities, super good experience, beyond expectations, just after check-in, the hotel also sent freshly baked "Sydney Snow Fungus and Red Date Soup", which is delicious and heart-warming.
Order takeout for dinner. Delicious, inexpensive, time-saving and labor-saving, this is our prescribed action.
D3 (10.22) Itinerary: Li Family Courtyard～Luoyang (accommodation)
It is only 50 kilometers and 50 minutes away from Hejin City to the Li Family Courtyard in Wanrong County, Yuncheng City. It is free to visit on weekdays. There are not many people and it is a very quiet place to visit. The Li Family Courtyard occupies a large area, and is dominated by shaft-style wealth-gathering Shanxi courtyard buildings with one entrance to four entrances. Like the current townhouses, each house has a small door to communicate with each other.
There are ancestral halls, private schools, grain drying grounds, shops, and Baiquan Lake Scenic Area. The most exquisite thing about the Li Family Courtyard is the woodcarving decoration on the lintel. Each family has different styles and exquisite craftsmanship, which is really rare now. The second is stone carving paintings and characters. The best stone carving masters at that time painted or wrote characters on the stones according to the requirements of the owner. The craftsmen then slowly carved out the calligraphy and paintings to form a unique relief effect. Also known as Yang engraving.
The Li family is a very well-known "Li Shanren" in Shanxi. His family started from scratch, from a farmer to a businessman to a national capitalist. It is simply a history of the prosperity of Shanxi businessmen.
After visiting the Li Family Courtyard, drive straight to Luoyang City, 251 kilometers, 4 hours.
Check-in: Luoyang New Friendship Hotel
Come to the hotel to upgrade to a luxurious double bed suite, 60 square meters, also equipped with a bathtub, massage chair, I like it very much.
D4 (No. 10.23) Itinerary: Longmen Grottoes～Wangcheng Park
It takes 45 minutes to arrive at the parking lot at the northeast gate of Longmen Grottoes at 10:00 in the morning. Only the battery car can go to the entrance of the scenic spot in the parking lot of the northeast gate. The parking lot at the northeast gate of Longmen Grottoes is 2 kilometers away from the scenic spot. If you have to walk, you may be really tired. We also took Xiaoqing, so we bought a battery car for 10 yuan one way and sat at the gate of the newly built Longmen Grottoes scenic spot. We reserved tickets (90 yuan per ticket), entered the gate, and there were still 900 meters to reach the grotto area.
The Longmen Grottoes were built around the time when the capital was moved to Luoyang in the Northern Wei Dynasty. They also have a history of more than 400 years. Because they were built by the government at first, they are more exquisite. The famous Wu Zetian carved the Lushena Buddha in Fengxian Temple of the Longmen Grottoes according to his appearance. Fengxian Temple is the largest and most exquisite group of cliff-shaped sculptures in Longmen Grottoes.
Since its construction, the Longmen Grottoes have been severely damaged by man-made robbery and chiseling. Many head portraits, inscriptions, and reliefs were destroyed, and many of them are preserved overseas.
Because it was quite tiring to take Xiaoqing up and down to visit, we just sat, watched, listened, walked, and played there for more than three hours. After watching the bridge, we went to Dongshan Battery Station to take a battery car back to the parking lot.
We drove the car to Wangcheng Park. It was still a good character. Just as we drove to the gate, a car came out and parked the car at the gate of the park.
Wangcheng Park has really changed a lot. There is a chrysanthemum exhibition at the entrance, and there is a moon gate on the left. The inside has become a peony garden, and then there is a pavilion next to the peony garden. This is the pavilion we visited before. .
D6 (10.24 Saturday) itinerary: Jincheng "Huangcheng Xiangfu" ~ Changzhi (accommodation)
After breakfast, Xiaoqing also went to play in the hotel’s children’s playground. It was 10:20 when she left the hotel. Luoyang was engaged in subway construction and road construction. , is also slow enough. It took more than 3 hours for the 150 kilometers, and it was already 1:40 noon when we arrived at the "Huangcheng Xiangfu" in Jincheng.
Unexpectedly, the Huangcheng Xiangfu scenic spot is also free, and you can make an appointment directly at the door. If you only visit the Xiangfu but not the Xiangfu Garden, you don’t need to buy the 50 yuan battery car fare. Xiangfu is at the entrance of the parking lot. The parking lot is divided into two different areas for cars and tourist buses. Those who travel freely can enter and exit at the entrance of Xiangfu, and tour groups have to take the exit of the pedestrian street.
Huangcheng Xiangfu is the old residence of Kangxi teacher Chen Tingjing, a complex of buildings in Ming and Qing Dynasties. Divided into the inner city and the outer city, surrounded by a ten-meter-high city wall, pedestrians can walk there, and there are guards inside. It is well deserved to say that it is the first castle-style courtyard in China.
The iconic Heshan Tower is more than 30 meters high and is the tallest building in the Imperial City Prime Minister's Mansion. The Heshan Building is as high as seven stories and can accommodate more than a thousand people for refuge at the same time. Such a height and scale are extremely rare in Ming and Qing buildings. What is even more rare is that such a masonry high-rise building, after nearly 400 years of vicissitudes, still stands tall and tall, and there is no surrounding building that exceeds its height. It's a pity that the door is now closed and you are not allowed to visit inside.
The most worth seeing is the original "Kangxi Dictionary", the treasure of the town house. The chief reader is Chen Tingjing. This is the first edition of the Kangxi Dictionary at that time. There are three existing copies. This is one of them. Ben was in the Taiwan Museum, so this time it was an eye-opener.
It will take 2.5 hours to take a serious tour, and we will leave the Imperial City Prime Minister's Mansion for Changzhi at 4 pm. 115 kilometers, 1.40 minutes to arrive at Changzhi Ji Hotel.
Check in: Ji Hotel Changzhi
Including two breakfasts, twin room
D7 (Chongyang on 10.25th) Itinerary: Banshan Scenic Area ~ Taiyuan
Depart for Wuxiang Taihang Banshan Scenic Area. After 103 kilometers and 4 hours, enter Pengzhuang from Xijingxia Expressway. This used to be the bullet production base of the Eighth Route Army. The rising mountains are majestic and magnificent, full of Danxia landforms, very shocking,
When you go up the mountain to the top of the mountain, the gate of Banshan Scenic Area is closed, and the announcement says that it will not be open due to the impact of the epidemic. In fact, there is really no need to buy tickets to go in, because the scenery along the way up the mountain is already amazing, and I left contentedly and went to Taiyuan.
Although it is a rural road from Xijing to Banshan Scenic Area, the road condition is better than many provincial roads, asphalt roads, with two lanes in opposite directions.
To go to the Taihang Banshan Scenic Area, it is recommended to go up the mountain from Xijing, where the scenery is all here. After passing the Banshan scenic spot, if you don’t turn back and go down the mountain, there is basically no scenery along the road on the other side, and it is far away from the entrance of the expressway. This is how we walked, and we ran 180 kilometers to Taiyuan for three and a half hours.
Check-in: Hampton by Hilton Taiyuan Jinyang
Double breakfast included, twin bed
In the evening, go to the shopping mall next to the hotel to buy toys for Xiaoqing and have dinner.
D8 (10.26) itinerary: Taiyuan Jinci ~ Datong
Depart for Jinci at 10:00 in the morning. As soon as we entered the main entrance of Jinci Park, the birch trees on both sides looked extraordinarily golden against the backdrop of the sun, which gave us a big surprise. When we entered along the road, the ground was covered with yellow leaves. Xiaoqing was very happy Yes, with different posses, the sun shines through the treetops on Xiaoqing's body, it's so beautiful.
There are not many tourists in Jinci Temple today. We can quietly appreciate the wonderful buildings of the Song Dynasty. The painted sculptures of 33 female officials and maids in the Notre Dame Hall are classics. Their movements and postures are different, and their expressions and personalities are very vivid and natural. With our arrival, it seems that time travels back to the past. In the blink of an eye, more than 900 years have passed, and they are still there, no more, no less, and life has already gone through several cycles. Therefore, cherish everything now and live the best in the moment.
At noon, I had dinner at Jinzhu Hotel. After all, it is a state guesthouse, and the products were very good. I ordered Xiaoqing’s favorite sweet and sour pork and green onion pancakes. After eating and drinking enough, we continued our journey to Datong.
When we arrived at the Duncun service station, we found that the tire on the right rear was getting flatter and flatter. In fact, after we got the car, the car reported to the police that there was a problem with the right rear wheel. We didn’t understand, so we had to check the tire every time we stopped. , until the 6th day, I really found the problem. I went to the auto repair shop of the service station to check it. There was an air leak. It turned out that there were gongs and nails. I called the car rental company and he said, let’s repair the tire. It will cost 100 yuan. When returning the car, the tires were repaired, and the serious troubles in my heart were relieved. I continued to drive in the direction of Datong happily. It was completely dark, and we finally arrived in Datong at 19:30.
Check in: Datong Garden Hotel
After communication, upgrade us to a luxurious double bed. Datong Garden Hotel is the most comfortable hotel for this trip. The heating was turned on before check-in, and the temperature is just right. The bed is 1.3 meters wide, and the futon is very comfortable to cover the body.
After dinner, something important came up. Xiaoqing said that she really wanted to play on the stage in Gulou East Street. Haha, it’s too cold, it’s only 2 degrees at night, and there are only three of us on the entire Gulou East Street, and the stores are closed. The last time I came here in early July, there were some friends playing on the stage, and Xiaoqing also met a young girl Sister, you had a great time. Going again today, the building was empty. I was a little disappointed, so I went back to the hotel to rest.
D9 (10.27) itinerary: Huayan Temple ~ Nine Dragon Wall ~ Yungang Grottoes
After a leisurely breakfast, we walked to Huayan Temple. It is an earlier and more complete Liaojin temple complex in China. Today, there are very few tourists. Fortunately, the Daxiong Hall and the Bhagavat Temple are open. The glazed kisses on the main ridge of the Daxiong Hall are large in scale, 4.5 meters high, and are composed of eight glazed components. The northern kiss is the original of the Jin Dynasty; the southern kiss was made in the Ming Dynasty, and it is also the largest glazed kiss in ancient Chinese architecture.
The sculptures in the Bhagavat Temple are all authentic works of the Liao Dynasty. There are 29 painted sculptures of the Liao Dynasty. Here you can see the real face of the "Oriental Venus" with palms together and toothy Bodhisattva smiling. Then climb to the Huayan Pagoda, which was newly built in 2011 according to Liao documents. First, visit the nearly 500-square-meter Thousand-Buddha Underground Palace, which is made of 100 tons of pure copper. With the design of copper decoration, you can have a panoramic view of the ancient city from the tower.
We walked non-stop to visit Nine Dragons. It was closed for maintenance in early July, so don't miss it today. Jiulongbi was built in the last years of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty. It is the glazed screen wall in front of the palace of Zhu Gui, the thirteenth son of Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang. It has a history of more than 600 years. It is said that this is the earliest Nine Dragon Wall in China. A reflection pool is built in front of the wall, and there is a stone bridge in the middle for pedestrians to walk through. The reflection of the dragon in the water, turning the static dragon into a dynamic dragon, can be described as ingenious. It's just that there was no water when we visited.
After lunch, drive to Yungang Grottoes. It is free on weekdays. After making an appointment, you can enter the park with your ID card. The battery car is 15 yuan for a round trip. I thought there would be no tour group in the afternoon. Haha, I made a mistake. Yes, it was very lively, so we had to avoid the team and visit slowly. In fact, it was only 4 months apart this time. It seemed that it was the first time to see it again. We were acquainted and unfamiliar, so we had to carefully read the explanations in each cave before entering the cave. Take a closer look, so the impression is deep. After watching it, it was more than 16:00.
We had agreed to go to the stage on Gulou East Street and have dinner, but after Xiaoqing got in the car, she finally couldn't bear it and wanted to sleep, so she couldn't say it.
D10 (10.28) Itinerary: Taiyuan High-speed Railway South Station ~ Xi'an North
I left Datong at 8:45 in the morning, and arrived at Taiyuan High-speed Railway South Station at 12:50, returned the car, got a refund, and waited for the high-speed train to go to Xi'an, the last stop. Arrive in Xi'an at 18:15 in the evening, pick up the car and go directly to the hotel.
Check-in: Hampton by Hilton Xi'an North Street.
It includes two breakfasts and two beds. When we were in Taiyuan, we called the hotel and asked for a larger and quieter room. The clerk specially arranged for it. I am very satisfied. The room is very big, with a size of 35 square meters.
There are everything to eat and drink near the hotel, so convenient.
D11 (10.29) Itinerary: Zhongnan Temple ~ Terra Cotta Warriors
In the morning, go to the Zhongnan Temple in the north of the city to see the ginkgo trees, and make an appointment in advance on the official account Zhongnan Temple. Because the road took a little longer, it was already 12:40 when we arrived at the Zen Temple, and we had to queue up to enter the venue. We had no choice but to hurry up and look at the ginkgo trees, because the weather in Xi’an was not cold enough, so the leaves were not very yellow. Not many leaves fell to the ground, and it was not the best time to appreciate ginkgo trees, but it finally came, and I also had something on my mind. When autumn comes, you have to see the legendary ginkgo tree planted by Li Shimin himself. This trip is worthwhile.
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We made an appointment to visit the Museum of Terracotta Warriors and Horses from 1:00 to 3:00 in the afternoon, parked the car, and entered to visit Pit No. 1. It was already 2:00.
Xiaoqing is still very interested. She read carefully and often asked questions. Grandpa gave detailed explanations. The most spectacular is known as the "Eighth Wonder of the World" Pit No. 1 of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses. Hairstyle, very expressive, it's a miracle. Going along to Pit No. 2, Pit No. 3, and the Bronze Carriage Exhibition Hall, you can see all of them. Xiaoqing's knowledge has been enriched, her horizons have been broadened, and she has gained a lot.
However, the exit of the Museum of Terracotta Warriors and Horses has to go a long way, about 20 minutes, the guidance is not clear, and the parking fee is 20 yuan.
In addition, someone fooled us in the parking lot, saying that you went to the wrong place. This is a museum. Pit No. 1 is 3 kilometers away from here. Let’s take my car. We looked around and saw that many people were pulling Tourists who come by car and someone gets on the car, we ignore it. In fact, the entrances of pits 1, 2, and 3 are right next to the parking lot.
Return at 5:00 pm, return the car, look at the clock tower, the North Street is really lively, come back at 7:30, Xiaoqing has English class, another day full of harvest.
D12 (10.30) Itinerary: Shaanxi Provincial Museum～Fenglou
The highlight of today is to visit the Shaanxi Provincial Museum. Because of the epidemic, it is now necessary to reserve tickets in advance. We made an appointment in advance, so we picked up the tickets smoothly and entered the museum, but this time we are going to visit the "Tang Dynasty Mural Painting Exhibition". Tickets are 270 yuan per piece. The collection here is basically the murals in the tombs of the Tang Dynasty. It reflects the social environment at that time, hunting scenes, daily life, clothing, and many of them are well preserved with bright colors, especially red. The costumes drawn with cinnabar and the body lines drawn by black strokes are very beautiful. In the Tang Dynasty, fat women were considered beautiful, and all kinds of hair and temples had their own characteristics. I really felt the prosperous scene of the Tang Dynasty. A treasure worth seeing.
Xiaoqing was very interested in the pictures of ladies in the murals, and she wanted to draw them, so we got a pen and paper and asked her to draw them quietly.
We continue to visit the relics of the Tang Dynasty in the 4th exhibition hall. The relics of the Tang Dynasty in the whole hall are contained in two large tanks and a small can in Hejia Village. Many treasures of the town hall are seen here, and it is very rewarding every time we look at it.
Xiaoqing was also interested in these treasures, and took pictures with our mobile phones like an adult.
Next, we went to the exhibitions on the second and third floors to take a closer look. There were so many treasures, and we were dazzled when we saw them. From the people of Lantian in Shaanxi to the prosperity of Chang'an to the prosperity of Xi'an today, the development of history has been moving forward.
The Shaanxi Museum is a check-in point every time I come to Xi'an. The last time I came with Xiaoqing's mother, this time I brought Xiaoqing here. A few years have passed in a blink of an eye.
When I came back, Xiaoqing said to go to the Bell Tower to play. I had enough fun. I went to Xi’an Restaurant to eat. It will be here soon.
After eating enough, Xiaoqing said that she was going to buy toys. Buy an ice cream in the Michelle Ice City downstairs, then go to buy toys and stickers. Paste the princess stickers and give them to Mommy.
D13 (10.31) itinerary: fly to Guangzhou
I rested at the hotel in the morning, and ordered takeaway to eat at noon. Take the Hainan Airlines flight to Guangzhou at 15:30.
Come home to a lovely home.
