I NEVER thought China would be the place where I’d conquer my fear of heights. Glass bridges, glass elevators and mountain zip lines elevated my trip with Wendy Wu Tours. Irish passport holders can now travel to China visa-free and I was lucky enough to experience how Wendy makes a trip extra-ordinary.
She started out as a travel agent and now 25 years later, she’s built an award winning travel empire, specialising in Asia . Arriving in Changsha, the capital of central China’s Hunan province, the tallest skyscrapers sprawled across the city. Staff at Meixi Lake Hotel welcomed us with the warmest smiles, Chinese tea and a beautiful bouquet of flowers.
That was a gorgeous welcome before we started our tour with a visit to see a 2000 year old mummy of ‘Lady Xin Zhui’ in Hunan Museum. She had been the wife of the Chancellor of the Changsha Kingdom and is believed to have died in 168 BC. It wasn’t until 1971 her tomb was found containing her well-preserved remains and 1,400 artefacts.
Then in a completely different change of pace, we went for dinner at a 90’s retro complex, in Wenheyou Restaurant, was an experience I’ll never forget. The complex was packed with street stalls, diners, shops and a cable cart. The plates of food seemed to never stop arriving at our table.
We ate crayfish, spicy beans, tomato with sugar and jelly soup to name but a few. For foodies who like to try spicy things, this is the city to do it. From “stinky tofu” to spicy crayfish, there�.
