Poetic Laoshan | A Heart Returns to the Countryside, Intoxicating Time Lost in the Mountain Wilds

Laoshan is more than a fairy mountain famed for its sea; its western side is gentle and rolling, covering 446 square kilometers of a landscape naturally sculpted into rustic countryside. Here, is there a life you yearn for:

Amid the crisp chirping of birds,

morning mist nudges across the mountain fields.

The fragrance of flowers, mingled with the scent of tea and fruit, relaxes every pore.

The city’s clamor is healed by the mountain clouds.

A day in the hills begins.

As the saying goes, “Distant mountains and nearby city—all part of human life.”

When you truly approach Laoshan and embrace this way of life, you’ll find: she is hidden but not isolated, not far from bustling urban life, yet keeps a comfortable distance.

This perfect sense of distance comes from Laoshan’s unique geography: the mountain range radiates from the central peak of Laoding, its forms majestic and layered, embracing the city while also offering sheer cliffs, deep ravines, and secluded valleys—shaped like a giant turtle reaching toward the Yellow Sea.

Photo by Laoshan special photographer Hehe Youming

Some say life in Laoshan is “half immortal, half mortal”: above the clouds, an ethereal fairy realm; below, village homes. We seem to stand at the entrance to that realm, with elegant peaks before us like a painting, each breath intoxicating from this natural oxygen bar and trove of plants. Lost in it, we forget where we came from.

Photo by Laoshan special photographer Hehe Youming

Does such a life remind you of that saying: “The Li family has a daughter, known as Ziqi”?

Planting rice in paddies, digging bamboo shoots in groves, picking lotus in ponds, riding through forests—truly a Chinese recluse from pastoral poetry. Li Ziqi seems to live the idyllic Chinese countryside life we all dream of in our shared poetic longings.

Many say Li Ziqi’s life is out of reach, but in Laoshan, it’s actually within arm’s length.

With the deepening of rural revitalization, the villages in the Laoshan area are changing day by day. Not only have the lives of villagers transformed dramatically, but many “new friends” have also arrived.

Photo by Laoshan special photographer Liu Mingyuan

Among them are “New Laoshaners” who love the landscape, guesthouse owners who entrust their poetic yearnings to Laoshan, and visitors who come attracted by its name...

Amid the grass and trees, the heart heads for the mountains and streams.

Here you’ll naturally merge with the rhythm of the wilds: looking down, mist swirls; looking up, blue waters and skies; listening, birdsong and flower scent; closing your eyes, a gentle breeze and light clouds. These are days of dreaming back to nature in the mountains.

Photo by Mou Xiaoyu

Set aside trivia, experience it firsthand, bend to sow, and savor this easy moment. Feel nature’s most fundamental joy—here, you only need to give your time to the life you want.

Photo by Laoshan special photographer Liu Mingyuan

A pot of tea among flowers, shared with a few companions. “No clamorous strings or pipes, no wearying paperwork,” one can’t help but feel “the heart soaring above dust and worldliness, carefree and unenvious of immortals.”

The Peach Blossom Land is not so hard to find; Metro Line 11 and other transport links make switching between Laoshan’s countryside and city life seamless within an hour. Between you and that dreamy beauty, perhaps only a few green hills and a sea of flowers lie.

Photo by Mou Xiaoyu

The joy here is also shareable. Come, and you become a host, letting friends and family enjoy “an old friend with chicken and millet, inviting me to his farmhouse”—a spell of cozy mountain gatherings, tasting the joy of the old drunkard who cares for nothing but the hills and streams.

“This is my ideal life: mountains, fields, neighbors.”

Surely this echoes many hearts, filled with the loveliest visions of rural life: mountains embracing water, water embracing mountains, and you by my side.

Now we don’t have to really retreat into the woods; in our free time, we can come to Laoshan and be “mountain folk,” dwelling with the hills, delighting in the waters, gazing at the outlines of passing time.

Photo by Zhai Yingli

Photo by Zhang Wenya

The joy of living in the scenery: beautiful scenic spots are nearby, and when tired, you return to your own courtyard to rest, content and quietly happy.

Leisurely rural life, fully enjoying the pleasures of mountains and waters—this is Laoshan.

Images from: Xiangyue Meisu