Mountain and Sea Journey: Six Days in Qingdao

📍 Qingdao · 👁 5737 reads · ❤️ 32 likes

The original travel destination for 2020 was Yunnan. Because I couldn't stop thinking about Chengdu's food, and it's convenient to travel from Chengdu to Yunnan, I had originally planned to start this year's trip from Chengdu. But the sudden COVID-19 outbreak in early 2020 brought great uncertainty to travelling, so I couldn't decide whether to go. After being cooped up at home for more than half a year, and feeling down during the pandemic, I wanted to get out for some fresh air. So I booked train tickets to Qingdao and a hotel there, to go for the sea breeze in Qingdao, which is closer to Tianjin. Two days before departure, seeing that the domestic epidemic situation had stabilized so long-distance travel was possible, I finally decided to go to Qingdao first, then to Emei Mountain in Chengdu and then Yunnan.

Qingdao portion costs (for 2 people) total 3,589.70 yuan, including:

Transportation 518.00 yuan, accommodation 1,168.00 yuan, entrance fees (including scenic area shuttle buses, cable cars, etc.) 1,160.00 yuan, shopping, meals, city transport and miscellaneous 743.70 yuan.

We boarded the high-speed train to Qingdao near noon, and four hours later it pulled into Qingdao Railway Station. I had booked a sea-view room at a guesthouse near Liuqing Beach at the foot of Laoshan. After transferring to a bus, we arrived at the guesthouse around dusk. The hostess prepared a simple dinner with homegrown vegetables. Eating on the balcony while listening to the waves crashing on the beach, we felt particularly at ease. After dinner, we turned in early to rest for the next day's trip to Laoshan.

Laoshan, located on the coast of the Yellow Sea, is a famous tourist mountain in China, praised as the 'Number One Fairy Mountain on the Sea.' Its main peak, Giant Peak (Laoding), rises 1,132.7 meters and is the third highest peak in Shandong Province.

Laoshan has four main sightseeing routes: the southern line with Taiqing, Giant Peak, and Qipanshi scenic areas; the eastern line with Yangkou scenic area; the central line with Beijiushui scenic area; and the water route. For our first stop at Laoshan, we chose the central line’s Beijiushui Scenic Area, which was farther from our guesthouse.

From the guesthouse we took a bus to Laoshan (Dahedong) Visitor Service Center, then transferred to Tourist Bus No. 5. An hour later we arrived at the Beijiushui Visitor Service Center. From there you can take a scenic shuttle to the scenic area.

Beijiushui is formed by mountain springs flowing together, originating from the 'Heavenly Spring' at the top of Laoshan’s Giant Peak. The stream twists and turns at the mountain foot, and its name—’Nine Turns of Water’—comes from the nine bends. This is a canyon landscape combining mountains and water, divided into ‘Inner Jiushui’ and ‘Outer Jiushui’. The Beijiushui scenic area mainly features the Inner Jiushui section.

Entering the area, we followed the stream up from the first turn, passing many deep pools of various sizes. The path twisted and turned, with cliffs surrounding us on all sides, and a high cliff in the southeast split open like a gate where a waterfall cascaded down—this is the endpoint ‘Chaoyin Waterfall’ (Tidal Sound Waterfall). The whole route is about 3 kilometers. Along the way, the pools were emerald green, peaks competed in beauty, and the scenery was breathtaking.

After returning from Beijiushui quite early, we played in the water at Liuqing Beach until dark before heading back to the guesthouse.

Today we planned to visit the Taiqing Scenic Area. From the Dahedong Service Center we took the scenic shuttle, passing the Liuqing Scenic Area along the way, where we could see different shapes of coastal reefs. We got off at Taiqing Palace to first explore this representative Taoist cultural site in the Laoshan scenic area—Taiqing Palace.

Among the many Taoist temples in Laoshan, Taiqing Palace is the earliest recorded ancestral temple of Laoshan Taoism. It covers 30,000 square meters, with a floor area of 2,500 square meters. From its founding to the present, it has a history of over two thousand years. After the 'Jingkang Incident', it was repeatedly damaged and subsequently rebuilt several times. Its architectural style still retains typical features of Song Dynasty architecture, which is quite rare among religious buildings in China.

Taiqing Scenic Area – Taiqing Palace

On the hill behind Taiqing Palace stands a statue of Laozi, 50 meters tall, the largest Laozi statue in the world. The statue faces the sea, with left hand pointing to the sky and right hand to the earth. The base of the statue is carved with the full text of the Tao Te Ching, the classic Taoist text written by Laozi.

Taiqing Scenic Area – Laozi Statue

Taiqing Scenic Area – Taiqing Palace

After leaving Taiqing Palace, we continued by shuttle to the Taiqing Cable Car Station and took the cable car to Mingxia Cave. From the upper cable car station, we hiked further up and passed Shangqing Palace on the way.

Shangqing Palace was founded in the early Song Dynasty, dedicated to the Quanzhen Taoist Huashan sect, and is the only public monastery among Laoshan’s many Taoist temples. The front hall enshrines the Three Pure Ones, the rear hall the Jade Emperor, and the left and right side halls respectively house the Three Officials (Heaven, Earth, and Water Officials) and the Seven True Ones (Ma Yu, Tan Chuduan, Liu Chuxuan, Qiu Chuji, Wang Chuyi, Hao Datong, Sun Bu’er). Ancient trees tower inside Shangqing Palace, including a ginkgo with a trunk diameter of 2.53 meters and three wart-like growths on a thick lateral branch—extremely rare, said to appear only once every thousand years.

Further up was Mingxia Cave. I thought it would be a Taoist temple, but on arriving found it only a small cave with a Buddhist statue inside.

From Mingxia Cave you can return to the cable car station and take the cable car down, or hike down the mountain path. We chose to walk, going down via Longtan Waterfall to the Bashihe Scenic Area, though the path was uneven stone, alternately narrow and wide, and not easy to navigate.

Longtan Waterfall, also called Yulong Waterfall, lies in the middle reaches of Bashihe River in southern Laoshan. Here the river plunges into a deep pool, the water emerald and chilly, crystal clear. After mountain rains, the water cascades like a jade dragon, spewing mist and spray in a spectacular sight known among the Twelve Scenic Views of Laoshan as 'Dragon Pool Spouting Rain'. When we arrived the water volume was low, so the waterfall wasn’t as dramatic.

Taiqing Scenic Area – Longtan Waterfall

Continuing down from Longtan Waterfall leads to Bashihe Scenic Area. Bashihe (Eight Water River) gets its name from eight mountain streams merging into a long ravine; it's one of the highest-altitude rivers in Laoshan. The river flows into Taiqing Bay, where river meets sea, with mountains and water together—the scenery is really beautiful.

Taiqing Scenic Area – Bashihe Scenic Area

Coming down from the mountain, near the sea is the Bashihe parking lot, from where you can take the scenic shuttle back to Dahedong Service Center.

Taiqing Scenic Area – Bashihe Scenic Area

After returning from Taiqing Scenic Area and having dinner in the evening, we saw a bright moon rising over the sea, so we went to the beach. The clear moonlight poured over the sea, the light shimmering, and the rhythm of waves washing ashore calmed our restless hearts. By then the beach was free of the day’s noisy crowds, and we could fully enjoy the peaceful, beautiful moonlit night.

Liuqing Beach – Bright Moon

In the early morning we visited Liuqing Beach again, walking on the tranquil sand to the sound of the waves and beneath the morning glow.

Liuqing Beach – Morning Glow

Today we had reserved a visit to the Giant Peak Scenic Area of Laoshan. We once again went to Dahedong Service Center and from there took the scenic shuttle; it's about half an hour to Giant Peak.

Laoshan’s main peak is called ‘Giant Peak’, also ‘Laoding’. The Giant Peak sightseeing area is formed around its highest summit. The area combines sea and mountain, celestial phenomena, forests, bizarre peaks, strange rocks, and cultural sites into a majestic, ever-changing mountaintop landscape. From the summit, you can look down and see the vast, rippling Yellow Sea, pearl-like reef islands, and peaks vying in beauty—a panoramic view of sea and mountain.

You can take a cable car or hike up. With plenty of time, we chose to hike. The trail was easy, winding through lush woods; through gaps in the forest we often spotted oddly shaped rocks and peaks. Along the way, many cats kept us company. We had planned to turn back halfway, but before we knew it, we were approaching the summit.

It happened to be the start of the seafood season in Qingdao. Coming back from Giant Peak quite early, we went to Shazikou Seafood Wholesale Market. This is a dock with many fishing boats just back from sea, loaded with all kinds of fresh wild seafood. Many locals come here to buy seafood. We bought a few types seldom seen in Tianjin and took them back to the guesthouse to enjoy the fresh taste.

Shazikou Seafood Wholesale Market

After dinner we went to the beach again. It was the fifteenth day of the lunar month, just in time for a spring tide; the water had almost reached the breakwater. A bright moon hung high, moonlight spreading over the sea. Watching the surging waves flash white and hearing them crash onto the sand and rocks, we couldn’t help feeling small. We lingered on the breakwater a while before returning to the guesthouse to rest.

Liuqing Beach – Moonlight

Today we left Laoshan and returned to downtown Qingdao, checking into a hotel near the Zhanqiao Pier.

I’d always felt that the northern sea wasn’t as clear as the South China Sea, and the sand not as fine. Hearing that the Golden Beach on Huangdao was soft and fine, we decided to check it out. After a short rest at the hotel, we headed to Huangdao’s Golden Beach.

Qingdao’s Golden Beach faces the Yellow Sea to the south, stretching east-west in a crescent shape, over 3,500 meters long and 300 meters wide. It’s one of China’s beaches with the finest sand, largest area, and most beautiful scenery, dubbed 'Asia’s No.1 Beach'. Because the water is clear, the beach is flat, and the sand is fine as powder with a golden hue, it earned the resounding name 'Golden Beach'. What people love most about it is its 'golden sand'.

Getting to Golden Beach from our hotel was very convenient, and we arrived shortly. Many people were playing in the water on the beach, and there were some amusement facilities for visitors.

The seawater here was crystal clear, and the sand grains were fine and uniform, sparkling with gold under the sun. Walking barefoot on the soft sand, stepping into warm waves, and feeling the gentle sea breeze—even under the sun it felt very pleasant.

Huangdao – Golden Beach

We lingered at Golden Beach for the whole afternoon, only leaving when the tide started to rise. We got off at a stop near Zhanqiao Pier and took a stroll around the pier.

Qingdao’s Zhanqiao Pier, first built in the 18th year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty (1892), is the city’s earliest military-constructed pier. Now it is an important landmark and famous scenic spot. The pier is 440 meters long and 8 meters wide, extending from the shore deep into the crescent-shaped Qingdao Bay. At its southern end is a semicircular breakwater, inside which stands a two-storey octagonal pavilion in traditional Chinese style called 'Huilange' (Billow-Returning Pavilion), where visitors can enjoy the sea and sky.

There were also many people playing in the water here, but the sea was more turbid, not as clear as at Golden Beach, and the sand was coarser.

The evening was spent meeting up with friends and reminiscing.

One of the goals of coming to Qingdao was to try deep-sea fishing and get closer to the sea. I had booked a one-day fishing tour in advance, and early in the morning we arrived at Xiaogang Dock, our departure point.

We arrived early, with time to spare before the appointed time, so we strolled around the dock. There were many fishing boats moored, fish could be seen swimming in the water, and some people were fishing from the shore.

At 9 o’clock we boarded the fishing boat and it left the dock. The boat sped across the deep blue, wave-rippled sea, throwing up spray, with seagulls flying alongside. The water was sapphire, merging with the sky, and seagulls soared—looking out, it was truly refreshing.

Soon the boat stopped; the skipper said this was the fishing spot. Once it steadied, everyone found a good place and started fishing.

Fishing requires patience, and doing it on a boat with the sea breeze is itself a very pleasant experience. It was my first time fishing, and at sea, so I was mentally prepared to come away empty-handed. To my surprise, after a short while, a fish actually bit, and I was naturally thrilled to have caught something.

Because the weather hadn’t been very good those days, the water was a bit murky. The skipper said the fish would stay near the bottom, making them harder to catch. Over the morning we hooked a few fish. Before we knew it, it was almost noon, and the crew had prepared a bountiful seafood barbecue. The few fish we had caught were also cooked for extra food. Eating the fish we had caught ourselves, it tasted even more delicious.

After lunch, some continued fishing while others rested on deck. My husband also caught two fish, one of which was a highly prized rockfish (Shijiugong). Around 2 p.m., we started heading back.

A new day began, and we headed to the airport under the morning glow, starting a new journey.

October 2020