Shanghai & Linhai: Southern Great Wall Day Trip by Bullet Train

4.92

(146 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I nearly missed my coffee because I couldn’t find the right platform at Shanghai Station—turns out, even with a guide, those signs move fast. Our guide, Li, just grinned and waved me along. The bullet train to Linhai was smoother than I expected (I almost dozed off), and Li started pointing out all sorts of little things outside the window—rice paddies, tiny villages slipping by. The air felt different when we stepped off in Linhai; softer somehow, maybe just less city noise.

First stop: food. We hit this buffet spot with dumplings so light they almost fell apart in my chopsticks—Li laughed when I tried to say the name in Mandarin (I definitely butchered it). There was this ginger smell everywhere, mixing with something sweet I still can’t place. After lunch we wandered through Donghu Garden. It was quiet except for some birds and a couple of old men playing cards under a willow tree. The water in the lake looked greenish-grey, not quite clear but peaceful enough that I wanted to sit for ages.

The main thing though—the Southern Great Wall itself—felt nothing like Beijing’s wall. It’s older, rougher around the edges, and honestly way less crowded (we barely saw anyone else up there). There were stretches where moss grew between the stones and our footsteps echoed weirdly loud. Li told stories about old battles here; I remember standing on one of the towers looking over Linhai’s rooftops while a breeze came up from nowhere. My legs were burning by the end (so many stairs), but it felt worth it.

Ziyang Old Street was our last stop before heading back to Shanghai. It smelled like fried dough and incense, and there were red lanterns hanging everywhere—even in daylight they made everything look warmer. We poked around shops selling dried plums and wooden toys; Li bought some candied hawthorn skewers for us to try (sticky but good). By then my feet hurt but I didn’t really care—I kept thinking about that view from the wall earlier, how small everything looked from up high. Funny what sticks with you after a day like that.