Day 11 - Yangzhou

After a late night, we had another leisurely start to our day. Dressed in our new outfits as Emperor (albeit a modern one with Phil adding his gilet and trainers to complete his look) and Empress, Lawrence and Naomi picked us up around 10:30.

We headed out of Taizhou and onto Yangzhou, just an hours drive away. Well, when we arrived at Luyang Lake Wetland Park, just outside of the city, it wasn’t what we were expecting at all! Imagine rowing a boat in a forest lake! It was quite a magical experience, surrounded by the beauty of trees, rowing gently through the vibrant green moss gave us a wonderful feeling of calm and serenity.
Once out of our boats (thankfully no one fell in!), we walked around the wooded platforms surrounding the lake to capture the beauty of it all - just stunning!

Leaving the Lake, we visited Yangzhou city centre for another delicious lunch in one of the City’s squares, and a visit to Ge Gardens which displayed so much variety around its grounds - another popular place for professional photography - as a freelance professional photographer herself, Naomi took many pictures throughout the day for us - although our modelling skills may be questionable!

Coming out of the gardens we hit Dongguan Street which had row upon row of very vibrant and bustling market stalls - we absolutely loved it and had a great time wandering in and out of different shops, really enjoying the atmospheric vibe. We were so impressed by the musician playing the ocarina flute that we bought a small one after Phil having a go - think he will be quite good at this after a few practices 😂 🎶 (I’m sure the grandchildren will be bashing out some tunes too!) There were so many to choose from - all different shapes and sizes.

It’s been a fantastic day - huge thanks to Lawrence & Naomi for organising and taking us to enjoy these great experiences 🥰
Back to the hotel for an early night, ready for an earlier start tomorrow 😴Read more