Lonely Planet China

by Lonely Planet

  For more information about China’s crane population and these nature reserves, contact the International Crane Foundation (www.savingcranes.org) or see the website of the Siberian Crane Wetland Project (www.scwp.info).

  Mòhé 漠河

  %0457 / Pop 83,465

  China's northernmost town, Mòhé (漠河), stands amid spindly pine forests and vast bogs. In this region it’s possible to see Siberian forests and dwindling settlements of northern minorities, such as the Daur, Ewenki, Hezhen and Oroqen.

  It's one of China’s most intriguing outliers, sharing not just a border with Russia, but architecture as well. In 1985 the town burned to the ground in a raging forest fire and when it came time to rebuild, Mòhé decided to redo the main streets in an imperial-era Russian style with spired domes, pillared entrances and facades with rows of narrow windows.

  Mòhé holds the record for the lowest plunge of the thermometer: -52.3°C, recorded in 1956. That same day in China's southern extreme at Sānyà, a tropical beach paradise of azure waters and coconut palms, the temperature was likely in the high 20°Cs.

  1Sights

  BěijícūnVILLAGE

  (北极村, North Pole Village ¥60)

  Further north from Mòhé is Běijícūn, a sprawling village and recreation area on the banks of the Hēilóng Jiāng, separating China and Russia. The area is fast expanding with new hotels and resorts under construction.

  Běijícūn covers an area of forest, meadows and bog, with the occasional hamlet, log cabin and Russian-style structure dotting the pretty surroundings. If the mood strikes, you can stand at the top of a map of China that has been etched into a square. Step up on the podium and you are at the official 'most northerly point' (though Běihóngcūn village is actually further north) one can be within China's 9,671,018 sq km of land. One house has even been labelled China No 1 (中国最北一家), ie China’s northernmost house. You can walk east along the river to a point where you can see a Russian village across the water.

  BěihóngcūnVILLAGE

  (北红村 )

  With the northern village of Běijícūn on the tourist radar, intrepid travellers and enterprising locals have opened up a route to the even more northerly village of Běihóngcūn, 100km away. There’s nowhere to go but back south here and while there's not much beyond wooden houses and swaths of farmland, it is a quiet, idyllic spot and lays claim to being China's real northernmost village.

  From Běihóngcūn, you can push across to Hēilóng Jiāng Dìyī Wān (黑龙江第一弯), the first bend in the river. The 800-plus steps to the viewing point are well worth the gorgeous panorama of the amazing horseshoe bend.

  zFestivals & Events

  Festival of Aurora BorealisCULTURAL

  (北极光节, Běijíguāng Jié late Jun)

  The area around Mòhé is best known for its midnight sun, visible for as long as 22 hours during this annual festival. Oddly, this is one of the few times you can see the Northern Lights, according to locals. Later in the summer, when there are more hours of darkness, the lights don’t appear. Odds of seeing the aurora are fairly slim with the last period of high activity in 2012, and the next likely in 2023.

  4Sleeping & Eating

  The best place to base yourself is at Běijícūn for easy access to sights and getting help with getting around. In Mòhé there are a number of cheap guesthouses down the alleys off Fanrong Xiang, which is off Zhenxing Jie (the main street).

  For cheap restaurants head to the alleys off Fanrong Xiang, which runs off the main street, Zhenxing Jie. Fresh produce isn't cheap in winter as everything has to be imported from warmer provinces.

  Mòhé International Youth HostelHOSTEL$

  (漠河北极村驴友之家国际青年旅舍, Mòhé Běijícūn Lǚyóu Zhījiā Guójì Qīngnián Lǔshè %138 0484 1364, 0457 282 6326; Běijícūn; dm ¥30, d & tw ¥80; aW)

  This cute farmhouse can organise onward transport to see Běihóngcūn and the other sights before looping back to Mòhé. Rooms are comfortable and you can get home-cooked meals from the attached kitchen. If you ring ahead, a car can pick you up from the train station or airport. You can also rent bicycles here in summer for ¥25 per day.

  Only Chinese is spoken, but the friendly owner encourages communicating through WeChat (conversation translation available) on the hostel's mobile number.

  Mòhé Jiā Xīn BīnguǎnHOTEL$$

  (漠河佳鑫宾馆 %0457 287 0666; Běijícūn; r ¥180-220)

  This comfortable Běijícūn hotel can organise onward transport to see Běihóngcūn and the other sights before looping back to Mòhé. The almost-modern rooms and bathrooms are compact and clean, with steady hot water. If you ring ahead, a car can pick you up from the train station or airport. You can also rent bicycles (¥5 per hour) to explore the town.

  8Getting There & Away

  China Southern has one direct flight a day from Harbin to Mòhé (¥1510, 1¾ hours). Trains from Harbin (hard/soft sleeper ¥288/449, 5.55pm and 6.57pm) take 13 or 15 hours to reach the northern town. Heading back, trains leave at 2.30pm and 7.50pm and take 16 hours.

  Buses for Běijícūn (¥30, 1½ to two hours, 8.40am, 2.20pm and 6pm) leave from Mòhé's bus station at the corner of Zhenxing Jie and Zhonghua Jie. Return buses from Běijícūn depart at 10am and 2pm.

  8Getting Around

  To/from the airport, taxis charge ¥20. Mòhé’s train station is about 2km from the centre of town and it costs ¥12 to get here by taxi.

  A good way to visit the area would be to hire a private car or taxi for two days. Expect to pay around ¥300 per day; you can start your trip from Mòhé and do all the sights listed in a loop back. You can usually find fellow travellers to share the cost at the Mòhé International Youth Hostel.

  Shāndōng

  J'nan

  Zhujiayu

  Tai'an

  Tai Shan

  Qufu

  Zoucheng

  Qingdo

  Lao Shan

  Yantai

  Penglai

  Shāndōng

  Pop 95.8 million

  Why Go?

  Steeped in natural and supernatural allure, the Shāndōng (山东) peninsula on China’s northeastern coast is the stuff of legends. Its captivating landscape – a fertile flood plain fed by rivers and underground springs, capped by granite peaks and framed in wild coastline – can’t help but inspire wonder.

  A lumpy-headed boy named Confucius was born here and grew up to develop a philosophy of virtue and ethics that would reach far beyond his lectures under an apricot tree. Three centuries later China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, would climb Tài Shān, Shāndōng’s highest peak, to proclaim a unified empire in 219 BC.

  But Shāndōng is more than the sum of its historical parts. The energetic buzz in seaside Qīngdǎo ranks the city among the best places to live in Asia. This is Shāndōng’s real draw: you can climb mountains, feast on fine seafood, quaff beer and still find time to hit the beach.

  When to Go

  AJun–Aug Cool sea breezes and the beer festival make summer the time to explore Qīngdǎo.

  ASep–Oct Sacred Tài Shān is gloriously shrouded in mist for just part (not all) of the day.

  ADec–Jan Dress warmly and ascend Shāndōng’s frosted peaks in the dry winter.

  Best Places to Eat

  A Cafè Yum

  A Yù Shū Fáng

  A Seasons Mínghú

  A China Community Art & Culture

  Best Places to Sleep

  A Kǎiyuè Hostelling International

  A Shangri-La Hotel

  A Sea View Garden Hotel

  A Hóngmén International Youth Hostel

  Shāndōng Highlights

  1 Tài Shān Climbing the slopes of this sacred Taoist mountain, where stones speak the wisdom of millennia and views range in all directions.

  2 Qīngdǎo Chilling by the sea with a pitcher (or bag) of China’s most famous brew.

  3 Qūfù Perusing the ancient home town
of local boy and philosophical heavyweight Confucius.

  4 Zhūjiāyù Relaxing in the charming, rural vignette of this Shāndōng village.

  5 Láo Shān Forging uphill in search of magical springs and Taoist secrets.

  6 Yāntái Feeling the ocean breeze on your cheeks as you explore the history of this prosperous port city.

  7 Pénglái Pavilion Discovering the legends of immortals, pirates and mirages.

  History

  Shāndōng’s tumultuous history is tied to the capricious temperament of the Yellow River, which crosses the peninsula before emptying into the Bo Sea. The ‘Mother River’ nurtured civilisation but when unhinged left death, disease and rebellion in its wake. After a long period of floods followed by economic depression and unrest, the river again devastated the Shāndōng plain in 1898.

  Europeans had also arrived. After two German missionaries died in a peasant uprising in western Shāndōng in 1897, Germany readily seized Qīngdǎo, Britain forced a lease of Wēihǎi, and soon six other nations scrambled for concessions. These acts coupled with widespread famine emboldened a band of superstitious nationalists, and in the closing years of the 19th century, the Boxers rose out of Shāndōng, armed with magical spells and broadswords to lead a rebellion against the eight-nation alliance of Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the UK and the USA. After foreign powers violently seized Běijīng in 1900, the Empress Cixi effectively surrendered and Boxer and other resistance leaders were executed. The Qing dynasty would soon collapse.

  It was not until Japan's surrender in WWII that Shāndōng emerged from decades of war and recovered its cities. In 1955 engineers began an ambitious 50-year flood-control program, and 1959 marked Shāndōng's last catastrophic flood, though now China's economic boom threatens to suck the Yellow River dry.

  Today Jǐ’nán, the provincial capital, and the prospering coastal cities of Yāntái and Wēihǎi, all play a supporting role to Qīngdǎo, the province’s headliner.

  8Getting There & Away

  With South Korea and Japan just across the water, there are direct international flights through three airports – Jǐ’nán, Qīngdǎo and Yāntái. Ferries also sail from Qīngdǎo to South Korea (Incheon) and Japan (Shimonoseki), and from Yāntái to Incheon and Pyeongtaek in South Korea.

  Shāndōng is linked to neighbouring and distant provinces by both bus and rail. Jǐ’nán is the transport hub, with rail connections to all major towns and cities in Shāndōng. The high-speed rail now links Jǐ’nán, Tàishān, Qūfù and Qīngdǎo to Běijīng and Shànghǎi.

  8Getting Around

  With rail connecting all the big towns, cities and drawcard sights, getting around Shāndōng by train is straightforward, with buses playing second fiddle, but the roads are useful for opening up the smaller corners of the province.

  Jǐ'nán 济南

  %0531 / Pop 3.5 million

  Jǐ’nán (济南) is Shāndōng's busy and prosperous capital city, serving as the transit hub to other destinations around the province. On its surface the city is in a state of restless flux, but beneath the dusty construction and sprawl are 72 artesian springs, which gently roil in azure pools and flow steadily into Dàmíng Lake.

  Jǐ'nán

  1Sights

  1Bàotū SpringC2

  2Dàmíng LakeC1

  3Five Dragon Pool ParkC1

  4Great Southern MosqueB2

  5Huánchéng ParkD2

  6Jǐ'nán MuseumD3

  7Wángfǔ PoolC1

  4Sleeping

  8Chéngběi Youth HostelC1

  9Silver Plaza Quancheng HotelD2

  10Sofitel Silver PlazaD2

  5Eating

  11Dàguān GardensA2

  Lǔxī'nán Flavor RestaurantA2

  12Seasons MínghúC1

  13Yǐnhǔchí JieB2

  Transport

  14Airport ShuttleD2

  15Bus StationA1

  16Jǐ'nán Railway HotelA1

  17Plane/Train Ticket OfficeA1

  1Sights

  Strolling among the swaying willows and quiet waterways of Jǐ’nán’s particularly lovely parks is a pleasant escape from the urban din. The most central include the most famous of them all, Bàotū Spring; Huánchéng Park, where Black Tiger Spring empties into the old city moat, the Húchéng River; and Five Dragon Pool.

  Dàmíng LakeLAKE

  (大明湖, Dàmíng Hú MAP GOOGLE MAP ; ¥30)

  All the water from Jǐ’nán’s springs eventually flows into Dàmíng Lake, set within the largest park in the city, with boat rides, paddle boats, temples, bridges, and little islands to explore. In summer lotuses bloom in pink and white. The park has been a scenic site since the Tang dynasty, inspiring everyone from Marco Polo to Deng Xiaoping to wax about its beauty.

  Great Southern MosqueMOSQUE

  (清真南大寺, Qīngzhēn Nán Dà Sì MAP GOOGLE MAP ; 47 Yongchang Jie; gK50, 101)F

  Jǐ’nán’s oldest mosque has stood in one form or another in the centre of town since 1295. Cover arms and remove hats before entering. A lively Hui (Muslim Chinese) neighbourhood is to the north.

  Xīnguóchán TempleBUDDHIST TEMPLE

  (兴国禅寺, Xīngguó Chánsì ¥5; h7.30am-4.30pm)

  The oldest Buddha statues on Thousand Buddha Mountain are contained here, in this golden-roofed temple complex.

  Wángfǔ PoolSPRING

  (王府池子, Wángfǔ Chizi MAP GOOGLE MAP )F

  In a quiet alleyway off busy, walking street Furong Jie (turn right at the police stand), the neighbourhood comes to bathe and soak in this spring-fed pool. It's a brisk 18°C year-round, so indulge in frequent barbecue and beer breaks at one of the nearby stands.

  Shāndōng MuseumMUSEUM

  (山东博物馆, Shāndōng Bówùguǎn %0531 8505 8201; www.sdmuseum.com; 11899 Jingshi Lu, 经十路11899号 audio tour ¥30; h9am-4pm Tue-Sun; g115, 202, 18)F

  The enormous provincial museum – a 7km slog east of the city centre – surveys local culture from the mesolithic age to the present. Its collection began as one of the first organised museums in China in 1904. On display are oracle bones, Qi and Lu kingdom pottery, Han tomb murals and clothing worn by the Kong clan (Confucius’ descendants).

  Jǐ’nán MuseumMUSEUM

  (济南市博物馆, Jǐ’nán Shì Bówùguǎn MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0531 8295 9204; www.jnmuseum.com; 30 Jing Shiyilu, 经十一路30号 audio tour ¥10; h8.30am-4pm Tue-Sun; gK51)F

  North of Thousand Buddha Mountain’s main entrance, the Jǐ’nán Museum has a small, distinctive collection that includes paintings, calligraphy, ceramics, Buddhist figures from the Tang dynasty and a delightful boat carved from a walnut shell.

  Thousand Buddha MountainMOUNTAIN

  (千佛山, Qiānfó Shān 18 Jingshi Yilu; admission ¥30, one way/return cable car ¥20/30, luge ¥25/30; h5am-9pm; gK51)

  Beginning in the Sui dynasty (581–618), pious folk carved Buddhas into this mountain southeast of the city centre. The oldest are at Xīnguóchán Temple, the golden-roofed complex near the cable car and luge drop-off on the mountaintop. On the rare clear day looking south, you can spot Tài Shān, the anthill in the distance.

  Five Dragon Pool ParkPARK

  (五龙潭公园, Wǔlóngtán Gōngyuán MAP GOOGLE MAP ; 18 Kuangshi Jie, 筐市街18号 ¥5; g5, 101)

  These waters swirl up from the deepest depths of all the springs in the city to fill blue-green pools teeming with lucky carp. The park is a serene study of local life, where elders paint calligraphy on the steps and kids chase the goldfish.

  Huánchéng ParkPARK

  (环城公园, Huánchéng Gōngyuán MAP GOOGLE MAP ; 2 Nanmen Jie)F

  This park on the Húchéng River is built around Black Tiger Spring (黑虎泉, Hēihǔ Quán), which empties into the old city moat through three stone tiger heads. It gets its name from the sound of the roaring water as it rushed over a tiger-shaped stone, long gone but immortalised in Ming dynasty poetry.

  Bàotū SpringPARK

  (
趵突泉, Bàotū Quán MAP GOOGLE MAP ; 1 Baotuquan Nanlu, 趵突泉南路1号 ¥40; gK51)

  This park's namesake 'spurting spring' once shot metres into the air, inspiring ancient poets and painters alike. Today, as more water has been channeled from the city's underground limestone aquifers, it arrives with more of a gurgle. Jǐ'nán's local brew proudly bears its name.

  2Activities

  Sightseeing BoatsBOATING

  (%0531 8690 5886; per stop ¥10; hevery 20min 9am-5pm)

  These fun, open-air, motorised boats circle clockwise around the lovely Húchéng River and the south side of Dàmíng Lake, making 10 stops at all the major sights including Bàotū Spring, Black Tiger Spring, Five Dragon Pool, and Quancheng Sq, as well as rising and falling several stories via two fascinating locks. It takes about 1½ hours for the full circuit.

  4Sleeping

  Jǐ’nán doesn't have much in the way of budget accommodation, but is reasonably well supplied in the midrange and top-end bracket. Budget hotels with rooms for around ¥160 to ¥180 are clustered around the main train station, though not all cater to foreigners and rooms vary greatly. It helps if you speak some Chinese too, but inspect the rooms first if you choose to stay here.