Day 1 Xi'an → Houliu Ancient Town
All day
Gather at the east gate of the Provincial Stadium from 7:00 to 7:10 in the morning to sign in.
We set off on time at 7:10. Led by the team leader, the children introduced themselves to each other and laughed all the way.
11:30
Arriving at the small village of Crested Ibis, we embark on a leisurely journey of valleys, birdsong, tea and fields.
12:00
Meals at Chungeng Restaurant are made with ingredients grown on the farm. Lunch includes 2 meat dishes, 2 vegetable dishes, and 1 soup. All dishes do not contain any seasoning packets or MSG, providing healthy and delicious food under limited conditions in the mountains.
1:30 PM
Make a plant-dyed scarf
Make a small craft in a field class, nestled among plants, reminiscent of a small Japanese forest. There's no noise here, only the wind, birdsong, and every leaf ripe for dyeing. This time, we'll use local plants, gradually boiling them into a dye solution. Then, in the sun, we'll slowly soak white cloth in the dye and let it air-dry, creating a takeaway scarf. (Materials are provided based on the number of children; adults are only there to assist and do not provide materials.)
3:00 PM
Rice mooncake making
With the arrival of new rice, it's time for a delicious feast. Newly harvested rice and glutinous rice are ground into flour, mixed with maltose, and filled with seasonal taro from Caochiwan. This is the traditional Chinese pastry, the rice mooncake. First appearing during the Southern Song Dynasty, it's also known as the Southern Song Snow Moon or Southern Song Cloud Cake.
At Caochiwan Spring Farming Restaurant, we will work with new and old villagers to complete the production, tasting, and packaging of rice mooncakes, feeling the warmth of our hands and giving the ingredients new flavors. (Ingredients are provided based on the number of children; adults only provide assistance and do not provide ingredients.)
5:00 PM
Rest at Caochi Bay
Caochiwan is a small village where you can relax and relax. There are rice fields, red-crowned cranes, cafes and teahouses. There are groups of ducks in the rice fields, shaking their cute bodies and crowding on the roadside waiting to be fed by passers-by.
Walk around, sit anywhere, take a couple of photos, or don’t take any photos, just feel the autumn breeze, which is also nice.
6:00 PM
After taking a bus to Shiquan County, you can freely explore the food in the ancient city. In addition to the stone pot fish, you can also not miss the evening breeze by the Han River.
8:00 PM
Take a bus to the hotel and check in, then fall asleep listening to the sound of the waves by the Han River.
Day 2 Houliu Ancient Town → Xi'an
08:00
Get up and have breakfast~
08:30
After lunch, we'll head to the Zhongba Grand Canyon. Children and parents can enjoy the picturesque, unique, and scenic canyon, characterized by its narrow, long, graceful, unique, clear, spiritual, wild, mysterious, dangerous, and secluded landscapes. It features peaks, rocks, caves, forests, birds, beasts, springs, pools, and waterfalls, all in one place. The scenery changes with every step, creating a myriad of sights. The canyon is a narrow canyon, only ten meters wide at its widest point, with winding paths resembling snakes. Some resemble turtles, rabbits, and even melons. The canyon is dotted with fascinating and lifelike rocks of varying sizes, stacked one on top of the other, such as the Ox Heart Stone, the Connecting Heart Stone, and the Immortal Stone. Each is exquisitely crafted and lifelike.
11:30
Head to the Han River Pier and experience a Han River Cruise. The Han River is lined with majestic mountains, fluttering water birds, dotted with sails, resounding whistles, and melodious fishermen's songs. The scenery is breathtakingly beautiful and picturesque. Take a Han River Cruise with your parents and experience the vibrant green of the Han River at dusk, just like the slanting lotus leaves in the wind!
12:00
Freely explore Houliu Ancient Town, which is surrounded by water on three sides. The wooden-pillared and green-tiled buildings, the folk customs with strong regional characteristics, the ground stone slabs polished by time, as well as the thousand-year-old soapberry tree, the Fire God Temple, the ruins of the ancient stone Buddha Temple, etc. seem to tell people about Houliu's past glory, a Jiangnan water town style.
Have lunch on your own, take a short break after the meal, and then we will prepare to return.
2:00 PM
We took a bus back to downtown Xi'an and arrived at the meeting point around 7 pm. We were reluctant to leave and agreed to see each other again!