Time goes fast, isn’t it? Next Friday is already the International Workers’ Day or May Day. Usually, this is the time of the first peak of tourism, but based on the condition of the epidemic this year, the best way to make use of the holiday is to travel in Liaoning province, for those who live here at the moment. Now the question is, where to go? No doubt, spring is the best time for hiking and outdoor activities, so, we collected information from local national parks, scenic areas of their current opening status to share with you.
1
辽宁医巫闾山国家森林公园 – 大朝阳景区
Liáoníng yīwūlǘ shān guójiā sēnlín gōngyuán – dà cháoyáng jǐngqū
The story of Yiwulv Mountain started 4000 years ago. Legend said, back to 2187BC – 2167BC, King Shun divided China into 12 states, and he nominated one mountain in each state as “镇山 (zhèn shān in pinyin, means the main mountain in the area, and people believed the existance of zhenshan will bring peace to the country)”, also, it was the place where the royal family went to offer sacrifices to their gods and ancestors. In Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties (AD 1271 – AD 1912), the new emperors go to the Mountain God Temple at Yiwulv Mountain (called Beizhen Temple) to announce their succession to the gods and pray for the their blessing.
北镇市 (Běi zhèn shì in pinyin), around 3 hours’ drive from Shenyang
50 RMB/person; to drive in with a car, it’s20 RMB/car on extra cost
8:00-16:00, the walking distance in the park is around 7km
No special requests for visitors, but better to bring your passports or ID cards and the green health code.
2
千山风景名胜区 – 千山
Qiān shān fēngjǐng míngshèng qū – Qiān shān
This is probably the mountain where most people have already been to. It is known as the pearl of northeast China and it got the name because there are 999 peaks in the area, which brings the number to almost a thousand (which pronounced as Qiān in Chinese). The highest spot visitors can get to is 708.3 meters high. The most famous spot of Qianshan is the natural maitreya shape buddha statue in the north part of the scenic area.
鞍山市 (Ānshān shì in pinyin), around 1.5 hours’ drive from Shenyang
80 RMB/person
8:00-16:00, to reach the top and walk back will take around half day
Due to the safety control of Covid-19, the Qianshan scenic area currently don’t receive any foreign visitors or visitors from other provinces.
3
铁刹山风景区 – 铁刹山
Tiě chà shān fēngjǐng qū – tiě chà shān
Tiecha mountain is the birthplace of Longmen Taoism in northeast China. Legend said, several Taoism masters became immortals in the caves there and today you can see their statues in the temples. It is suggested to enter the park from the east gate and get down from the front gate (north gate) as it will save much energy and you won’t miss most of the spots. This place can be very exciting for those who are interested in Chinese Taoism.
本溪市本溪满族自治县 (Běnxī shì běnxī mǎnzú zìzhìxiàn in pinyin), around 2 hours’ drive from Shenyang
55 RMB/person
8:30-16:00
All Chinese residents should bring their ID cards to buy tickets. The park cannot receive foreign guests or people who had recently travelled to Heilongjiang Province or those whose registered address on the ID card is Heilongjiang Province or Jilin Province.
4
五女山风景区 – 五女山
Wǔ nǚ shān fēngjǐng qū-wǔ nǚ shān
On July 1, 2004, at the 28th World Heritage Conference, Wunv Mountain was added to the World Heritage List. Connected with the largest water reservoir in Liaoning Province, Wunvshan is famous for its magnificent peaks, beautiful landscape and profound history. In the area, visitors can still see the remains of palaces, barracks, granaries and etc. from the Koguryo Kingdom (1st century BC – 7th century AD).
本溪市桓仁满族自治县桓仁镇 (Běnxī shì huán rén mǎnzú zìzhìxiàn huán rén zhèn in pinyin), around 3 hours’ drive from Shenyang
95 RMB/person
8:00-15:30, it takes 2.5-3 hours to walk around in the area
Wunvshan is still closed at the moment, approximately it will open for the Workers’ Day holiday. Thus the regulations related to the Covid-19 control will only be released by then. If you are interested to go there and would like to receive an update regarding their opening info, then feel free to send an email to alina@journeysnjaunts.com. We will send you the info once we have it.
5
凤凰山
Fènghuáng shān – Phonix Mountain
Phonix Mountain was named by Emperor Taizong, Li Shiming back in AD 627 -AD 649 when he travelled to the area. The highest peak of the mountain is 836 meters and the most famous spot of it is called 老牛背 (Lǎo niú bèi in pinyin), which literally means “the back of an old cow”. If hiking is not thrilling enough for you, you can choose to walk on the glass walkway to experience the soaring adrenaline.
凤城市，丹东市 (Fèng chéng shì, dāndōng shì), around 2.5 hours’ drive from Shenyang
80 RMB/person, one way cable ride (uphill) 50 RMB/person, downhill ride 40 RMB/person
6:30-16:00, to walk on foot takes 6-7 hours if you want to reach the peak, the cable ride will save 1-1.5 hours
Currently no special requests needed to enter the scenic spot. Visitors shall bring their ID cards or passports to purchase tickets.
That’s all we have for you today. In our next article, we will introduce you other beautiful places around Liaoning Province and hopefully the information helps you with your travel arrangements for the coming holiday or holidays in the future. If you know any areas with stunning scenery, we are more than happy to hear from you!
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