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: firstly, there are frequent reports recently that the road from Beijing to Shanxi (including the highway) is either prone to accidents or traffic jams, 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, so 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 the toll station between Hebei and Liaoning, about 450 kilometers, 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 comfortable. 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 Stone Square", 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, you can see a section of guard wall on both sides in front of the city gate, extending out of the city. There is 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. It was very quiet on the city wall, and I only encountered two or three tourists along the way. Walking on the neat stone road under your feet, you can "monitor" the shaking heads inside and outside the city, which is quite like the general who patrolled the city in those days. There are large areas of bungalows inside and outside the city wall, inhabited by people whose ancestors lived here. The local government obviously did not plan the tourism environment of the ancient city well, making the area around the ancient city look like a super complex, but this actually reflects a kind of nature. It was already past 3:00 in the afternoon, and wisps of cooking smoke were rising from the roof of the bungalow. This is no stranger to me who grew up in a bungalow and alley environment - it was time to turn on the stove and prepare dinner again. The local economy is not developed and the town is relatively closed. People still maintain a lifestyle of working at sunrise and resting at sunset. Looking at the afternoon sun shining on the roof, listening to the barking of dogs in the alley, and smelling the slightly pungent but familiar smoke from the kitchen drifting in the breeze, I feel like I have returned to my beautiful childhood. My son's performance today is worthy of praise. He walked around a quarter of the ancient city without feeling tired at all. Although the road is not long, if it were normal, I would have stayed there for a long time. After leaving the ancient city, before 4 o'clock, we drove to Xingcheng Beach. The road is very easy to find. Along Xinghai Road, you go through Section 1, Section 2... and all the way to Section 5. At the end is the entrance to the Seaside Park.

Cars are allowed to enter the seaside park. The entrance fee is 15 yuan per person and the parking fee is 20 yuan (too expensive). Xingcheng Beach in October is no longer the season for swimming in the sea. The beach is very quiet, and groups of tourists are scattered on the beach, some strolling and some playing. There are games stalls set up along the seaside path, including hoop throwing, shooting, etc. My son has always been interested in shooting, and 1 yuan for 5 shots was really cheap, so he shot wildly with the gun and shot 10 yuan in one go. It was dusk, and the seaside scenery in Xingcheng was pretty good, but the sand on the beach felt a little worse. There are also many games suitable for children on the beach. Since there were few people and there was no waiting, I took my son to play mini bungee jumping and ride a beach motorcycle, which was very fun. On the beach at the entrance of the seaside park, there are vendors selling crabs and shrimps (called shrimp crawlers in the Northeast) for 5 or 6 yuan a pound, which are very fresh. I once heard from a netizen that I bought 6 pounds from a local real estate. There is also a "matching processing" stall next to it, which will cook it for you for 3 or 4 yuan. We carried the crabs to a restaurant not far away and ordered some other seafood. The family ate it with relish. Drive back to New Century Hotel in the evening. Hotel parking is free during the day, but charges 10 yuan at night. The car is parked on the roadside and is guarded by security guards, which is reassuring. Comments: A day trip to Xingcheng felt very comfortable, or rather relaxing. Before we came here, a friend told us that Xingcheng, including Beacon Hill, was not interesting, and we would definitely regret it if we went there. We also read a lot of travel notes published by netizens on the Internet, and they were more negative than positive about Xingcheng. In my personal opinion, the key to whether it is good or not is a matter of positioning: 1. Xingcheng is originally a county-level city located in the Northeast. Objectively speaking, the Northeast is relatively backward in concept and does not pay enough attention to urban image, health, etc. , the city appearance is worse, so when you come to Xingcheng, especially tourists from big cities, you must first be mentally prepared for this; otherwise, when you enter Xingcheng, you will see that the city appearance is far different from what you expected, and you will be in a good mood. After a sudden fall, the rest of the game looked awkward, and the results can be imagined. 2. What to do in Xingcheng. Although Xingcheng's seaside is somewhat famous, there is definitely still a gap between it and neighboring Beidaihe in terms of tourist facilities and management. There are many complaints about this on the Internet, saying how bad the beach is. Therefore, if you want to enjoy the sea, it is better to go to Daihe in the north and south; the most important thing is to come to Xingcheng to see the ancient city. The reason why I feel good about coming to Xingcheng this time is that I think these two points are well positioned. It costs a lot to go out, and who wants to spend money to cause trouble? I have some feelings about Xingcheng: Xingcheng still has advantages in tourism resources, with mountains and seas, and convenient transportation. However, I feel that the local government has not taken advantage of these advantages to promote municipal and economic development, or at least it has not done enough. I have been to Dujiangyan City in Sichuan, which is also a county-level city. The latter is an excellent city in the national health evaluation. The city appearance is neat and clean, with the style of a metropolis, but without the hustle and bustle of a metropolis. The streets in Xingcheng are very dirty, the buildings are dilapidated, and the citizens have insufficient traffic awareness. You need to be extra careful when driving on the road. Non-motorized vehicles, especially three-wheelers, run rampant and do not follow the rules at all. I once saw on the Internet that the sanitation of Xingcheng Beach is very poor, and restaurants on the beach even dump garbage directly into the sea. I didn't see this happening this time, but the seaside and beaches are relatively average. There are many restaurants on the beach. We ate at the first restaurant on the left side of the entrance facing the sea. The seafood prices are very cheap, mostly around 10 yuan, but the cooking is a bit rough and the taste is average. Xingcheng also has two scenic spots: Shoushan and Juhua Island. It should be regarded as a "municipal" tourist attraction, and it is definitely not interesting, so it is not included in this itinerary. In fact, many netizens also commented on these two attractions. D2: Xingcheng - Bijiashan, visit Bijiashan, return to Qinhuangdao and have breakfast at 8:00 on October 5th. The breakfast in the hotel was very poor and it was almost over at 8 o'clock. The restaurant was busy preparing a wedding table for noon---unexpectedly, the local wedding ceremony was in the morning. The next stop is to go to Jinzhou Beacon Mountain. We walked from Xingcheng to the entrance of the highway along the way we came from, and learned that the highway to Shenyang had been closed due to fog. Fortunately, after waiting for more than 20 minutes, the expressway opened. Get on the expressway and drive towards Shenyang. When you get off at the Gaoqiao exit, you still have to walk more than 10 kilometers of highway. There are basically no signs for Beacon Hill on the road, but it’s not hard to find. Just follow the road signs and drive towards Jinzhou Port. After more than 40 minutes of driving, we arrived at Beacon Hill. There is no parking lot at the entrance of the scenic spot. There are many cars parked on the roadside, so we drove over and parked. At this time, some locals came over and told us that this was a private parking lot and we had to pay a parking fee of 10 yuan. However, the restaurant next to it was owned by them. If we came over for lunch, we could park for free --- it was just gangster logic, it was public. The sidewalk has become their private parking lot. Bijia Mountain is a small island only 1.6 kilometers away from the sea. It is named because it looks like a Bijia Mountain from a distance. The uniqueness of the island is that every time the tide is low, a magical path appears between the island and the mainland, called the "Sky Bridge". Visitors can travel to and from the island and the mainland via the path. Buy a ticket (30 yuan) to enter the gate and walk to the coast. There is a motorboat (10 yuan) to reach the island. According to locals, the ebb and flow of the tide can be divided into spring tide and neap tide. Only during the spring tide can all the paths be exposed. Unfortunately, today is a neap tide. Even if the tide is low, it is not possible to walk to the island, and the low tide time is 4:30 pm. It seems that we are no longer connected to the trail. In desperation, we had to take a motorboat to the island. The motorboat seemed to be flying on the sea. The hull of the boat slapped on the sea from time to time, making a banging sound. It was thrilling and exciting. It only took more than a minute to reach the other shore.

After arriving on the island, I bought a batch of grilled small yellow croakers (5 pieces, 20 yuan) at a barbecue stall at the entrance. The taste was very fragrant. There are also many vendors selling seafood here, and the prices are as cheap as those at Xingcheng Beach. I feel better about Bijiashan than Xingcheng. The scenic area is very clean and the air is fresh. The mountain is not very high and the slope is very gentle. It takes a short walk along the path up the mountain to reach the top of the mountain. I saw a shooting game again on the roadside, 10 shots for 3 yuan, and there was a prize. 20 shots only cost 5 yuan. Naturally, my son sat there and shot wildly again. He paid 10 yuan and won some random so-called "prizes" such as ballpoint pens and lighters. Continuing along the mountain road, we saw Sanqing Pavilion, the main building on the island. Sanqing Pavilion is an all-stone palace that combines Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism - even the doors and windows are carved in stone. The introduction is that it was built in 1903, but it does not look like a century-old building. Like other buildings on the island, it has been renovated recently. Halfway up the hillside in front of Sanqing Pavilion is the Hall of Ten Thousand Buddhas. There is a pergola called "Pangu Holy Water" at the bottom of the slope. When you go up, you will see a well there. There is actually a fresh water well on such a small island surrounded by the sea. I can't help but secretly marvel in my heart. As for why it is called "Pangu Holy Water", I don't know. God knows which ax struck here when Pangu opened the world. The well water does not taste good and is slightly salty, but the price is not cheap. You can get a small bucket from the well for 5 yuan. The sister-in-law who looks after the well said that drinking a sip of holy water can bring good luck to herself, so take it as true! The island is not very large and it takes 1.5 hours to get around it. Returning along the original route, my son shot wildly in front of the stall where he had just played shooting. Nearing the exit, we boarded the Lu Zutang that we missed when we arrived. The terrain here is higher. I accidentally looked up to the sea and saw a magical path emerging from the sea. So there was a burst of cheers and we went straight down the mountain to the path. At this time, the sea water began to recede, and the path gradually emerged from the water on the island side and slowly extended 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 trousers and walk to the other side of the river 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