Things to do in Dongtai

Go at the right time, and you absolutely must see the Eye in the Sky (I think that's the name, I've forgotten). The view from above is absolutely breathtaking. I highly recommend this place; we went twice.

It was raining when we went. We took a tour bus to the beach. I didn't get a picture of the spoon-shaped rock formation. We walked along the beach for a bit. It was quite late when we arrived, almost closing time. There's a bird museum at the tide-watching point that you can visit. We stayed for less than an hour and a half before the last shuttle bus left, and the driver urged us to go back. Maybe we should come when the weather is nice to see the spoon-shaped rock formation?

The scenic area is nice, themed around the Seven Fairies, which is interesting. Best of all, parking is free, which is rare; you won't find that in Taizhou. Recommended; I heard it's even more fun at night.

A breeze sweeps across Jinxi, where the chinaberry trees are in full bloom. Clusters of pale purple blossoms, like clouds and mist, fall softly onto the bluestone slabs, a gentle letter from spring to early summer. The ancient town is sparsely populated, the flowing water shimmers, and white walls and black tiles reflect the purple glow of the trees—every frame is an unfiltered, poetic scene of Jiangnan.

Because it was off-season, there were very few people in the scenic area, and even few shops were open. There was nothing there, so I just treated it as a visit to the park. The scenery and architecture were pretty good. There were large-scale performances and the place was still under renovation. I'll come and join in the fun when there are more people.

This morning I started from Anting West, first transferring at Haian Station, then going to Dongtai. The bus was late. I tried to take the rural bus 201/210, finally finding the waiting area. A bus going to Hougang arrived, probably the 210, but I hesitated and it drove off. At 11:16, the 201 (to Qionggang) arrived. I boarded and said I wanted to go to Anfeng Old Station. The driver said it was 3 yuan, and I could pay by scanning a QR code. Along the way, several passengers left their belongings on the bus, paid the fare, and got off. The bus company even delivered their items. I arrived at Anfeng Old Station at 11:57. Entering the ancient town, I bought a combined ticket to visit four scenic spots. Honestly, it didn't matter whether I visited them or not; the museum was small and nothing special. The cloth shoe shop and the barbershop were more interesting. This barbershop's layout and orientation were somewhat similar to the one near the No. 10 Bridge on Waiqingsong Road when I was a child. My grandmother used to take me there, and after getting a haircut, we'd buy an ice cream. Since we were already paying for all four attractions with the combined ticket, we decided to visit them all. We couldn't find the Bao's Building at first, so we had to go back and look for it again. When we got to the hotel, we discovered that the photo watermark function was disabled, so we couldn't organize the timeline.

Shanghai After Dark — The Bund Never Sleeps ✨“Where the river reflects a thousand city lights and the future rises above a timeless waterfront. The Bund is more than a view — it’s Shanghai at its most magical, where elegance, ambition, and endless dreams meet.” 🌃❤

Traveling with kids, we couldn't get enough of Disneyland! Disneyland is best visited on a sunny day, but unfortunately it rained when we went. Overall, it was still a very enjoyable trip. The rides didn't have long queues on rainy days, haha!

My second visit to West Lake was great; the boat tour was excellent. The dock was easy to find, the staff were very friendly, provided clear explanations, and helped with any issues. There were also sightseeing buses, which were nice but a bit pricey. Taking the boat tour and then walking around was both perfectly fine.