Escape Shanghai with Dragon Adventures
We set off from outside of The Camel in the French concession at 6pm on Friday. A bit of a rush if you are trying to get there straight from work which was kind of irritating, but apart from that it was all good. The first bus full of people were slightly older, with children, or people with laptops trying to finish off the week of work on the journey down. The second bus was described as the ‘party‘ bus. Everyone was stocked up on booze, we had a huge speaker and everyone spent the 6 hours journey drinking themselves senseless. It was great.
We were put up in a hotel for the weekend, the hotel itself was lovely, but you were expected to double up and share so if you’re not much into people you might not love it. I did ask around and a few people had paid extra to have a private room. Each hotel room had its own balcony, two big comfy beds and a beautiful bathroom. Considering the price of the trip I was pretty impressed.
When it comes to organisation, Dragon Adventures is slightly lacking, no one really seemed sure what was going on in terms of breakfast/lunch or where we were really meant to be. But once we got into the spirit of things it actually added to the charm. At no point did it really feel like I was on an ‘organised fun’ tour. You were free to wander around between the activities and hotel as you pleased and each activity was completely optional.
Photo Credit: instagram.com/bayramovanar/
The activities are part of the Qi Yun nature park. The landscape was beautiful and the way the activities were integrated into the mountain worked really well. I spent the whole time wandering around marveling at how well made, well done and generally well-organized everything was. It felt more like being in Scandinavia than in China; clean and beautiful with really helpful staff who all spoke excellent English.
There were almost too many activities to squeeze into two days, you could do Zip lining, Mini Golf, Slacklining, Longboarding, Archery, Obstacle Course, kayaking, climbing and bouldering, the list could go on. There were also less adventurous things like beer bong, a fire show, and DJ sets. The vibe was very drink-heavy and relaxed. You could do whatever you wanted whenever you wanted and everyone was super friendly.
This is definitely a great recreational trip to get your mind out of the city and into the nature. It's a great change of pace with out being boring or lack-lustre.
Photo Credit: instagram.com/bayramovanar/
We left on Sunday afternoon at 2:30, which was later than we had originally intended and this meant we didn’t get back to Shanghai until 11pm, instead of 6pm as originally planned, not ideal for people with work the next day.
Photo Credit: instagram.com/bayramovanar/
The whole trip was incredibly good value, at RMB880 for early bird and RMB1080 for booking the week of the event. If you were to do it on your own you would pay over RMB600 for trains plus taxis, Over RMB240 for the hotel plus entry to the park which is over RMB100.
Photo Credit: instagram.com/bayramovanar/
All in all the weekend was excellent fun. I would especially recommend it to people who are new to Shanghai and looking to meet people as everyone was incredibly friendly. The party vibe was strong and the drink flowed throughout the weekend.
Would I go on another trip with these guys? Absolutely.
Photo Credit: instagram.com/bayramovanar/
We are looking for people who love life, food and travel to join our team! Currently, we are recruiting for the following positions:
Nightlife Editor
Food & Wine Editor
Wellness & Fitness Editor
Proofreader
Marketing
Sales
Interns
Ideal candidates are talented, energetic and creative people who can work in a fast paced environment, and Chinese skills are a plus.
Want to take on a challenge?
Please send your cover letter and CV to:
jobs@shanghaiwow.com
Related Articles
Foreigner's Guide to Getting a Chinese Driver's License