Biking, Kayaking and (not) Hiking

3 Days in Qiandao Hu 千岛湖

qian = thousand   dao = island    hu = lake

About 5 hours by road travelling south west from Shanghai is Qiandao Hu (Qiandao Lake).  But with rain and a national day holiday, it's more like 7+!  An alternative is to go by train to Qiandaohu station, then you need a car/taxi/didi.

The lake and islands appeared when a dam was created and the area was flooded.  Several ancient cities were submerged, along with thousands of other small towns and villages.

Biking

A tarmac path surrounds the lake, 170 km in total. You can do the whole loop by stopping off at home-stays along the way.  But we did about 10 km out, and then back.  

Check hire bikes, since a front wheel came off one poor girl's and she went right over the handlebars.  

Not a totally flat path, but the uphill sections were short.

Kayaking

It's great to kayak on the lake, even for complete beginners.  Our group had some instruction, but figure it out as you paddle!  Safety is a priority, so everyone was required to wear life jackets, (even just to jump in off the pier), and you couldn't just paddle off around the lake by yourself.

Paddle-boards are available too, and swimming is possible!

 

Hiking

Heavy rain meant that the hike was cancelled, but the views of the lakes apparently look great from the top.  An alternative view of the clouds from the hotel window is below!

Eating

No names were given of any of the dishes we were served over the 3 days, but there were lots of tasty vegetarian and meat dishes, so no-one went hungry.  Eating 'Chinese style' around a big, round, moving table top, means you get to try many (and I mean MANY) different things.  Which is great when a few dubious ones arrive!

Details

We went with OK Deal Travel from Shanghai, for 3 days/2 nights. In the time of the pandemic, we took the safe 'guided' option as we didn't want to risk being turned away from hotels as the unwelcome 'foreigners'.  

Currently there's a need for QR health codes, NAT (Covid-19) testing in some places, some tourist attractions close with no/little notice, (or are closed to foreigners only) and the possibility of 14 days quarantine on your return home!!  

It's just not so easy to travel independently right now!