Penglai Pavilion Scenic Area (蓬萊閣景區) is located on the top of Danya Mountain (丹崖山) in Penglai, Shandong at the northernmost of Shandong Peninsula (山東半島). Penglai Pavilion is one of the ancient Four Great Towers of China (中國四大名樓) which are Yellow Crane Tower (黄鹤樓), Pavilion of Prince Teng (滕王閣), Yueyang Tower (岳陽樓) and Penglai Pavilion. It is said that Penglai was where Emperor Qin Shi Huang (秦始皇) looked for the elixir of life and was landing place of the legend Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea (八仙過海). It makes this area have a more mysterious atmosphere. It is also famous for the mirages and the dividing line of Yellow Sea (黃海) and Bohai Sea (渤海).
We took a taxi to the entrance of Penglai Pavilion. Because we arrived from Yantai (煙台), we entered the scenic area around 12:40 pm. We followed the path along the right side of the lake and ended up in the Penglai Water City (蓬萊水城) – the ancient Chinese navy base established in Ming Dynasty (明朝, 1376). The water city has two gates: the south Zhenyang Gate (鎮陽門) where we entered the scenic area and the north water gate which control the ships entrance. There are two emplacements on the east and west side of the north water gate. Not so far away from the Zhenyang Gate is the headquarters of the ancient navy base. Here we saw a number of old buildings with some background information displayed. Once we passed the navy headquarters, we were back on the lake side, and we crossed the beautiful bridge to have our lunch. We continued our journey to the top of the north gate and saw the cannons placed on top of the wall overlooking the sea and ships nearby. This location was also an excellent place taking photos of Penglai Pavilion up on the cliff. We walked for a while and started to explore the most important part of this ancient area on the way up to Penglai Pavilion. The Penglai Pavilion consists of not only the Penglai Pavilion but also the Sanqing Hall (三清殿), Luzu Temple (呂祖殿), Su Gong Temple (蘇公祠), Tianhou Palace (天後宮), Dragon King Palace (龍王宮) and Amitabha Temple (彌陀寺). The best places to see the coastline are at the Penglai Pavilion and the city wall near the ancient lighthouse - Puzhao Tower (普照樓) built in 1868. Once you visited all the attractions above, you can take the cable car to the Tianheng Mountain (田橫山) which overlooks the junction of Yellow Sea (黃海) and Bohai Sea (渤海) and park nearby. Don’t forget to visit the Penglai Ancient Ship Museum (蓬莱古船博物館) on the way out. It was the best experience for us to see the ancient ships' history and the cultural relics of the four Yuan and Ming Dynasties unearthed in Penglai with detailed techniques used and the history.
This is one of the best destinations we visited in this trip although it is a little bit far away from where we stayed – Yantai. There is a nonstop bus service from Yantai and Penglai, which is the best way to visit Penglai. You need to reserve a whole day if you would like to see all the attractions around the area. Make sure to bring water with you. Comfortable shoes and some sun protection items are also necessary if you visit on a sunny day.
We took a taxi to the entrance of Penglai Pavilion. Because we arrived from Yantai (煙台), we entered the scenic area around 12:40 pm. We followed the path along the right side of the lake and ended up in the Penglai Water City (蓬萊水城) – the ancient Chinese navy base established in Ming Dynasty (明朝, 1376). The water city has two gates: the south Zhenyang Gate (鎮陽門) where we entered the scenic area and the north water gate which control the ships entrance. There are two emplacements on the east and west side of the north water gate. Not so far away from the Zhenyang Gate is the headquarters of the ancient navy base. Here we saw a number of old buildings with some background information displayed. Once we passed the navy headquarters, we were back on the lake side, and we crossed the beautiful bridge to have our lunch. We continued our journey to the top of the north gate and saw the cannons placed on top of the wall overlooking the sea and ships nearby. This location was also an excellent place taking photos of Penglai Pavilion up on the cliff. We walked for a while and started to explore the most important part of this ancient area on the way up to Penglai Pavilion. The Penglai Pavilion consists of not only the Penglai Pavilion but also the Sanqing Hall (三清殿), Luzu Temple (呂祖殿), Su Gong Temple (蘇公祠), Tianhou Palace (天後宮), Dragon King Palace (龍王宮) and Amitabha Temple (彌陀寺). The best places to see the coastline are at the Penglai Pavilion and the city wall near the ancient lighthouse - Puzhao Tower (普照樓) built in 1868. Once you visited all the attractions above, you can take the cable car to the Tianheng Mountain (田橫山) which overlooks the junction of Yellow Sea (黃海) and Bohai Sea (渤海) and park nearby. Don’t forget to visit the Penglai Ancient Ship Museum (蓬莱古船博物館) on the way out. It was the best experience for us to see the ancient ships' history and the cultural relics of the four Yuan and Ming Dynasties unearthed in Penglai with detailed techniques used and the history.
This is one of the best destinations we visited in this trip although it is a little bit far away from where we stayed – Yantai. There is a nonstop bus service from Yantai and Penglai, which is the best way to visit Penglai. You need to reserve a whole day if you would like to see all the attractions around the area. Make sure to bring water with you. Comfortable shoes and some sun protection items are also necessary if you visit on a sunny day.
More photos please click here
James Huang - All rights reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment