Leaving the airport I was going to take the metro downtown to my hotel. Being in crowded China there were long lines at the ticket vending machines and I didnt know what the cost of a ticket was.

Then I saw a sign for day passes, 20Y ($4) for one day or 50Y for three days ($10) so I opted for the one day for now. It was valid for 24 hours from when you tap your card so I can still use till tomorrow noon.

The first stop at the airport there were still seats leftover. The second stop there were people pressed against the doors waiting for them to open then charged in a massive horde grabbing all the seats and packing the train to the doors from the inside.

With this many people in China all day is rush hour on the train. I had to change lines and station to station it was one hour from the airport to my stop, much slower than I expected.

Leaving Huangsha Metro I crossed the old bridge onto historic Shamian Island. It was old colonial architecture as I looked for my hotel.

Confusing the hotel had an east and west building two blocks from each other. I first went to the west bldg and was told to goto the east bldg which was printed on my reservation. At the east bldg they told me my room was in the west bldg so I had to walk back.

Reception told me as I was an Expedia+ member my balcony room has been upgraded to a suite. I wanted to keep my balcony room so asked if I can see both.

The balcony room was nice but had an open concept bathroom which I always find odd in Chinese hotels.

The suite room was much larger with a separate living room and a two tvs in both the bedroom and living room. It was much larger and the bathroom actually had doors for privacy.

I liked the double sliding doors at both ends of the bathroom making it a semi ensuite and similar to some condo units back home I've considered so the chance to try it out. It was also a change from all of Japan's capsule hotels to have a real bed.

After all the rain in Japan it was now 30 degree humidity so I finally got to wear shorts. Shamian Island was an original French settlement and now bustling with visitors taking selfies alongside the historic buildings.

There were several couples also having their wedding photos taken.

Leaving Shamian Island was the older bustling area of Qingping Market. There were several herbal goods stores.

I was trying to find my way to some temples but the scale on my map was wrong, there were many streets not shown on my map throwing me off, and it was a lot further to walk.

A local baker was selling flat stuffed bread with herbs for 2Y (.20 cents). I did find the temple which had closed at 5pm so I'll have to come back tomorrow.

I ended up in the pedestrian street and it seemed like the one billion people living in China were all on this street. I wandered around back to the hotel and would have to explore properly tomorrow.

It was nice to be back in China which was radiating with so much culture and life.