Celebrating our 7th wedding anniversary in the remote Togean islands! Not many boats visit these islands but the diving and snorkeling is supposed to be super. Looking forward to it after all the land travel in China!
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#togean #togeanislands #anniversary #sailing #boatlife ...

Finishing our China trip in Shanghai! 🏙️

We loved the contrast in the architecture. One minute you’re walking through the historic, 1930s Art Deco grandeur of The Bund or getting happily lost in the narrow, traditional shikumen brick alleys of Tianzifang. The next minute, you look across the river and you’re standing in the year 2050.

We definitely got our steps in walking around this massive city. Shanghai was the perfect ending to our trip and we are ready to fly back to the boat! ✈️ ⛵️
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#Shanghai #TheBund #OrientalPearlTower #Tianzifang ...

We spent the evening at the illuminated 72 Strange Buildings in Zhangjiajie. 🌆 It officially holds the Guinness World Record as the tallest stilted building in the world (109.9 meters!) and is inspired by traditional Tujia stilt houses. 🏯

Then, we headed back to the hotel, where our room rate included a full traditional costume photoshoot the next morning. Didn’t expect us to end our time in Zhiangjiajie as models! 😅
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#zhangjiajie #72strangebuildings ...

Stepping into another world at Yellow Dragon Cave near Zhangjiajie! 🐉

The cave has over 100,000 square meters (about 14 football fields) of caverns. Highlights included the Sea-Supporting Pillar (photo 3), a gravity-defying stalagmite. It is 19.2 meters tall, shockingly thin, and insured for 100 million RMB (which is around €12.5 million)!! Imagine having to call your insurance company because you tripped and broke a multi-million euro rock. 💀💎

While the cave is very developed with colored lights everywhere, we still enjoyed the many stalagmites and a beautiful boat ride inside.
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#yellowdragoncave #zhangjiajie #cave ...

We spent a couple of days walking through the set of Avatar, except it’s real in Zhangjiajie Forest Park! More than 3,000 quartzite sandstone pillars, some over 200 metres tall, sculpted over 300 million years by wind, water, and freezing winters.🏞️

Apparently the rock was once the floor of an ancient ocean. Tectonic uplift pushed it skyward and erosion did the rest, carving these skinny skyscrapers out of solid stone.

While the Tianmen mountain was completely covered in fog, we were lucky to actually see the pillars in Zhangjiajie as they’re often hidden in thick mist too. Even the local monkeys seemed impressed… although mostly with opportunities to steal snacks 😉 🐒
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#zhangjiajie #avatar #tianmen ...

We came to Yangshuo for the world-famous karst mountains, and they did not disappoint, rising straight out of the rice fields and rivers giving it amazing views from all sides including our hotel room!

We headed up to Ruyi Peak for panoramic views of the karsts, crossing glass bridges and riding cable cars while pretending not to notice how far down the cliffs were! ...

We took a river boat down the Li River from Guilin to Yangshuo, cruising past hundreds of dramatic karst peaks that were formed over 300 million years ago when this entire area was under the sea.

Rain slowly dissolved the rock, creating the jagged peaks, caves, and cliffs that now appear on the back of the 20 yuan note. We found a spot that seemed to match the photo on bank note. What do you think?🤔 ...

Rice has been the foundation of Chinese civilization for nearly 10,000 years, so we had to visit the mesmerizing Longji Rice Terraces near Guilin.

In ancient China, rice was practically a currency. People paid taxes with it, and senior government officials were paid in grain, making rice perhaps the world’s tastiest salary package 😉

The local women traditionally handled much of the hard harvesting work in the fields, but custom says that when they return home, their husbands must draw them a bath and massage their feet afterwards. Don’t tell Jessy, she might get some ideas 😉 ...