Shandong - 17 Cities & Top Attractions

Historic lotus lake at the heart of old Jinan, surrounded by classical pavilions.

Qing-era Buddhist grottoes overlooking Jinan, sunset views over the city.

Jinan's old snack street and the Qushui Pavilions, the most atmospheric walking route.

Wan-Guo architecture, European villas in a leafy district, classic Qingdao wedding photo spot.

Qingdao's landmark pier stretching into the bay, with Huilan Pavilion at the end.

Gorge waterfalls, glass bridge, and cliff walkways in central Zibo's mountains.

Cultural park around the Pu Songling memorial, Strange Tales of a Chinese Studio theme.

Central Shandong's 'green lung' - karst stone forest, Qi Great Wall ruins, forest walks.

Lakeside wetlands, summer red lotus fields, 1938 railway-cannon historic site.

Mountain park south of Zaozhuang, glass bridge and Han-dynasty cliff carvings.

Bohai bay beach with year-round sunset views, summer swimming.

China's first industrial winery (1892), underground cellar and grape estate.

Wide sandy bay, kite-surfing, summer beach resort east of Yantai city.

Offshore island nature reserve with sea caves, ancient temples, and clear water.

World's largest kite museum and manufacturing center, the Weifang International Kite Festival.

German-Japanese concession-era old town, atmospheric streets and old warehouses.

Spring-water mountain walks south of Weifang, ancient temples.

Mencius's hometown - temple, mansion, and ruins in Zoucheng.

The 'Confucius Mansion' - 152-generation home of the Confucius descendants, with the famous Kongfu yaoshi formal banquet cuisine.

The world's largest family cemetery, 200 hectares with 100,000+ Confucius descendants' tombs over 2,400 years.

The birthplace of Confucius, with the 72-meter-tall Confucius statue and the 'Jinsheng Yuzhen' live performance.

Modern 4A museum (opened 2018) with 700,000+ Confucian artifacts - books, clothing, ritual bronzes, and the Confucius genealogy.

The forest and deer park around Nishan, with 1,000+ sika deer roaming the campus.

The Confucian-themed mountain with 24 stone inscriptions of Confucian classics along the trail.

One of China's oldest continuously inhabited cities, with the 1,400-year-old Qingzhou Old Town walls and the Fan Gong Pavilion.

Home of the 1996 Longxing Temple discovery - 400+ painted Buddhist statues from the Northern Wei to Ming dynasties, found buried in a pagoda.

The mountain above the old city, with a 7.5-meter-tall 'Shou' (longevity) character carved into the cliff in the Ming dynasty - one of China's largest cliff carvings.

The limestone mountain group with the 638 stone Buddhas carved into the cliff face, the most important Northern Wei Buddhist grottoes in Shandong.

A scenic canyon with waterfalls, rapids, and lush forests, the 'little Jiuzhaigou' of central Shandong.

A 500-year-old Ming-dynasty private garden, the only well-preserved northern-style garden from the era.

The park built in memory of the Song-era governor Fan Zhongyan, with the Tanhai Pavilion overlooking the ancient city.

The memorial to the Song-dynasty poetess Li Qingzhao, who lived in Qingzhou for 13 years and wrote her most famous ci poems here.

Imperial Tang-Song temple at the foot of Mount Tai, the historical entry gate.

Taoist temple on the south slope of Mount Tai, ancient Tang-era stone inscriptions.

Easternmost point of the Jiaodong Peninsula, sunrise over the sea.

Wintering ground for whooper swans from Siberia, November through March.

Six-km city beach promenade, sunrise and sunset landmark.

Coastal mountain with sea views, hiking up through cypress forests.

Coastal bay with tea plantations meeting the sea, the symbol of Rizhao.

Han-dynasty bamboo-slip archaeological museum, military and calendar texts.

Ancient Qidong capital ruins, mountainous landscape with cultural site.

Eco-tourism demonstration zone, solar energy theme park south of Dezhou.

Modern countryside tourism, family-oriented farm experience.

Ming-era watchtower over Dongchang Lake, one of the great historical towers of China.

Mountain and spring area with temples, birthplace of Sun Wu (Sun Tzu's family).

Pick-your-own winter jujubes (October-December), the orchard country of Binzhou.

Restored city wall and historical district in Binzhou's old town.

China's first industrial winery (1892) - underground cellar tour, vintage tasting. Trip.com 4.9/5, 5,033 reviews.

The lighthouse-crowned hill at the harbor mouth, with the old consulate district and a panoramic view of the bay. Trip.com 4.7/5, 1,564 reviews.

Yantai's 600-year-old original walled town, atmospheric lanes with rebuilt Ming-Qing architecture.

The Bohai-Yellow Sea island chain 7 km offshore, with sea caves, bird reserves, and the Jiuzhang Cliff.

The Ming-dynaya naval port that protected Beijing from the sea, with the old shipyards and Song-dynasty fortifications.

The 70-meter sheer cliff on Changdao Island, with the iconic 1.5-meter-wide sea-eroded stone path at the base.

Free, with the 6,000-year-old Beizhuang shell mound artifacts and the Yangjialong prehistoric pottery.

The 580,000-m2 lotus lake at the heart of old Jinan, with classical pavilions, the Chaoran Lou tower, and Li Qingzhao's memorial. Trip.com 4.6/5, 9,421 reviews.

The southern mountain of Jinan with Tang-era Buddhist grottoes, 10,000+ Buddha statues, and the cable car to the summit overlooking the city. Trip.com 4.7/5, 11,641 reviews.

The provincial museum - one of China's largest, with the 2,000-year-old Daisi Marquis jade burial suit, the Confucius-era bamboo slips, and a 9,000-piece Bronze gallery. Trip.com 4.9/5, 3,079 reviews.

The 1,600-year-old Buddhist temple south of Jinan, one of China's four great ancient temples, with the Thousand-Buddha Hall's 40 painted clay arhats.

Jinan's old snack street and the Qushui Pavilions, the most atmospheric walking route from Baotu Spring to Daming Lake.

One of Jinan's 72 named springs, with the iconic tiger-head spouts carved into the cliff wall, free drinking spring water at the foot.

Five interconnected spring pools surrounded by classical pavilions, the most photogenic of Jinan's spring groups.

The 1,630-stone-step final ascent from Zhongtianmen to Nantianmen, the most-photographed section of Mount Tai. Trip.com 4.7/5, 1,184 reviews.

The 1,545-m peak of Mount Tai, the highest point of the climb, with the sunrise pavilion and the panoramic view of the North China Plain.

The Tang-era Buddhist temple on the south slope of Mount Tai, with the 1,400-year-old ginkgo tree and the bamboo forest.

The Taoist temple on the south slope, with Tang-era stone inscriptions and a museum of Mount Tai culture.

The 1,500-meter Ming-Qing old street in central Tai'an, with 200+ shops selling Mount Tai pancakes, shaobing, and souvenir stones.

The Fantawild theme park at the Mount Tai visitor complex, with 30+ indoor and outdoor rides.

The national memorial museum for the First Sino-Japanese War, on the shore facing the naval battlefield. Trip.com 4.7/5, 312 reviews.

The 1:1 replica of the Beiyang Fleet's flagship Dingyuan, sunk in the 1894 Battle of the Yalu River.

The large-scale Ming-dynasty themed cultural park with the 'Shenyou Legend Show' live performance. Trip.com 4.6/5, 4,439 reviews.

The largest hot spring resort on the Jiaodong Peninsula, with 50+ outdoor pools and a 1,500-meter sea-water hot spring. Trip.com 4.9/5, 2,272 reviews.

The 40-km coastal scenic drive loop around Weihai, with 30+ viewpoints over the Yellow Sea.

The wintering ground for 10,000+ whooper swans from Siberia, November through March. Located 80 km east of Weihai.

The 2,800-meter white-sand urban beach, the most popular summer swimming destination in the city.

The gorge waterfalls, glass bridge (the 101-meter Star Cloud Glass Bridge), and cliff walkways in central Zibo's mountains. Trip.com 4.6/5, 1,208 reviews.

The cultural park around the Pu Songling memorial, themed on Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, with painted courtyard halls.

Central Shandong's 'green lung' - karst stone forest, Qi Great Wall ruins from 685 BC, and forest walks.

The museum of the 2,000-year-old Qi State (the most powerful of the Warring States), with the 2,300-year-old bronze horse and chariot burial. Trip.com 4.8/5, 475 reviews.

China's oldest continuously produced pottery tradition (since Neolithic times), the museum in the new central district.

The autumn maple-leaf canyon with glass walkways, the seasonal destination for Shandong's fall foliage.

The Ming-Qing pottery town with traditional kiln workshops and 500-year-old courtyard houses.

China's national peony garden, the largest peony reserve in the world, April blooms.

Theme park around the Water Margin marshland, ties to the famous novel's setting.

Yellow River old channel wetland, lotus and birding, just south of Heze city.