Mount Hua, Hua Shan, West Peak and South Peak from Xi'An

We were in Xi'An, China!  Today, we decided to make a day trip to visit Mount Hua, or the famous HuaShan.  Mount Hua (simplified Chinese: 华山) is a mountain located about 120 kilometres (75 mi) east of Xi'an. It is the western mountain of the Five Great Mountains of China, and has a long history of religious significance. The mountain is classified as five main peaks, of which the highest is the South Peak at 2,154.9 metres (7,070 ft).

Before this trip, we read a lot (and I mean a lot) about Hua Shan, from various bloggers and I tried to watch all the youtube videos on Hua Shan that I could find.  We were supposed to be a on a leisurely trip so we were looking for the least effort way to get up the mountain.  From our research, it was evident that there were numerous approaches.  The hardest way is to hike up the mountain (takes 5 hours if you are fit). Apparently this was a common route up by many locals, and even some overseas visitors (and bloggers). I have no doubt that the sense of achievement would be greater if you hiked up the mountain, but we weren't up for such a strenuous activity. 

This Trail Map of Mt Huashan gives you a good idea of the timings required to get from peak to peak.  Take note the following:

1. Famous plank walk (or plank road) is between South and East Peak.  We didn't go there, but many people do. (many Youtube Videos too)

2. There are 2 cable cars - to the North Peak and to the West Peak.  For both cable cars, you will need to take an internal shuttle after you enter the park at the Tourist Service Center (or Visitor Center).

3.  All reviews say that the walk from North Peak, to Middle Peak, is extremely strenuous as you are going uphill.  Think of it as a 1-hour uphill climb.  From what I have read, the steps are well cut, so safety shouldn't be too much of an issue.  You just need to be physically fit.

Our Final Route
4. For us, the least physical effort route would be to go up and down West Peak cable car.  Once we reached the West Peak cable car station at the mountain top, we first walked to the West Peak summit (it was still a 20 minute climb as you can see in my video and pictures below).

5. And then from the West peak summit, we headed to the South Peak summit. Take note, West to South is uphill.  As the infographic correctly highlighted, it takes about half hour. Steps were well cut, so you don't have to worry about falling off the mountain.

6.  After we viewed the South Peak, we headed back to the West Peak (downhill), and then took the cable car back down.  We then had to take the internal blue shuttle bus back to the visitor center, and then a taxi to the HuaShan High Speed Rail (30RMB), and finally HS rail back to Xi'An North.

Our Trip Begins! Public Transport to Mt Hua
We went by ourselves, by public transport. It was an interesting journey, with many transfers. Sequence as follows:

1. Take the Xi'An Metro from our Hotel (Sheraton Xi'An North) to Xi'An North High Speed Rail Station
2. Buy High Speed Rail ticket, take the High Speed Train to HuaShan north Station (120km)
3. From station, took a taxi to visitor center. Along the way, taxi driver brought us to a tour agent to buy our tickets, as the price was the same, and we would be able to skip the queues at the visitor center.
4. Arrive at visitor center, entered the gates, take the blue bus to West Peak Cable Car base station.
5. Arrive at West Peak base station - it was a very long uphill walk (many stairs) to the cable car proper! We took the chair lift to go up.
6. Then we finally get onto the West Peak Cable Car, which brings us to the West Peak.
7. From here, it is on foot - we only visited West and South peaks.  We only spent about 2 hours on the mountain top.

West to South peak was an uphill walk.  So walking back from South to West was downhill.  We headed back to the cable car station and went down to the West Peak base station. Then you need to take the blue bus back to the visitor center.  From there, we took a taxi to the Hua Shan north High Speed Rail, got our tickets, and took the High Speed rail back to Xi'An North, and then the Xi'An metro back to our hotel!  Mission accomplished!

High Speed Rail to Hua Shan North
I made four videos to give you a snippet of the entire experience.   In this first video, we take the High Speed Rail from Xi'An North, to Hua Shan north.  Then, we take a taxi to buy tickets and then the blue bus to the West Peak Base station.  (#1 to #4 in the list above)



Chair Lift (and roller coaster ride back down)
In this second video, it shows you the chair lift.  It was 30RMB per person, each way.  A bit steep for such a short ride but it was well worth it because we didn't want to tire ourselves out even before we got to the mountain top!  In the video, you can see how many steps you need to climb.


Cable Car Ride up to the West Peak
In this third video, it shows you the cable car ride (almost the full ride) up to the West Peak station.  It was scary! But the views were breathtaking.  Check out the hole in the mountain as the cable car approached the West Peak.  Yes, they had to blow a hole in the mountain in order to build this cable car station.


Our Destination - Hua Shan West and South Peaks!
In this fourth and final video, I show you the West Peak and South Peaks.  Gives you a good idea of the walking (and stair climbing) that you would need to do, when you go up the mountain.  It was crowded, but some told us that the day we were there was already considered not crowded at all!  We believed them because we didn't have wait much at all for the cable car.  On some days, people wait up to 2 hours to get on the cable car.  Scary.


Thanks for watching my videos!  Below are some pictures too.

After arriving at Hua Shan north, we took a taxi, to a travel agent to buy our tickets and then to the visitor center.  The journey by taxi took about 15 minutes.  I think it is worth it to take the taxi (even though there is supposedly a free tourist bus from the Hua Shan North High Speed Rail), as it would easily save you 30 minutes of commute.  The fare wasn't expensive, 20 RMB.  If you buy tickets from the travel agent (that the taxi driver will bring you to, if you wish, but it helps to speak the local language), he earns a commission and will only charge you 10RMB.  The tickets from the travel agent are genuine - they work.  The price is the same as you would get at the visitor center.

Large scale, this place.  Walk towards the mountain!  The highest peak is the West Peak, though I cannot tell which peaks were in front of us.

We entered via the 'Tour Group' entrance, as we bought our tickets from a tour agent.  No problems at all.  After that, we took the blue bus, which brought us to this place.

You would think that you had reached the cable car station.  Not yet!  There were many more steps to climb.  We were greeted by this beautiful archway.  Look beyond, at all the steps leading upwards!

So, we decided to take the chair lift to save us some walking.  Very few people took this chairlift, because it wasn't cheap.  30RMB per person, one way.

Now, even after the chairlift, you had to walk up this steep flight of stairs, in order to finally reach the West Peak cable car station!

Fortunately for us, the line for the cable car was very short.  We hardly had to wait.  The cable car ride was rather long (20 minutes) and the views were simply spectacular.

We reached the station, which was literally carved out of the side of the mountain.  Look at the barricades, to cope with the crowds.

We were at the West Peak! You can't get lost up here.  Many people.  Well sign-posted.

People buy locks and ribbons.  Quite a sight.

To get up the West Peak summit, this was the most challenging part.  Ladder-like steps cut into the road.  You need to use your hands to pull yourself up the chains.

From West Peak, we headed to the South Peak.  It was uphill.  South Peak was the highest peak.

It was like a party, climbing up to the South Peak.  It was crowded, it was noisy.  Some even turned up in party clothes.  Check out my video to see the crowds, which were supposedly quite thin on the day we went up!

The South peak was even more crowded than the West Peak.  There were even Chinese tourists having a huge quarrel.  Thankfully they didn't start finding.  Only raised their voices (very loud). 

The din aside, the views were gorgeous.  Here is a view of the West Peak, from the South Peak.  

After we reached the South Peak, we headed back to the cable car station.  Essentially you back-track, downhill - the cable car station is very near the West Peak.  Another view of the West Peak Cable Car Station.  Cool stuff.  There is a photo booth there and they take a professional photograph of your group.  You can choose to purchase the photo when you arrive at the bottom.  We decided to buy our photo, as it looked pretty good. 

Thanks for reading!!

Other Xi'An Links Below

1) Mt Hua Shan - Up the West Peak
2) Longmen Grottos - from Xi'An to Luoyang Longmen
3) Sheraton Xi'An North Hotel - Club Room and Executive Lounge
4) China Eastern Airlines Business Class Singapore to Shanghai to Xi'An Adventure!
5) China Eastern Airlines Business Class Shanghai to Singapore Flight Review
6) Terracotta Warrior Museum - Go by Public Transport!

Longmen Grottos - From Xi'An to Luoyang Longmen to see the Buddhas Carved into Rock - UNESCO World Heritage Site

We were in Xi'An, China!  We stayed at the Sheraton Xi'An North hotel - a wonderful stay.  Today, we would be visiting the Longmen Grottoes.  Longmen what?  The Chinese name is 龙门石窟 Lóngmén Shíkū  , or literally Dragon Gate Caves, or Grottos. (So nothing to do with Longman Jeans)

In 2000 the site was inscribed upon the UNESCO World Heritage List as “an outstanding manifestation of human artistic creativity,” for its perfection of an art form, and for its encapsulation of the cultural sophistication of Tang China

Now, getting to this UNESCO World Heritage site would be interesting.  It was located near the city of Luoyang. The distance between Xi'An and Luoyang was 380km (236 miles).  This distance was farther than Singapore to Kuala Lumpur (which is about 350km).

How to get there?  High Speed Rail of course!  The journey time would take us about 1.5 hours.  To achieve this, the train would have to achieve an average speed of 253km/h. Not bad at all!  This would be our first time on board a China High Speed Rail train.  Excited!

I made 2 videos to remember this experience.  Here they are, followed by some pictures.

In this first video, we make our way from Sheraton Xi'An North, via Xi'An Metro, to the Xi'An High Speed Rail station. After getting our tickets, we got into this huge station (the largest in Northwest China). As we had a bit of time, and also because our train ride was 1.5 hours long, we decided to get some food to eat on the train.  I got a KFC burger - easy to eat!  The train ride was very smooth and punctual.  In the video, I also show you the toilet in the train.  It was clean.


In this second video, I immediately show you the highlight (the most famous cave) of Longmen Grottoes - this huge rock carving of a giant Buddha and many other figures.  You can find a full description of what this place is about on this Wikipedia entry.  We don't believe in Buddha, but we were here to admire the rock carvings!  Overall, it was quite a sight  Pity, however, this place has been badly destroyed and mutilated over the years.  We were told during the Cultural Revolution, the damage was super extensive.  So we saw many empty caves, headless statues etc.  We didn't spend too long here, but managed to see the most famous cave which is at the start of my video below.


Pictures
As promised, some pictures.  Xi'An North High Speed Rail Station was huge, the largest station in Northwest China.

2nd class cabin, it is in a 2-3 configuration. Comfortable, and trains were punctual.  The seats weren't very wide, but the incline was very good! Can easily take a nap.

Toilets were clean.  This one was a squat toilet.  My video shows you more of the train toilet. (yes, I went to do a toilet inspection.)

We brought our own food and water to eat and drink on board.  Doing so allowed us to head to the tourist site immediately once the train arrived at Luoyang Longmen.  Didn't want to waste any time finding food.

From the High Speed Rail station, we took a taxi to the Visitor Center.  At the Visitor Center, we bought our tickets to enter the site.  There was an optional electric cart.  Having read earlier reviews, we took the cart as well.  It wasn't expensive, and the ride was rather long.  Saved us plenty of walking.  You can see snippets of this ride in the second video.

After we reached the main site, there was naturally plenty of walking and stair climbing to do.  Didn't want to tire ourselves so early!  These are the steps with the wooden/golden handrails that would bring us to the most famous cave.  This is featured in my second video.

\
Unfortunately, the Longmen Grottos haven't been well preserved.  Plenty of damage.  Oh well.

This angle shows you the steps to climb up, to see the various 'holes'.  Frankly, more holes than statues now.

This shows you the interior of one the larger caves.  I'm sure when it was first carved, it would been quite splendid as a piece of art. But, the wear and tear is really quite bad.  Still, you can make out the statues.

Overall, it was an interesting visit, and only made possible by the very impressive and reliable China High Speed Rail system.  So the lesson for me, for this field trip, was not so much this UNESCO world heritage site, but more of just how well connected Chinese cities are now with their High Speed Rail system!

Thanks for reading my blog.

China Eastern Airlines Business Class Xi'An to Shanghai to Singapore Review 

China Eastern Airlines Business Class Singapore to Xi'An Adventure! 

Sheraton Xi'An North Club Room and Club Lounge!

China Eastern Airlines Business Class Xi'An to Shanghai to Singapore Flight Review

We fly China Eastern Airlines Business class, back to Singapore from Xi'An, after a wonderful holiday in Xi'An! 

Our fight plan was as follows:

MU 5010 - dep Xian 0850, arr Shanghai 1125
MU 565 - dep Shanghai 1435, arr Shanghai 2010

As our flight departed Xian somewhat early that morning, we decided to stay at the Regal Airport Hotel for one night, so that our departure could be smooth and easy.   Our flight home would be much smoother than our exciting adventure some days earlier on getting to Xian!

Xian Xianyang Airport Terminal 3 had a dedicated check-in area for China Eastern, which was very near the security clearance.  After checking in (our luggage would be checked through to Singapore), clearing security was quite quick (there were priority lines for Premium Pax) and we quickly found our way to the China Eastern Lounge.  Just follow the signs, not difficult.  The entrance to the lounge looked like this.  I read online that China Eastern operated another lounge at the other end of the concourse.  But this lounge was very near our gates, so made a lot more sense to wait here, at the V1 lounge.

Busy Lounge
Inside the lounge, we found it quite busy indeed.  I made a video of the lounge, and you can see the crowds at the dining area.  There was a decent selection of food, and China Eastern served their signature beef noodles in this lounge too.   Indeed, the Chinese love their noodles, no doubt about that.


Nice Blue Seats
Here are some photos of the lounge.  Nice blue seats.  They looked traditional, but they were pretty comfortable.  You could actually snooze on them (we did for a while) by lounging forward.  The seats gave good support to the next! There were charging points on the floor, in between the seats, making it convenient to charge our devices.  Of course, I had to use my universal plug. You can watch my video at 5:54 to see the charging points.

Rather Sunny!
At times, it felt rather warm, because the morning sun was pouring in.  Yes, this lounge gets the morning sun.

First Class Ticket?
Was a bit tickled when I saw my boarding passes (Red) which stated First Class.  No, we didn't buy First class tickets, ours was Business class fare.  However, it seems that within China, they seem to mix Business and First.  Maybe the concept is like in the USA, where they call domestic business as First Class.  Anyway, it didn't matter, as long as we got our seats!

Our flight was delayed by almost an hour, due to late arrival of aircraft from Moscow.  Apparently MU5010 is a service from Shanghai to Moscow, via Xi'An.  So the plane came in from Moscow.  Didn't bother us too much since we had sufficient layover time at Shanghai as buffer, and waiting in the lounge was comfortable (we found a spot which didn't have the morning sun).  We could wait until the boarding announcements were made before heading to the gate.

MU 5010 Xi'an to Shanghai
Again, we had to take a bus from our gate to the airplane.  Truly, a bus airline!  We got up the mini-bus for Premium Pax, and the ride was about 5 minutes to the aircraft.  I made this video of our flight experience from Xi'An to Shanghai, on board the China Eastern Airbus A330-300 series aircraft.


This Airbus was also retrofitted with their latest cabin product, which looked very similar to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner that we flew on from Singapore to Shanghai.  Some pictures of the cabin (in a 1-2-1 configuration) below.

Notice the slightly staggered layout of the window seats - alternate between true window seat and nearer the aisle seat.

A 1-2-1 formation.  Very spacious, private feel.  Overall, a very solid hard product.

The IFE screens were fairly big.  Good enough for me to watch a movie.

When we flew from Shanghai to Xi'An a few days back on a late flight (dep 2130hrs), the catering was extremely underwhelming - 2 tarts and 5 slices of fruit!  So, I was curious, this time what would we get for a morning flight?  A slice of bread and a drink perhaps?  LOL!

Asian or Western style breakfast?
Fortunately, China Eastern did better than that.  We had a choice of Asian or Western style breakfast.  I chose Asian, not knowing what it entailed. But at least we were decent a decent breakfast (local Xi'An style), which I quite enjoyed.  Bear in mind this is a 1hr 50min flight, so my expectations weren't sky high.  Here is breakfast I enjoyed.  Do watch my video if you want more details of the food, as I examine the food tray more closely.

The flight path from Xi'An to Shanghai wasn't straight.  Wonder why.  Maybe to avoid weather, or traffic congestion, or military airspace.  Well, as long as our pilot got us to our destination safely, I can't complain.

Weather was bright and sunny as we approached Shanghai Pudong.  Managed to get a very nice view of Shanghai Hongqiao Airport from the air.  There was an aircraft landing on the runway too. Cool!


Arrival into Shanghai Pudong
Landing was smooth. Recall, when we arrived in Shanghai en-route to Xi'An, we had assumed that our onward flight was on track. This time round, I immediately turned on my flight app which could show me the arrivals/departures at the airport. Yes, our onward flight was on schedule.  Of course, don't just trust the app, check the departure boards in the airport itself.  It looked ok.  Phew!

So we made our way past security and immigration, to the departure area for international flights at Shanghai Pudong, and took the escalator up to the China Eastern Lounge.  This was supposedly China Eastern's flagship lounge.  It was rather crowded when we got there, as it was lunch hour, but we could still find a nice table for the two of us on the first level.

Food - I had 2 servings of this Nasi Goreng style rice with fish, and I couldn't resist trying that bun.

The second floor of the lounge was a lot more quiet, with many seats and very few passengers.  Head up here if you want a quite place to nap or chill. Of course, don't forget to set your alarm for your boarding time!

Another angle of the second floor.  Yes, the boarding announcements were made, but they weren't that loud.  You could miss them if you are not careful.

Boarding Time
It was time for us to board the aircraft (we waited till the boarding announcement), and we headed off to our gate.  Our aircraft was boarding from Gate 212, which was a bus boarding gate.  When we reached the gate, they had already started general boarding.  It didn't look like there was a line for priority passengers!

Well, we just followed the other business class passengers who went to the front of the line, showed the staff our tickets, and they let us through.  We headed to the mini-van for premium passengers and enjoyed our final ride on this same type of mini-bus.  We have had so many bus rides on this trip that I've lost count!

The aircraft that would be flying us to Singapore was a rather new Boeing 787 Dreamliner.  Every passenger, premium or not, had to use the same staircase up to the airplane.  I took this photo to show my parents.  The steps were steep.  Given their age, I had advised them not to take China Eastern.  Not sure if my mother can make her way up and down such steps.

Another look at the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.  Pretty neat!  We weren't in any rush to board, so we let the other passengers board first.  The weather was great, and I took many photos of the plane.  See the front gear - serial number of this plane was B-209N.  She was delivered to Shanghai Pudong on 31st March 2019.  Very new!

Flight Review - Shanghai to Singapore on the China Eastern Dreamliner in Business Class
Here is the flight review video on this Shanghai to Singapore leg.


The cabin was beautiful.  Very classy.  For this flight, I was seated in 8L, which was a window seat. (as in right next to the window)

The welcome drink was champagne, orange juice, or water. I chose the champagne. This time round, the menus were placed at our seats. I took a glance through, and from the applicable menu for our flight. China Eastern has the habit of printing a single menu that can last them for many, many months. If you watch 3:30 of my video you will see that the menu is colour coded - Red for Odd month 1st to 15th, Orange for Odd month 16th to 31st, Blue for Even month 1st to 15th and Green for even month 16th to 31st.

I guess this system saves them printing costs. For my dinner, I chose the 3 cup chicken with rice. The cabin crew asked whether I would like dinner to be served immediately upon takeoff, or later. As our takeoff time was about 2:30pm (i.e. too early for dinner), I asked to be served later. The crew said the service would be at 5:30pm, as landing was slightly past 7pm. I said ok. After the flight took off, cabin lights were dimmed, and most passengers were watching movies or took an afternoon map. The crew came around with drinks service, and I got some white wine to go with the mixed nuts that they gave out. It was good. The seat could be converted into a flat bed easily (push button) and I took a short nap. For some reason, I woke up automatically, just before dinner time. Perhaps I was getting hungry! Dinner was served. It wasn't like gourmet food, but the taste suited me just fine.

My tray table was ready for dinner service.  They gave me the red wine first.

My 3-cup chicken with rice meal.  The taste wasn't bad at all!

Well, that pretty much wraps up my Trip Report, Xi'An to Shanghai to Singapore on China Eastern Business class.  This was our first time on China Eastern, and putting aside the slight trauma we had with delays and cancelled flights on Singapore to Xi'An leg, it was a great experience for the price we had paid! 

Would we fly with China Eastern again?  Yes!  But we would also know that their flights may be delayed/cancelled etc, so we would be mentally prepared for it all. 

Thanks for reading and watching my videos!

Sheraton Xi'An North Hotel Marriott Bonvoy Group Club Room Walkthrough and Club Lounge Awesome!

We stayed for 5 nights at the Sheraton Xi'An North Hotel, part of the Marriott Bonvoy Group, in a Club Room.  We had an awesome stay!

The hotel is centrally located, right next to a subway station on Line 2.  Just 3 stops south and you will get to Bell Tower/Drum Tower.

Taxi ride from the Airport cost around 120RM to 140RM, and took about 30 minutes.

Opposite the hotel, there were 2 large shopping centers, with plenty of eateries and supermarket.

Here is a walkthrough of our Club Room, on the 21st Floor.


We had an amazing experience in the Club Lounge.  We had breakfast there everyday, and also Happy Hour (5pm to 8pm) every day!  They served up a full dinner during Happy Hour, and it was awesome!

Breakfast in the Club Lounge


Happy Hour (Dinner) in the Club Lounge


While this isn't the newest hotel in Xi'An, it is still a luxury hotel, and the price point was very good.  We booked our room through the Marriott Bonvoy app and paid a very reasonable price for our 5 night stay in a Club Room. 

Recommended!

Enjoy!

China Eastern Airlines Business Class Adventure Singapore to Shanghai to Xian - Flight delays and Cancellations!

Welcome to our China Eastern Airlines Business Class adventure!  We fly on their Business class from Singapore to Shanghai, onward to Xi'An.  Our original flight schedule was as follows:

1. 17 May MU 566 - dep Singapore 2310, arr Shanghai 0440
2. 18 May MU 2335 - dep Shanghai 0645, arr Xi'An 0930

Baggage Checked through to Xi'An
Our baggage would be checked through.  We were looking forward to arriving in Xi'An on 18th May morning, and still have sufficient time to spend the afternoon and evening doing some touring.  We had planned for this holiday for a while now, so it was very exciting and it would be a trip of many firsts.

MU 566 Re-timed to 0800hrs the Next Morning
We arrived at Changi Airport Terminal 3 before 9PM on 17 May (Friday).  We headed straight to the SKY Priority queue, but was only to be greeted with this sight.  (see video).  There was a long line for the normal check-in, and it wasn't moving, which was strange.  It didn't take us long to realise that the flight was re-timed to 0800hrs next morning.  After speaking to one of the check-in staff (who also didn't really know what was going on), I left my mobile number and we decided to go home, even though we were told that the Airline would arrange for passengers to stay over in a hotel that night.   We decided against that since we would be more comfortable sleeping at home.

2 Flights were Re-timed
Note that both China Eastern flights to Shanghai MU 566 and MU 544 had been re-timed. Apparently, there was some weather over Guangzhou/Hong Kong area, and the Shanghai aviation authorities had decided that our flights would be re-timed. Oh well.....



Next morning - Check In at Terminal 3 
We got to the airport in good time next morning.   As we would have missed our connecting flight (MU 2335), the China Eastern ground staff re-booked us on MU 2162 departing 1730hrs.  We were quite glad that we managed to get seats on a later flight! With the revised MU 566 timing, we would only get to Shanghai around 1330hrs.  So a 1730hrs onward flight would still be ok.

Also, we could claim the taxi fare (from Airport to home and back to Airport) at the counter (so remember to keep your receipts), and we got that in cash.

SATS Premier Lounge Terminal 3
With our baggage checked through, and boarding passes in our hand (for both MU 566 and MU 2162), we got through immigration and headed to the SATS Premier Lounge at Terminal 3. China Eastern Airlines uses this contract lounge.  It was super busy that morning, and it got a bit unsightly because the staff couldn't clear the used plates quickly enough.   Anyway, we managed to find a seat, and I got some breakfast.   The food wasn't too bad - got some laksa, noodles, porridge and even otah-otah.  I didn't eat too much as I expected more food on the plane.



Departure from Changi Airport Terminal 3
We got to our departure gate at Changi Airport in good time.  But when we got there, I noticed that the cabin crew was still seated near the gate! Not a good sign.

Missing Plane?
Where was the plane?  It was just being towed in!  So what happened was that the plan was likely parked at some remote stand overnight, and now it was being towed to the gate in preparation for departure.  The video below shows you the plane being towed in, and some footage of takeoff.



Travel Insurance Documentation
Oh yes, before I forget, we had bought travel insurance for our trips and in this case, I believe we could claim some money due to trip delay.  However, as with all insurance claims, you need the proper documentation.  For trip delays, you definitely need a letter from the Airline to prove that the plane was delayed.  We were told by the check-in staff to get these letters at the boarding gate.  We got 2 copies.  They looked like this.  You need one letter for every passenger, so we got two of such letters.

Retimed MU 566 - Singapore to Shanghai, departing 0800hrs 18 May
A short while later, we boarded the aircraft.  Finally, we were on our way! This was our first ever flight on China Eastern.  This Boeing 787-900 Dreamliner was almost brand new [Serial Number B-209N].  The business cabin was gorgeous, it was in a 1-2-1 staggered formation.  My wife sat in front of Seat 7L, while I was in seat 8L (picture below).  Take note that the window seats were alternate, that means some of the window seats (like 8L) were truly window seats, but others were slightly away from the window (like 7L and 9L).  Reason was that they needed sufficient space to allow the seat to be deployed into a flat bed.  If you watch the video below from the 1 minute mark, you can see the staggered formation - 6L, 7L, 8L.  The Business class starts with row 6.  In front of row 6 is called Row 1, and that was the First class seating.  I didn't see anybody seated in 'First class' though.

Seat 8L

Flight Review Video - Singapore to Shanghai on China Eastern Boeing 787 Dreamliner
Here is my flight review video for the Singapore to Shanghai leg.  We enjoyed the service.


Smooth Flight on New Aircraft
The flight was very smooth, the experience was wonderful.  We were served a pre-departure drink (champagne included) as well as a hot towel.  Before take off, the stewardess came around to take our meal orders.  There wasn't a menu though placed at the seat, though the stewardess carried one with her.  I chose the assorted Dim Sum.  She also asked whether we wanted my meal to be served immediately upon take-off, or just before landing.  I said to be served straight after take-off.  She also asked for permission to wake me up for the meal service if I fell asleep!  Interesting.

Entire Breakfast on Single Tray
The meal was served on a single tray - efficient.  This was what my Assorted Dim sum meal looked like.  The bowl was sweet potato porridge, which was rather flavourful (i.e. not plain).  I ate it all.  Later on, the stewardess also came around with warm bread/croissant.   Meal service was quick and efficient, which I didn't mind.

After my meal, I converted my seat into a bed (push button, very easy) and I took a nap for about an hour or so.  Well, since I had a seat with a flat bed, might as well!  Landing into Shanghai was smooth and overall, it was a very good flight, the delay notwithstanding.

Part 2 of Adventure - Flight Cancellation! 
At Shanghai Pudong, the aircraft was parked at an aero-bridge and we got off the plane very quickly.  This was the first time that we were flying through Shanghai (international to domestic) and we didn't really know where to go.  So we asked around and realised that we had to clear Immigration.  That was quite simple and straightforward - the lines weren't long.  After clearing Immigration, we were told to go through the baggage collection area, clear Customs, enter the Arrival Hall and then proceed upstairs to the main public departure hall and enter the restricted area for Domestic flights again.  We didn't need to collect our luggage as they had been checked through.

Shock!
It was quite easy to navigate and then we got a shock.  As my wife tried to clear security to enter the restricted area for Domestic flights, the security officer who checked her boarding pass informed her that our flight MU 2162 dep 1730 for Xi'An had been cancelled!  What???  We were just booked on that flight that very morning, at around 6AM while still at Singapore Changi!!  It was now past 1PM, and the flight was cancelled.  We were told to go to the China Eastern reservation counters to get ourselves rebooked!

Goodness, this was getting crazy.  We were originally supposed to arrive in Xi'An before 10AM on 18 May. But now, we weren't even sure that we would be able to make it to Xi'An on that day!  Thankfully, my wife spoke very fluent mandarin. We had to go speak at several different China Eastern counters (because they said different departments took charge of different things!).  In summary, we had to

1. See whether we can get rebooked on another flight to Xi'An on that same day, otherwise the Airline has to put us up in a hotel for the night.
2. Get another letter to prove our onward connection was cancelled
3. Retrieve our luggage (they were supposed to be checked through... where were they now??)

Rebooking to a later flight
Fortunately, the counter reservation staff said that he could book us on the last flight going to Xi'An, which was MU 522 departing 2110.  We needed 2 seats in Business class, and there were 2 available.

Letter
We also had to find the Duty Domestic Manager (different from reservations) to get another cancellation letter for the missed flight.  This time, it looked like this.

For good measure, my wife took a photo of the departure board - MU 2162 to Xi'An, dep 1730hrs, was cancelled.  Why the sudden cancellation?  Frankly I have no idea.  No reasons were given to us either.  Well, cancellations were not uncommon, so the ground staff we spoke to didn't seem surprised.

Retrieving our Luggage, returning back to Baggage Claim area 
What about our luggage? The duty manager told us to go back to the Arrivals Hall, and find the entrance back into the restricted area.  The guard there asked us (in mandarin of course) why we wanted to go back in.  We had to explain to him that our flight was now cancelled (showed him our boarding pass for the flight that was cancelled) and we had to go back to the luggage area to collect our luggage.  He let us in without any problems.

Once inside, we headed to the China Eastern office, and there was a short queue to see the staff.  One staff told us to go back to the baggage claim carousel for MU 566 to check if our bags were there first, before coming back to see him if we couldn't find our bags.  So I went to the luggage claim area and thankfully, both our bags were still there. So it appears that the Airline would send the bags out to the luggage claim area, even though they were checked all the way through originally, because the Airline could tell that the flight had been cancelled.

Check whether your onward flight is cancelled when you arrive
In retrospect, what we should always do next time (if we fly through Shanghai) is to check whether our onward flight was still running, before we leave the luggage area.  If indeed our onward flight had been cancelled, then we would need to collect our bags from the luggage carousel anyway.

No meal vouchers?
We had also earlier asked whether the Airline would provide meal vouchers to cover the time in between. One staff at reservations counter in the public area said we had to get them from the baggage claim area!  But when we checked with the staff at the baggage claim area, they said that there was no need to provide vouchers for us because we could gain access to the Business class lounge.  But we explained that the staff earlier said that we could only check in 3 hours before departure!  The supervisor at the baggage claim area looked at us incredulously and said there was no such rule.  Anyway, he got his staff to make a call somewhere, and confirmed with us that we could check in and use the lounge.  The time was about 1500hrs and our flight MU 522 wasn't departing till 2110hrs.

Checking in for MU 522 dep 2110 to Xi'An
And after we got our luggage, we had to bring everything back to Departure area, and look for the check-in counters.  China Eastern has a separate area for premium customers at the far end of the terminal for Domestic check-in, near the domestic check-in security counters.  When we got there, there were no queues.  The counter staff looked a bit stressed though.  He had to call his supervisor to verify that he could check us in for the MU 522 flight (without imposing any additional charges on us).  We had to explain to him (and showed him all our boarding passes) that it was not our fault that we were in this predicament. Surely, the Airline had to send us to our final destination!  He was rather apologetic and explained that this issue straddled several departments, so he had to check.  Finally, he was given the green light to check us in for the MU 522 flight, departing 2110 for Xi'An.  Well, the good news was that it now looked like we would be able to get to Xi'An after all!

China Eastern Shanghai Pudong Domestic Business Class Lounge
Clearing security was smooth (hardly any line) and we headed straight to the Domestic terminal lounge.  Here is the video of the lounge experience.  This lounge is not to be confused with the Business Class lounge for international departures.  This was the business class lounge in the Domestic section of Terminal 1 at Shanghai Pudong.


Thankful that all issues were sorted
Thankfully we sorted out all the issues with our onward flight, and since the departure to Xi'An was now 2110hrs, we had plenty of time.  I recall when we got to the lounge it was only around 1630hrs.  Never mind, it was time to rest and get some food! I went straight for the noodles, which was very comforting.  Also had a glass of white wine, which wasn't too bad.  Took a nap, and then woke up to eat dinner.  They started dinner service at about 1730hrs and there was rice, with some meat and veggies.  I must say that the food was all very local, and not international oriented.  But it worked for us since our Singaporean tastebuds were somewhat similar to the local Shanghai cuisine that was being served. (or put in another way, we weren't fussy eaters!)

Boarding Announcements were made
There were boarding announcements and indeed, we waited till our flight was announced to be ready for boarding, then we left for the departure gates.  Upon reaching the gate, we realised that we had to be bussed to the airplane.  This was our first bus experience in Shanghai (when we arrived, it was an aerobridge).

Premium passengers get to board a separate mini-bus.  When we got to the boarding gate, general boarding had already begun.  So what you do is to go right to the front of the line (yes, cutting queue!), show your boarding passes and they will let you through first.   Of course, other passengers in line may give you stares, but so be it!

When you get to the bus bay, board the small bus (enough seats for all) and not the big one.  Since we all had seats, the bus ride to the plane would be comfortable.

Arrival at Remote Stand
When the bus arrived at the remote stand, other passengers were already boarding (Economy passengers who had arrived via an earlier bus).  No hurry to board.   The weather was good that evening, however, if it was raining, I think most of us would get wet!

Once boarded, we quickly settled into our seats on this cosy Airbus A321.  There were only 3 rows of Business class seats in a 2 by 2 configuration.  Thank God there was space for us!

Flight MU 522 Shanghai to Xi'An Flight Review
Check out my flight review video of this 1hr 50min flight below.  I titled this video 2 Tarts and 5 Fruit Slices because we were literally served this light snack of 2 tarts and 5 fruit slices on this flight!  Wow.  Granted that this was only a 1hr and 50 minute flight, one would still have reasonably expected some type of supper.

Well, you have been warned... eat your dinner before you get on-board!  Thankfully, I had my fill in the lounge.  We arrived in Xi'An slightly ahead of schedule, but we had to take a bus from the airplane to the terminal.  That took a bit of time, but by this time, we were just going with the flow.  At least we made it to Xi'An!



Conclusion
Well, this wraps up our exciting China Eastern Airlines Business Class adventure, from Singapore to Shanghai, onward to Xi'An.

This was our first time onboard China Eastern Airlines in any class.  Overall, the actual Business class product was very decent given what we had paid.  However, what wasn't so fun was all the delays and hiccups.  First, out of Singapore (9 hour delay), and then the onward flight getting cancelled only when we arrived in Shanghai, and the fact that we were pretty much on our own in terms of trying to sort out the luggage and re-booking.  We were literally running from department to department within the same airport, from restricted baggage area (level 1) out to public check in area (level 3), back to restricted baggage area to retrieve bags and again to domestic check-in area.  Felt like we knew the airport very well after this experience!

Thank God my wife spoke excellent Mandarin and she could navigate her way through the China Eastern system.

We got to our destination safe and sound, so can't complain.  Yes, we were supposed to have landed in Xi'An at 0930hrs on 18 May and we ended up arriving only at 2350hrs, i.e. 14+ hours behind schedule.  We lost a day of sight-seeing, but hey, at least we made it.  We went on to have a very fun holiday in Xi'An, and would fly back to Singapore some days later.

We are in the process of claiming travel insurance.  Will update again when I get news on whether the claim is successful!

Thanks for reading and watching my videos!

Mount Hua Shan Tourists Quarrelling at Famous South Peak Mount Hua Lun Jian 华山论剑 吵架 Plus Cable Car up West Peak

We finally arrived at the famous South peak (highest peak) of Mount Hua! There was a beautiful stone here Hua Shan Lun Jian - the place where Kung fu masters gathered to display their sword prowess. We were patiently in line to take our photos with the stone tablet and a huge argument started erupt between the two tour groups. What a din!!


At one stage, one group decided to block the entire stone, holding up everybody else. It was quite chaotic for a bit and I wondered if they would start fighting. Watch the action in this video! It may well be the first ever video on YouTube Of Chinese domestic tourists quarrelling at the peak of the famous Mount Hua Shan. Chill people!!  You were wasting everybody's time!

Roller Coaster on Hua Shan 华山?
What else did I see at Hua Shan?  Well, there was the unexpected Chair Lift upwards cum Roller Coaster downwards ride too!  Look at how much fun we had!


[Spectacular!!] Cable Car Ride up to West Peak
The most spectacular (and scary) cable car ride I've had in my life so far.....


Full ride! West peak cable car up to the famous Mount Huashan Of China, near the city of Xi’An. Getting up the mountain required so many transfers and it was rather expensive by Chinese standards. But the views were awesome. This must be the most scenic and exhilarating cable car ride in my life, so far. Not to be confused with the North Peak cable car, the West Peak cable car is relatively new, which started operations on 1 April 2013. The cost is 140 RMB (approx 20 USD) each way.

 We decided to take the cable car up the West peak as it would be the easiest way to go to the South peak (which is the highest). Getting to the West Peak base station itself was a long ride! We took a High Speed rail in the morning from Xi'An North station to Hua Shan North station. From there, we took a taxi to the Hua Shan Visitor center. After entering, the visitor center, we still had to take a Tourism bus to the base station for West Peak, and that bus ride alone was 40 minutes. Enjoy the beautiful scenery as we go up Hua Shan.