The entrance to the
Fangweng Restaurant is marked by a small building that is pretty darn ugly. The
real wonder begins once you pass through the building. To get to the main
restaurant, you must take a precarious walk along a boardwalk built into the
face of the cliff. The walk is said to be spectacular. On the left, the cliff
face goes up almost vertically, and on the right only a small railing guards
the boardwalk from the perilous slopes of the gorge and the river below. Historically,
the cave was used as inspiration for many famous poets and artists.
When you arrive, you
will be seated. Most of the tables are inside the restaurant, which is actually
a naturally formed cave in the cliff – how cool is that?! The strange
combination of being in both a Chinese restaurant and a cave makes for a pretty
unique atmosphere. Some tables, however, are on a deck built out over the gorge.
I can’t even imagine eating a mean with only a few deck planks between me and a
sheer drop to the bottom of a gorge. The view is amazing, but I would be
terrified (I’m not good with heights).
What to do? Well, eat, obviously. The best time to go is during the day, when the restaurant is not crowded, and the light is good for viewing the gorge. Other than that, you can hike, bungee jump, or take a boat tour throughout the valley, among other local activities.
What to eat? The menu
consists of a combination of local specialties and traditional Hubei cooking. Dishes include freshwater fish, duck,
pork and if you’re feeling adventurous, you could try turtle (not for me,
personally). Most of the dishes include sauce, vegetables and strong spices.
I just think this
would be a fantastic and breathtaking (but scary) experience you would never forget,
and you would be hard pressed to find another place like this one.
There's not a ton of information on the Fangweng restaurant, but this travel blog covers it pretty well.
It would definitely be an unforgettable trip for sure. It would be a totally different view from other normal restaurants.
ReplyDeleteThere's a very serene quality to the place, despite the fact that you could possibly fall to your death.
I guess it would be a good place to face your fear of heights...
This would actually be incredibly scary. I don't think I could eat dinner at a place like this in piece. Really cool concept though.
ReplyDeleteI am terrified of heights. Still, I think this would be a cool place to visit. I think I would prefer to eat inside the cave, rather than outside where I can fall to my death, though. I think this is a really neat idea for a restaurant. I wish there were things like this in Canada. Well, maybe there is, who knows?
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