Xingcheng self-driving travel notes?

The weather is particularly good during the National Day Golden Week this year. It would be a shame not to travel. After repeated weighing, the latter was chosen among the two routes in Shanxi Datong, Wutai Mountain and Xingcheng, Jinzhou Bijiashan. There are two reasons: First, there are frequent reports recently that the road from Beijing to Shanxi (including highways) is either troubled or blocked by traffic, making it difficult to walk. Road is a factor that must be considered when traveling by car; in addition, my wife works overtime on the third day of the seven-day holiday, so only We have four days to travel, and time is a little tight to get to Shanxi. It later proved that it was a good idea to choose the Xingcheng route. There are three advantages to this: the road is easy to travel (the whole journey is the Beijing-Shenyang Expressway), the scenic spots are less crowded (it is more comfortable to swim), and you have plenty of time. D1: Beijing-Xingcheng, visit Ningyuan Ancient City and Xingcheng Beach. At 8:30 in the morning on October 4th, I took my wife and son and set off from home. There are not many cars in Beijing. We arrived at the entrance of the Beijing-Shenyang Expressway in the East Fourth Ring Road around 9:00. Since the direction to Shenyang during the National Day Golden Week is not a tourist hotline, there are not many cars on the highway. In addition, the road conditions are very good, and the vehicle speed can be maintained at around 140km most of the time. On the way, it passes through toll stations at the boundary between Hebei and Liaoning, about 450 kilometers away, and reaches the Xingcheng exit. The whole process takes 3.5 hours and the process fee is 170 yuan. After exiting the expressway, it seems to be Xingcheng's welcome road, which is clean and tidy. After walking about 2 or 3 kilometers, you will reach the starting point of Xinghai Road, the main road in Xingcheng - a section of Xinghai Road. The road begins to become dirty and dilapidated. Ningyuan Ancient City is only 200 meters away from a section of Xinghai Road, so you can get there with just a few steps; don’t be in a hurry, just stay there first. I checked online in advance and found out that there is the only three-star hotel in Xingcheng, the New Century Hotel, and I called to reserve a room (240 yuan/night, with breakfast included). Before I could ask for directions, I looked up and saw that the hotel was located at the end of a section of Xinghai Road. The conditions of the hotel rooms were passable, but definitely not three-star. We had some food in the hotel restaurant, took a rest, and drove to the west gate of the ancient city. According to reports, the ancient city of Ningyuan was built in 1430 (Ming Dynasty), which is nearly 600 years ago. The reason why it is famous is that there are not many well-preserved ancient cities in the country, such as the famous Pingyao Ancient City, Lijiang Ancient City, etc., and Ningyuan Ancient City is also among them. Along with the 600-year history of the ancient city, there are also thrilling stories. The two famous battles in the late Ming Dynasty, the Ningjin Victory and the Ningyuan Victory, took place here. The entire ancient city is square, with a length and width of about 1.5 kilometers each, and is surrounded by complete city walls. There are two streets, one horizontal and one vertical, in the city. The intersection, which is the center of the ancient city, is a Drum Tower. There are parking spaces outside the Xicheng Gate, and the parking fee is 10 yuan - expensive enough. Walking into the city, you will see shops one after another on both sides of the street, selling all kinds of daily necessities. It feels like an ordinary street. There are not many tourists, and there are no vendors coming to sell you tourist souvenirs. Strolling leisurely through the streets, relaxed and at ease. Climb up to the Drum Tower in the center of the city (ticket 10 yuan) for a panoramic view of the entire city. On the wall of the Drum Tower, you can see introductions about the Ningjin Victory, Ningyuan Victory and the life and deeds of General Yuan Chonghuan. At that time, General Yuan was sitting on the Drum Tower to command the soldiers and civilians in the city to fight against the Qing troops. For more travel guides, please visit From the Drum Tower to the south, there is a pedestrian street in the ancient city. There are two tall stone squares on the street, named "Zushi Shifang", which are named after the general "Zu Dashou" who guarded the south gate of the ancient city. "Established. There are couplets engraved on the stone square, but the writing is very blurred. There is a pair of stone lions under the stone pillars, which are still standing majestically. It is said that every New Year's Eve, local people come here to touch the lion's head, which is said to bring good luck to people. We also went over and touched the head of the stone lion, wondering what good luck it would bring us. Come to the south gate of the city and buy a ticket (15 yuan/person) to go up the city wall. The city wall is about 3-4 meters wide, very neat, and the wall tiles are relatively new. It seems that it has been repaired for a short time. Walking along the city wall to the city gate tower, we saw a section of guard wall on both sides in front of the city gate, extending out of the city. There was also an iron cannon on the east guard wall, which I think played a great role in defending the city. Looking down at the city, I saw that it was crowded with people and it was a free market. Visually, the tower is 5-6 meters high. Imagine that the people below are the Qing troops attacking the city. You can see their facial expressions clearly. It can be said that you are fighting face to face with the enemy. It is hard to imagine that a small area was besieged by the Qing army for more than a month, but it could finally defeat the Qing army. A feeling of reverence arose spontaneously. After getting off the tower, we walked back to the west gate along the wide city wall.

So there was a burst of cheers and we went straight down the mountain to the path. At this time, the sea water begins to recede, and the path gradually emerges from the water on the island side and slowly stretches towards the land side. Although I understand the reason, it still seems magical: imagine that in the vast sea, a road will appear out of thin air. Many tourists have gathered on the path, some are strolling, some are busy picking up shells, and some are brave enough to roll up their trouser legs and walk through the water to the other side along the path that has not yet surfaced... Due to the neap tide Because we couldn’t walk back to the land from the trail, we decided to take a motorboat back to the land. When I was about to drive away, the "manager" of the "private parking lot" came up to charge me. I couldn't afford to offend him, so I had to give him 10 yuan---it felt a bit like being robbed. Take the Beijing-Shenyang Expressway and return to Qinhuangdao, which takes about 2 hours by car. Stay at the Great Wall Hotel for the night (440 yuan, four-star rating, free breakfast). Comments: It feels good to visit Bijia Mountain. The scenic spots are small and unique, and there are not many people. It is quite enjoyable. Like Xingcheng, the local government does not pay much attention to creating a tourism environment. The awareness of Beacon Hill is relatively low, which has something to do with publicity. Signs along the roads (including highways) are also not obvious. There are no road signs to Beacon Hill on the highway, nor on a long stretch of the highway. There are only small signs when approaching the scenic spots. If you don’t know that it is adjacent to Jinzhou Port, it will take some effort to find it. This brings great inconvenience to those who drive there. The scenic area lacks supporting management, such as parking. There is no parking lot, and it is unsafe to leave your car on the roadside, and you will be raped by the "administrator" of the "private parking lot" that occupies the sidewalk. This greatly affects the image and reputation of the attraction. There are two options for going up Beacon Hill: motorboats and cruise ships. Cruise ships are cheaper and safer. However, due to fog that day, the cruise ship was suspended. Before going to Beacon Hill, it is best to check the tide table online so that you can know the low tide time on the day you go and pass through the "overpass". It saves money and is fun. D3: Visit Gold Coast Sandslide and Grape Valley, return to Beijing on the morning of October 6, have breakfast at the hotel (half price for children), and check out. Drive to the Gold Coast. Along the coastal highway, passing through Beidaihe and Nandaihe, it takes more than an hour to reach the Gold Coast International Sand Sliding Field. The international sandboarding resort has a great reputation, but its facilities are average. The ticket is 35 yuan, which is a four-in-one package, including ropeway, slide and sandboarding. Due to the season, there were very few people and the place seemed unpopular. The ropeway is particularly old, as is the trolley used for the slide. The package ticket can only ride the slide once, and it only costs an additional 10 yuan to ride on it again. My 7-year-old son showed bravery and asked to sit on the slide independently. Of course, he should be encouraged---he sat on it twice in a row. This kind of slide has only been seen at the Mutianyu Great Wall in Beijing, and it costs 40 yuan a time. It’s only 10 here