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9 Days Shandong Panorama Tour Request

Shandong Cultural & Natural Exploration

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A Shandong panorama tour can be an eye-pleasing experience of both culture and nature. It is recommended for all kinds of travelers, no matter you are seniors, couples or young people, students, etc. Shandong has played a pivotal role in the development of Chinese civilization. Qufu was the hometown of siege Confucius where the Confucianism was created, then dominated the ways how Chinese society, philosophy, government and education worked. Shandong’s Mount Tai might be the most climbed mountain in the world since it has been hiked by ancient emperors, celebrities, travelers for more than 3000 years. While in the not far east of Shandong, you can indulge yourself into leisure resorts, golden beaches, different kinds of seafood, etc. which are mainly offered in coastal cities including Qingdao, Weihai and Yantai. You cannot miss Jinan. This capital city represents you how the Chinese people live and enjoy their lives in a traditional Chinese city.

Highlights of this tour

  • Follow the best route to explore all the highlights of Shandong in one go;
  • Hike Mount Tai, the foremost of the Five Great Mountains of China;
  • Explore the culture & history of Confucianism in the birthplace of Confucius, Qufu;
  • Appreciate the best coastline of Shandong Peninsula in Weihai and Yantai;
  • Spend a relaxed in Zibo to learn about the longlasting of Shandong in its former capital.

Basic Trip Information

Price:
from Request
  1. 1. This price is for one person, based on a group of 2 adults sharing one double-bed room in a 4-star hotel and traveling in low seasons;
  2. 2. This price is subject to change according to your traveling season, group size, hotel class, change of activities and possible fluctuation of currency exchange rate.
Travel Route:
Qingdao / Weihai / Yantai / Weifang / Zibo / Qufu / Mount Tai / Jinan
Travel Length:
Tour Code:
CD-SDPT-10
Group Size:
You, your family, friends or group
Experience:
ArchitectureCultureReligious
Departure:
Any day you want
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Full Itinerary Day by day

Day 1 Qingdao Arrival

Welcome to Qingdao, a famous seaside city with marvelous coastlines and great Tsingtao Beer. Our guide will meet you at the airport, train station or hotel and escort you to Tsingtao Brewery Museum, where you can watch the exhibition of the complete process of making the beer and taste the freshly brewed beer. Since Qingdao is famous for the Tsingtao Brewery, you will have a better understanding about the beer and the city after today’s visit. Before leaving, you will take a fresh sip of 2 glasses of Qingdao beer in the museum.

Then you will visit Badaguan Scenic Resort (also called Eight Passes Scenic Resort) which is named after 8 important military fortresses in China's history. In fact, it is not a resort and there are no passes here. It is a pretty neighborhood with about 200 old buildings in over 20 different countries’ styles, including German, Russian, French, American, Danish, Greek, Spanish, Swiss, Japanese... Take a nice stroll in the scenic streets and get some great shots. The landscape of Badaguan becomes most marvelous in spring when lots of flowers are in full blossom and in autumn when the leaves present a stunning mixed hue of yellow, orange, red, etc. To fully appreciate the buildings, you can walk into the Princess House, Butterfly House, Spanish Villa and Huashi House (optional). After that, take a short visit to Zhanqiao Pier, a symbol of Qingdao city. It was built in 1891 as a naval pier, and now is a famous landmark in the Qingdao Bay.

Arrival Ideas: 1) it is available to take a high speed train from Beijing (4.5h), Jinan (2-2.5h), Tianjin (4~4.5), etc., and a flight from Beijing (1.5h), Shanghai (1.5h), Xian (2h), Luoyang (1.5h), Guangzhou (3.5h), etc. 2) we suggest you take a morning flight or high speed train and arrive in Qingdao before 10 a.m. for a better sightseeing experience in Qingdao.

Pricess House in Badaguan Scenic Resort Tsingtao Beer Zhanqiao Pier - the Symbol of Qingdao
Day 2 Qingdao - Weihai (B)

After the breakfast, drive about 1.5 hour to beautiful Laoshan Mountain, which is known as the Most Famous Mountain on the Sea. This trip focus on Taiqing Scenic Area - the highlight of Laoshan Mountain today. As you arrive, a big statue of Laozi - the founder of Taoism will come into your eyes. Your sightseeing journey starts with a nice hike from Bashui River to Longtan Waterfall. Bashui River is named after the eight streams converging into the river and Longtan Waterfall is one of the streams. During your hike, you can get an enjoyable view of the waterfalls, peaks, rocks, various plants as well as the Yellow Sea from different perspectives. Then, you will continue your hike to Shangqing Palace and Mingxia Cave which are two featured Taoist Temples. In Mingxia Cave, you will get a breathtaking view of the mountain and sea from above. After the amazing sightseeing trip, you will take a cable car down to Taiqing Palace, the largest Taoist temple and the Taoism communication center in Qingdao. There are many Taoist buildings and statues in this temple delivering a cultural savory of Taoism.

After Laoshan Mountain exploration, you will be escorted to railway station to catch your high speed train to Weihai. Be picked up by local guide in Weihai and check in to your hotel in Weihai downtown.

Lao Mountain Scenic Area Lao Mountain
Day 3 Weihai (B, L)

This morning after breakfast, you will go to enjoy a leisure stroll at Weihai International Bathing Beach which is one of the best bathing beaches in China with pure water, soft sand and picturesque scenery. The coastline is more than 2800 meters. Both its western and eastern sides are surrounded by green hills with thousands acres of pine forest. There are amusement parks, water world and other beach amusement facilities around the beach, and many water activities to take part in, such as speedboats, cruise ships, motorboats and sea gliding, etc.

You will then go to visit Chengshantou Scenic Area which is about 1.5 hrs' drive from Weihai downtown. Since it is easternmost location of China and connected to Yellow Sea, Chengshantou is also known as "the edge of sky", also the earliest place to see the sunrise at sea. South Korea is only 94km across the sea from here. Due to its stunning scenery, Chengshantou was listed as one of the "eight most beautiful coasts in China" by China National Geography. In bright days, you can see the sea and sky merging into a haze in the distance, huge waves striking the cliffs and rock formations glimmering in sunshine.

Move on to take a boat to explore Liugong Island. It is an amazing place where spectacular nature and tumultuous history meet. The island is reputed as a fairy isle on the sea' for its great environment, beautiful scenery and various kinds of animals. It is also the birthplace of China’s first modern navy, and was the battlefield for the Sino-Japanese War (1894~1895).

Accommodate in Weihai City.

Beautiful Chengshantou Scenic Area Weihai International Bathing Beach
Day 4 Weihai - Yantai - Penglai (B, L)

After breakfast, drive about 1 hour to Yantai to visit to Yantai Hill Park, the landmark of Yantai. It is located in the northern section of the city, surrounded by sea on three sides, with charming scenery, vast sea area, lush vegetation, clear seawater and strange reefs. Climbing to the top of Yantai Hill, you can see Dragon King Temple, built in Ming Dynasty (1368~1644) and now acting as a popular place to pray for happy and prosperous life for local people. From here, you will also be delivered with a wonderful view of the entire Yantai.

After that, pay a visit to Changyu Wine Culture Museum - China’s first world-class professional grape wine museum. It well introduces the glorious history of Changyu Wine as well as the history of China’s wine industry and Chinese wine culture. One big highlight of this museum is a century-old and 7-meter-deep underground wine cellar which is responsible for the production and storage of the wine. There are about 600 oak wine barrels cherished in the cellar, and three of them are made of oak from France. Inside the cellar is also an elegantly-decorated bar where travelers can relax and taste a wide range of wines.

Next, you will drive about 1 hour to Penglai Pavilion Scenic Area, on the peak of Danya Mountain. It is believed that Penglai Pavilion is the place where Emperor Qin Shihuang looked for the elixir of life. And the fairy story of Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea also take place here, which making Penglai Pavilion a legendary fairy land. You will firstly get to Penglai Water City – an ancient water army base well-preserved with water gate, breakwater, wharf, lighthouse, city wall, etc. Passing through Penglai Water City, you will enjoy the magnificent and time-honored architectural complex in Penglai Pavilion Scenic Area, including Sanqing Palace, Lvzu Palace, Tianhou Palace, Longwang (Dragon King) Palace, Mituo Temple, and some other buildings with featured design and decoration. If you are lucky, you may be able to take a glance at the illusive scenes hanging between the sky and the sea.

After sightseeing, drive back to your hotel accommodation

Spectacular Scenery of Penglai Pavilion Overview Yantai City from Yantaishan Hill Zhangyu Wine Culture Museum
Day 5 Yantai - Weifang (B, L)

After breakfast, you will take a high speed train to Weifang (about 2 hrs), the Kite Capital of the World. In Weifang, you will visit Kite Museum, the largest professional kite museum in the world. There are twelve galleries in its two floors, giving interesting exhibits about the kites from China’s ancient past to modern times. Besides, you can also learn much knowledge about the kites in the world. One treasure collected in the museum is a 300-meter-long kite in the shape of a centipede with a dragons head, which got first place in one Italy International Kite Festival.

Later, you’ll head to Yangjiabu Folk Culture View Garden. Formerly called Yangjiabu Kite Factory, it is the largest kite factory in China. Here, you’ll view the longest kite in the world and appreciate the local lifestyle through the ancient folk customs. After the sightseeing, you will spend around half an hour making a kite and experiencing local folk paintings by yourself under the guidance of a professional craftsman.

The last activity today is visiting Shihu Garden. Built in Ming Dynasty, it is the most famous and only remaining ancient garden in Weifang. Shihu Garden features symmetric and free styles with some similarities of Suzhou Gardens. In its miniature garden, you can appreciate many garden architectures, like pavilion, bridge, lake, rockery, etc.

Accommodate in Weifang City.

Weifang Kite Museum Exquisite Designs in Shihu Garden
Day 6 Weifang - Zibo - Qufu (B, L)

After breakfast, drive about 1.5 hour to Zibo. Today's tour starts from the Qi Dynasty Memorial Museum, which is an ancient castle shaped building with all the blue bricks covered. Reconstruct from the ancient state of Qi cultural relics, it contains 15 exhibition halls and over 300 pieces of rare cultural relics and a lot of document literature, based on the history of Qi kingdom. All these relics show the culture of Qi and tell stories about how this kingdom was formed, developed and conquered.

Then, you will go to another museum - China Ancient Chariots Museum which is actually a cemetery for Lords of Qi in Spring and Autumn Period. So far, more than 20 tombs were founded and a massive horse funerary was discovered near the No.5 tomb, about 215 meters long, containing over 600 horses around 3 sides of this cemetery. These horses lie on one side with head up, like they were running in the battle, quite spectacular and impressive. It was said that the Lord Jing of Qi who was a horse lover made this large scale luxury of horse funerary, which reflected the prosperity of Qi in some degree.

After the tour, transfer to Zibo Train Station to catch a high speed train to Qufu (1.5 hours). Accommodate in Qufu city.

China Ancient Chariots Museum Qi Dynasty Memorial Museum
Day 7 Qufu - Tai'an (B, L)

Today you are going to explore the life story of the great sage Confucius and his influential Confucianism.

After breakfast, you will go to the South Gate of Confucius Temple to watch the grand ceremony of the city gate opening which usually starts at 8 AM, with grand performances of ancient music and dance. Then start to explore Confucius Temple which is the largest and most influential temple of Confucius in East Asia. It was originally constructed on the former residence of Confucius in 478 BC. Today, the Confucius Temple is not only a popular site to learn about Communism culture, but also an important site to hold many ceremonies, festival and events about Communism. The history of the tradition of paying homage in the Confucius Temple can be traced back to 205 BC when the emperor Gao of West Han Dynasty offered sacrifices to memorize Confucius and blessed for good fortune for his empire. Since then, many emperors and high officials followed Gao’s example. In total, there were 12 emperors of different dynasties came to Qufu Confucius Temple personally to worship Confucius.

Next site to the Confucius Cemetery which is the private cemetery of Confucius, his more than 100,000 descendants and some of his disciples. The oldest graves can be traced back to Zhou Dynasty, and the most recent graves belong to the 78th generation of Kong family. They are the witnesser of the dominant position of Confucianism in the long feudal society of China with great value to the study of the evolution of China's tomb system and ancient politics, economy, culture, customs, calligraphy and art.

In the afternoon, you will drive about 75km (1.5hrs) to Tai'an which is located at the foot of Mount Tai. Before checking in to your hotel, you will take a cultural visit to Dai Temple which is the epitome of Mount Tai's history and culture with important historical and artistic values. Originally built in the Han Dynasty, it is the place where ancient Chinese emperors worship the gods of Mount Tai and hold the ceremony of sacrifice. Dai Temple also acts as a national museum. It preserves the sacrificial utensils, offerings and handicrafts of the emperors of past dynasties to worship the God of Mount Tai.

Accommodate in Tai'an city.

Optional evening activity: enjoy the live show "Fengchan Ceremony" which is grand and magnificent in scale, integrated with beautiful music and dances, representing you the vivid scene of how ancient emperors of different dynasties paying homage and offering sacrifice to the God.

Han Dyansty Cypress in Dai Temple Portrait of Confucius Dacheng Hall - Most Grandiose Building in Confucian Temple
Day 8 Mount Tai - Jinan (B)

After breakfast, meet your guide and driver in your hotel and drive about 30 minutes to Mount Tai (1524m). Mount Tai is the holiest of all mountains in China. Because of its history, majesty and stunning scenery, it was listed as World Cultural and Natural Heritage Site (the first one of its category) in 1987, and was announced to be a World Geopark later in 2006. Mount Tai has been a significant place of worship for over 3000 years. It was regarded by the ancients as the heaven of "direct access to the throne". From Shihuang Emperor of Qin Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, there were 13 emperors came to Mount Tai to offer sacrifices. The great sage Confucius once hiked the mountain and claimed “the world is small”.

You will arrive at the Tourist Center first, then shift on to a sightseeing bus (about 30mins) and head along a zigzag but stunning road to the halfway point of the Mount Tai - Zhongtianmen (Middle Heaven Gate 800m). The hiking trail starts from here to Nantianmen (South Heaven Gate), which is the most highlighting part of Mount Tai hiking with more than 6000 uprising steps The steep trails demand much energy and time. You can lower your pace with stops to visit the ancient temples, historical relics, spectacular pine trees and stone inscription of different times. Finally, you will get to Nantianmen (South Heaven Gate 1460m), which means you have already put your steps on the top of Mount Tai. It’s time to slow down your steps to explore the essence of Mount Tai. You can wander leisurely on the Heavenly Street, worship in the Jade Emperor Hall which has a centuries old altar used for worshiping ceremony, appreciate rock inscription of Chinese calligraphy, look out over the peaks, enjoy the sea of clouds, etc.

After about 2 hours’ exploration on Mount Tai, you will descend the mountain by a cable car. Take the sightseeing bus back to the tourist center. Your driver is ready to escort you to Jinan which is about 1.5 hours' drive from Mount Tai. Accommodate in Jinan City.

Hiking Trail to Nantianmen of Mount Tai Mount Tai - Wu Yue Du Zun Rock Inscription Beautiful Mount Tai in Bright Days
Day 9 Jinan & Jinan Departure (B, L)

After breakfast, you will go to visit Black Tiger Spring first which ranks No. 2 among all 72 springs in Jinan. The spring water emerges from a natural limestone cave in a cliff and cascades from three giant stone tiger heads into a wide and open pool. The sound of spring water is similar to the roar of a tiger, so it is called Black Tiger Spring. The spring water is drinkable and rich in medicinal properties. You can also see locals collecting water with jars and jugs. There is also many chances to enjoy some relaxing stroll and find some peace and calm.

Next, you will take an interesting boat cruise along the city moat to Baotu Spring Park. Enjoy beautiful views of architecture, river and living scenes along the moat sides. The Baotu Spring is probably the most famous spring in China that every Chinese student should learn in textbook of primary school. It has been a well-known attraction since Shang Dynasty (1600 BC ~ 1046 BC), and visited by many celebrities and emperors including Emperor Qianlong of Qing Dynasty (1644~1911) who claimed Baotu Spring as “the No. 1 spring under heaven” after his pleasant visit. Today it is the icon of Jinan where you can marvel at beautiful springs as well as a number of ancient shrines, pavilions, memorial halls, bridges and steles full of cultural and historical value.

Lastly, you will be taken to visit Daming Lake which is dotted with small islands and framed with thick willows. Relaxing yourself with the picturesque scenery, enjoying walking crossing stone-carved bridges, stopping by peaceful pavilions, watch fish swimming among lotus flowers… there are many ways to seek fun time.

After the city highlights exploration, you will be transferred to catch your train/flight to next destination. Shandong panorama tour ends.

Baotu Spring Park Daming Lake Park Black Tiger Spring

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