Ge’s Fairy Village – Gexianshan

After a final stomp – this time with burgeoning backpacks – up the stairway to breakfast, we waved goodbye to Wangxian Valley and set off to our next destination, Gexianshan. It was a 2.5 hour Didi taxi ride, which we decided to split into 2 due to an uncertainty about the possibility of a bathroom break and, because we had lots of time before check-in, thought we could suss out Shangrao station in prep for the next big leg to Guilin in 2 days time.

Turns out, it all looked pretty simple – but we were grateful for the leg stretch and my toilet anxiety was quelled.

The only confusing bit – and another sign of how fast things move in China – was that the floor signs to the Didi rank that were there just 2 days ago were gone! Zach cautiously followed my memory map and the location was still there – back yourselves people!

We spent about £25 in total on 2 taxi’s which took us to the doorstep of the information centre at Ge’s Fairy Village… another booking by me based entirely on a clip I’d seen on instagram. Do I have a social media addiction? Possibly…

DAY 1

I must admit, we weren’t sure what to think when we rocked up to the pretty brutalist looking glass building in the middle of nowhere. The guys behind the desk didn’t know what to think of us either… were we lost? Once again we were staying in a place where we were the only non-Chinese people. They scanned our faces for the entry gates to the resort and cableway (Zach thinks this is very cool), before guiding us onto a taxi-meets golf caddy up the hill.

We still weren’t convinced of what had been booked until we got to our hotel room which was lovely and had a bit of character to it. The hotel name once translated is: Gexian Village Resort Zhuyin Mountain Homestay, booked on trip.com (links at the end as per).

We immediately got out and about for an explore and were happily surprised with a series of stunning gardens, lakes and traditional-looking shopping streets.

After a wander, we decided to try out the massive rooftop pool – the rain of the past fews days was a distant memory… it was now scorchio! This was a bit of a splashy – pardon the pun – expense at £24 for the two of us, but it was too tempting not to go for it and by jingo was it worth it! 

We had the entire pool to ourselves for a good hour and it overlooked the whole resort and surrounding mountains, including Mount Gexian. It was a pretty chilly pool (which may explain it’s emptiness) and Zach froze his nips off whilst water baby me had a lovely time. After a while we were joined by a young girl who thought we were very entertaining and was asking her parents for help with English phrases (how do you do?). She even knocked out a short rendition of ‘Let It Go’ – we are a real novelty here!

A shower, a change of clothes – a flouncy floral dress for me no less – and we were back out for dinner. Once again the resort had totally transformed as day transitioned to night and the gardens had come alive with every possible fairy light, glowing animal sculpture and again, more lanterns than you could shake a wonton at. It was simply magical.

We had another dinner where we got the portion sizes totally wrong before realising there was a show on. The main pagoda in the middle of the square was alight which an incredible projection show – we made the mistake of thinking this was the end of the performance for the night and headed to the lake where you can hire little lantern-rimmed pedalos and bags of fish food. When we say this was like the Chinese equivalent of the horror movie ‘Piranha’, we mean it. These hungry scaly savages stalked each boat until pellets were tossed into the water and a feeding frenzy began. As a friend of all creatures, I loved it whilst animal agnostic Zach, just enjoyed me loving it. 

After emptying the bag for the greedy guppies, we looked up to a fire show being performed around the lake – darn, missed it! One for tomorrow night…

We did catch some traditional dancing being performed in the middle of a staged area on another lake and a bonfire where the crowd participation dancing started up again with much gusto. Welcome to Chinese Butlins 2.0!

DAY 2

We got up early (for us), had breakfast & guessed ‘what’s in the bao’ – success rate is becoming higher, with date & walnut/custard still being top flavours – before having a leisurely chillax in our room. Coffee, shower & day plan discussed, we went for another walk through the gardens up to the cableway to cash in our free ride (comes with the package on trip.com). Much to Zach’s joy, the facial recognition worked and we glided through the gates… his joy was shattered when he saw the sheer size of the cableway – Zach’s has a fear of heights and this thing was HUGE. Props to him for braving it anyway… even if it did come with a generous side serving of sass.

The views at the top took our breath away (for 2 very different reasons) – sprawling mountains, lush greenery and deep valleys laid out before us – our resort now a tiny dot in an endless patchwork. The top also offered other surprises in the form of shops, restaurants, a glass bottomed water slide (hard pass from Zach) and a mountain path that lead even further up the peak to a series of Taoist temples. Highlights include: a red and gold adorned temple where many people had come to light incense and complete a prayer ritual, a giant Yin Yang on the stone floor with a basketball hoop to the side (the most epic game location ever?) and a fountain pond full of some seriously zen terrapins. 

The Chinese visitors were even more surprised to see us up here!

With the step count kicking it past the 15,000 mark, we headed back down the cableway, had a cocktail in one of the en route bars and prepped for an evening of entertainment. Another dress for me… yes, she fanceh!

First up, a free interactive comedy show – the ticket free with our package – that we can only describe as Chinese pantomime. We hadn’t really got a Scooby Doo what was happening, but physical comedy and impassioned performances transcend all language barriers. The crowd clearly loved it – especially the fun being had at the expense of the poor girl they dragged on stage and the panto dame equivalent who was gloriously camp.

Next up, what we now realise was a kind of performance safari! A series of shows that moved around the resort, starting again with the light projection show at the main pagoda. Our mistake from the night before meant we now knew to stay put for the next section and were rewarded with the most spectacular fire show we’ve ever seen. It was as if Smaug himself had flapped open his trap and set the square ablaze.

A mask changing magic man at the bonfire pit was swiftly followed by a performance we are struggling to find the words for. 

Year’s ago I saw the Kylie Minogue Aphrodite Tour and can honestly say this production was on par. There were fountains dancing to music, pyrotechnics, a beautiful animated film being played on a screen of sprayed water, lights causing all sorts of illusions and dancers telling the story of Taoist leader Laozi. Hands down the best show either of us have seen at any holiday resort – and potentially any theatre stage as well. 

Thinking we’d now nailed the Chinese portion sizes, we went for 2 soups and some rice for dinner. Two behemoth bathtubs arrived and we once again felt guilty that we’d never finish them (potentially house a few chunky boi koi mind!). Looking around we realised people are leaving food everywhere. Apparently you must leave some food – your host prides in filling you! Guilt aside, we had very delicious tomato & egg soup (Tāng), and tofu skin hot & sour soup before taking our broth-filled bellies to bed.

Watch-outs…

1. They are very similar to Wangxian – download a translator app because there is no English really spoken or on signage – but people will try and are really lovely about it!
2. This is very much a holiday resort, other than what’s on site you’re in the middle of nowhere, so we’d recommend 2 nights here max. We covered everything in this time!
3. There are some extra costs once you are inside as noted – swimming pool, cable car, some shows (not the big evening event but the comedy show etc. if you didn’t get a package deal), the koi carp pedalo and must-buy koi food!
4. As I mentioned, the evening show moves around – there is an electronic sign to show you when and where each one is but the safest bet is to follow the Chinese people!
5. Sunday everything wraps up early – this was our last night – so make sure you eat before the show as that’s the grand finale. Restaurants and bars seemed to shut between 9 & 10pm.

Other than that – prepare for a bloomin’ lovely time!

H&Z x

Links:

Hotel

Our costs: £106.66 for 2 nights including Two buffet breakfast, 2-day tickets for Ge’s Fairy Village, 2 return tickets on the cableway & 2 tickets for a 30-min ‘immersive’ comedy performance.