Spending your first morning in a new country can be a surreal feeling, even euphoric, especially for those eager to immerse themselves in a new culture, a fresh landscape and the people they'll encounter along the way. China offered exactly that — like a steaming bowl of freshly made Chinese beef noodles, layered with everything needed for a hearty introduction to the country.

The late Anthony Bourdain once said, "I think food, culture, people and landscape are all absolutely inseparable," and that was precisely how China welcomed us. Not through monuments or museums first, but through food, people and architecture.

Before setting our sights on Guilin for Trip.com's main cultural tour, the global travel platform took us through Shanghai, a city where centuries-old traditions comfortably exist alongside futuristic skylines.

A course in geography

Our first stop was Taste of China, an immersive dining destination that turns lunch into theater. As each course landed on our table, a cinematic narrative unfolded across the room while 3D table projections transformed every dish into part of a larger story.

Guiding the entire experience was Bao-bao, the restaurant's charming digital panda mascot, who led diners through China's culinary landscape. Guests could even slip into traditional Chinese attire before the journey began, making the experience feel like stepping inside a period drama.

Each course represented a different region of China.

The opening chapter celebrated Eastern China's "Four Treasures of Jiangnan," a selection of refined appetizers paired with fragrant Longjing tea as graceful umbrella dancers performed nearby.

From there, the journey shifted north to Beijing, where beautifully roasted Peking duck arrived with crisp, lacquered skin and remarkably tender meat, accompanied by aromatic jasmine tea.

Southern China followed with a comforting bowl of Fish in Sour Broth, its vibrant acidity balanced by earthy Pu-er tea, a tribute to the tranquil beauty of Guilin's Li River.

The fourth chapter ventured west with Sichuan's famous mapo tofu, delivering the familiar numbing heat that has made the region's cuisine legendary.

Central China answered with a restorative hot pot served alongside Imperial Chrysanthemum Tea, while an energetic noodle-pulling martial arts performance reminded everyone that in China, preparing food can be just as entertaining as eating it.

The culinary journey then reached the Greater Bay Area, where delicate dim sum reflected the seamless blend of Eastern tradition and Western influence before ending back in Shanghai with sweet fermented rice balls, a gentle, comforting finale.

Holistic. Immersive. Transformative. It was the perfect prelude to everything that followed.

Poetry in motion

Next was Shanghai itself.

If our first meal introduced China through flavor, Yu Garden revealed it through poetry. Hidden within the city's bustling Old Town, the 16th-century classical garden greeted us like a carefully written novel, where every winding pathway, moon gate, koi pond, weathered rock formation and pavilion is deliberately placed to reward patience rather than haste.

Built in 1559 by Ming Dynasty official Pan Yunduan for his aging parents, the garden embodies its namesake — Yu, meaning "peace and comfort" — offering a rare pocket of stillness amid one of the world's busiest cities. Even the famous Nine Zigzag Bridge carries symbolism, its sharp turns rooted in the old belief that evil spirits cannot travel in straight lines, while the Dragon Walls and the legendary Exquisite Jade Rock quietly remind visitors that every corner here tells a story.

Stepping outside the garden is like changing channels. The lively Yuyuan Bazaar buzzes with tea merchants, silk shops, jade traders and steaming baskets of xiaolongbao before the city shifts once again at The Bund.

Here, Shanghai wears two faces at once. On one side stand stately European-era buildings that once housed banks, trading firms and consulates, preserving the grandeur of the city's colonial past. Across the Huangpu River rises Pudong's unmistakable skyline, where the Oriental Pearl Tower, Shanghai Tower and other architectural giants announce China's relentless march toward the future. Few places in the world place history and modernity in conversation quite as dramatically.

Walking from Yu Garden to The Bund felt like reading two chapters of the same story. One speaks softly of imperial elegance, philosophy and craftsmanship, while the other echoes with commerce, reinvention and ambition. Together, they capture what makes Shanghai so endlessly fascinating, a city where centuries-old traditions never compete with progress, but somehow continue to thrive beside it.