We arrived in at Beijing International, always an overwhelming airport based on its immense girth. But our gate was very close to immigration and we breezed through without much delay as officials kept opening new lanes as the lines swelled from the arriving flights. We discovered a small short-stay airport hotel and without hesitation spent the $40 for a two hour stay. Showers after long flights are one of the best things one can gift one’s body after long flights.
Then it was a 15 minute shuttle bus to Terminal 2, still located within in the same airport. While exploring the second floor of this terminal, a lady quietly whispered, “you want massage?”. I felt like I was walking on the streets of Bangkok at night. She escorted me over to a couple of rooms where after the start of a foot massage, I immediately fell asleep. I was woken by the masseuse after an hour and she told me I was welcome to sleep in the room while I waited for my flight. Nice. Even better than most lounges.
My destination was Yinchuan, an autonomous region in the northwestern part of the country. My flight was 2 hours delayed due to the severe thunderstorms in Beijing and by the time I reached Yinchuan it was well after midnight. This airport is about an hour to the center of town without traffic. I didn’t have exact change, but my driver said not to worry about it. After 24 hours of travel, I sank into the comforting sheets and slumbered until late morning.
I walked around Yinchuan most of one day in the heat, getting great exercise and losing weight due to lots of sweating. The Yellow River runs through the city, referred to as the mother river by locals. And the city is filled with numerous parks and other green spaces. Unlike most cities of this size, during my several days here I noticed the streets were almost empty. Many people get around town using electric scooters; I’m not sure I saw even one gas powered scooter.
Arranging a driver through the front desk proved easy, using the WeChat app. The cost for the day was 69 USD.
First up was a visit to CHANDON China, located about an hour from the center of Yinchuan. I was here in July; it was hot with daytime high temperatures hovering in the upper 30 Celsius range. But that didn’t stop numerous visitors from coming to see the winery. A tour includes a walk through part of their vineyard with an explanation of how they bury the vines from November through April under about 1/2 meter of soil – using both shovels and machines to do so. It gets cold here in the winter, with lows often between 10 and 15 Celsius.
And then following a tour of the production winery, I tasted through all their wines (6 different wines are produced each year) including the Garden Spritz, one of Chandon’s most popular wines. This is one of six Chandon’s on the planet – the other ones being located in Argentina, Napa Valley, Brazil, Australia and India.
After my stop here, it was on to Mountain Wave Winery where I met with the owner Melvin and sampled several wines including Marselan, one of the most planted red varieties in China and a variety I also grow in Napa Valley.
And these are just two of the approximately 200 wineries in the region.
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