Explore More: Wuhzen, China

I had never visited China – let alone the continent of Asia – and was so excited when I got the chance to explore the People’s Republic of China with Cathay Pacific. We were there to celebrate the launch of the Cathay Visa Card partnership and it was a pretty unique way to see the country and such an amazing experience. I traveled from Hong Kong to Wuzhen in mainland China, one of the seven ancient water towns surrounding Shanghai, where we spent most of the trip. The town is known as ‘the Venice of China’ and the town was built upon canals and is quite the tourist destination within China. There is so much culture and history in China – much that I didn’t know about – and I felt like Wuhzen was the perfect place to soak up that culture. It isn’t overwhelming like Hong Kong or Shanghai, and the town tries to harken back to tradition in terms of architecture, food, and history. It was so fun creating this video with Zach & Cathay Pacific to give you a little glimpse into the trip and highlight how I got to use their brand-spanking’ new Visa Card for my travel, stay, and eats:

There are waterfront houses along the canals as well as traditional workshops and restaurants. Besides soaking up the sights, some of the activities in Wuhzen included a boat ride through the canals, an ancient acrobatics show on a bamboo pole, and traditional sword stunts. The noodles and dumplings consumed during the trip were pretty stellar.  If you were following along my Instagram story from the trip, you’ll remember all the “Chinese food studies” I did that observed all the crazy traditional ways of the Chinese kitchen. Some of my new favorite Chinese dishes are a spicy tofu mapu or soup dumplings – Xiaolongbao!

After Wuzhen we traveled to Hong Kong (city guide coming soon!) and It was pretty incredible too. This trip definitely made me realize I’ve got much to explore in Asia, and I can’t wait to get back to China! If you’re traveling to China, reach out and let me know! If you’ve got any questions about Wuzhen, Cathay’s Visa Card, or Asia in general ~ don’t hesitate!

Stay Risky,

– John

Photos by John Philp & Zach Glassman, video by Zach Fackrell