Day 1 → → → Check in to designated hotel in Jinan ★ All-day meeting day
All day
Tourists from all over the world can arrive in Jinan by plane or train and check into designated hotels. If you have more time, you can freely explore the beauty of the Spring City. You can visit Spring City Square to marvel at the dancing lights, visit the Shandong Provincial Museum to learn about the history we're about to delve into, and even enjoy a meal to quickly immerse yourself in the city.
The renowned Baotu Spring and the "Summer Rain Lotus" of Daming Lake will be left for us to experience together tomorrow. This old city, a blend of mountains, springs, rivers, and lakes, still evokes the richness described by Lao She.
During your free time, please be careful and stay safe! In the evening, your team leader will confirm the next day's itinerary and schedule with you.
Specially recommended tours:
In spring and summer, Baihuazhou
is surrounded by green willows, a riot of flowers, rippling blue waters, and fish swimming in the shallows. Even in the bleak autumn and winter, Baihuazhou retains its gentle beauty amidst the cold winds.
The old commercial
port of Jinan witnessed the opening and prosperity of modern Jinan a hundred years ago, leaving behind a unique cultural imprint that combines Chinese and Western cultures. The commercial port culture it extended is still worth using in many aspects such as urban development history, architectural culture, business culture and life concepts.
Four-Gate Tower
This Sui Dynasty stone pagoda has attracted countless tourists with its unique historical heritage and architectural charm. In recent years, the Four-Gate Pagoda has become popular on the Internet because of the cats here, and has become a unique landscape in the southern mountainous area.
Day 2 Jinan → Baotu Spring → Daming Lake → Zhoucun Ancient Commercial City → Zibo
·morning
After breakfast at the hotel at 8:00 AM, we'll depart for Baotu Spring (5A), one of Jinan's three most famous scenic spots. Reminiscent of Lao She's travelogue from our school textbooks:
"From the bridge outside the West Gate, you'll see a stream of fresh, shallow water flowing from south to north. This is the source of Baotu Spring. Without it, Jinan would be half as beautiful."
Afterward, we'll depart for Daming Lake, where the phrase "lotus flowers on four sides, willows on three sides, a city of mountains and half lake" perfectly captures its beauty. Daming Lake accounts
for four of Jinan's eight scenic spots, demonstrating its immense popularity in the city.
We'll take a boat trip on the moat, where the clear waters lap against the banks.
Walking through the lake will allow you to immerse yourself in Jinan's poetic beauty.
(If the boat is unavailable, we'll take a walking tour, with a 20 yuan per person refund.)
·afternoon
The morning tour concludes around 11:30 AM, with a leisurely stroll to Furong Street, Jinan's distinctive old street and snack street, for a delicious meal. Furong Street boasts a vibrant collection of Shandong and Jinan delicacies, offering a wide variety of delicious dishes. Meet
at around 12:30 PM for a 1.5-hour bus ride to Zibo's Zhoucun Ancient Commercial City. This area, the filming location for classic business dramas like "The Dye House" and "Dry Wharf," is known as the birthplace of Shandong merchants, the origins of the Silk Road, and a venue for folk performances. Its diverse architectural styles, a fusion of Chinese and Western influences, feature carved beams and painted buildings, and long, stone-paved alleyways, like a slowly unfolding scroll. (You can purchase your own tickets to visit smaller attractions within the scenic area.)
Meet at a convenient time and depart for your hotel in downtown Zibo. In the evening, enjoy some free time to experience the Zibo barbecue craze and soak in the local flavor of everyday life.
Day 3 Hotel → Qingzhou Museum → Qingzhou Ancient City → Nishan Sacred Site in Qufu
·morning
After breakfast, we'll gather at 8:30 AM to depart for the Qingzhou Museum, a treasure museum. Although located at the county level, the Qingzhou Museum is a "National First-Class Museum," making it the only county-level institution among the first batch of first-class museums nationwide.
In addition to its many treasures, the museum's entire fourth floor is dedicated to the Buddha statues unearthed from Longxing Temple. The sheer number and variety of these statues have captivated the world.
From the Northern Wei Dynasty to the Northern Qi Dynasty, the Buddha statues evolved from slender to rounded, but the unchanging smile on their lips has been called "the most beautiful smile of the East," also known as the "Qingzhou smile."
Let our professional guides lead you on a journey through time and present, and experience the charm of ancient Qingzhou!
·afternoon
The tour concludes around 11:30 AM and arrives at Qingzhou Ancient City (5A), a city steeped in history and renowned for its kite-making heritage and cultural heritage, with a leisurely lunch break.
After lunch, explore the ancient city and discover the "Qingzhou Ancient City Time Tunnel." Walk the colorful stone-paved streets and alleyways, taking in the beauty of each brick and tile. Explore the Zhenjiao Temple, mosque, Catholic church, and Christian church, a blend of Eastern and Western architectural styles, and experience the awe-inspiring history.
At the appropriate time, meet up for a bus and depart for the newly popular Nishan Sacred Land, the birthplace of Confucius.
To immerse yourself in the world of Confucius, visit the Seventy-Two Sages Gallery, where you can journey back in time over 2,500 years, listen to the wisdom of these sages, and engage in conversation with timeless classics.
To further explore the world of Confucius, visit the Wisdom Hall in the University Hall, where you can witness the discussions between Confucius and Laozi, deciphering the wisdom of the ages.
To immerse yourself in the world of Confucius, attend the "Golden Voice and Jade Sound" ritual and music extravaganza (included in the price), which will take you on a journey through the millennia-old Chinese ritual and music landscape, allowing you to experience the journey from the ordinary to the holy
. (See notes for details.) At night, the sacred land of Nishan is a dazzling world of light and color, a truly magical
experience. Stunning drones, a dreamy light and water show, and romantic fireworks showcase the fusion of traditional culture and modern technology, presenting a "Brilliant Night" of Nishan's unique beauty. Accommodation will be arranged near the scenic area, allowing you to immerse yourself in all of this. The performances and activities within the scenic area will offer you a brand new experience. A detailed schedule will be provided in advance.
Everyone will rest at a suitable time in the evening.
Day 4 Hotel → Three Confucius Temples Scenic Area → Tai'an
·morning
Today, we'll spend the entire day learning about Confucius, starting with the Three Kongs (5A).
Our first stop is the Confucius Temple, which holds a position in Qufu equivalent to the Forbidden City in Beijing. The temple complex boasts nine courtyards, centered on a north-south axis and divided into three sections: left, center, and right. The temple stretches 630 meters long and 140 meters wide, encompassing over 460 halls, rooms, altars, and pavilions, 54 gatehouses, and 13 "Imperial Stele Pavilions." This vast complex boasts over 100 buildings and 460 rooms, covering an area of approximately 95,000 square meters.
Our second stop is the Confucius Mansion. While the Confucius Temple exudes a solemn atmosphere of veneration for the sage, the Confucius Mansion, just across the wall, offers a more vibrant atmosphere.
·afternoon
We'll have lunch at our leisure, then continue our tour of the Confucius Forest. Legends abound about the site, and the area is filled with countless stories and details.
A local professional guide will lead us through the "Three Kongs," exploring the origins of Confucianism and experiencing the millennia-old legacy of Chinese culture.
Around 2:00 PM, after our visit to the Three Kongs (5A), we'll travel by bus to the Confucius Museum (reservations required). There, we'll witness the dawn of thought, piercing the darkness like the dawn, becoming the shining light of our time.
15:30 Depart for Tai'an hotel, free rest and dinner.
·night
Tonight, we'll enjoy the magnificent and breathtaking live performance "China's Mount Tai," located east of Mount Tai, at the foot of Tianzhu Peak. We'll meet at the hotel in advance for departure.
Note: Tickets for "China's Mount Tai" are a combined ticket to the Mount Tai scenic area. If you decide not to visit at the last minute, you won't be able to get a refund. This year's premiere will be on April 18th. Prior to this date, this performance will be replaced with a complimentary Mount Tai shadow puppet show. Please be informed of the details regarding the performance at the Performing Arts Center.
The performance time in previous years is 19:30-20:50 (the time may be adjusted, please refer to the notice on the day)
Day 5 Taishan Full Day
All day
Today, we will spend the whole day immersing ourselves in Mount Tai (5A). We will depart from the hotel after breakfast at 8:00 AM. The itinerary is as follows:
We will arrive at Tianwai Village at 8:30 AM. We will arrange a bus ride from Tianwai
Village to Zhongtianmen. We will also take a scenic shuttle bus (approximately 30 minutes)
from Zhongtianmen to Nantianmen. You can also choose:
1. Walk (about 2 hours), passing: Yunbu Bridge, Wudafu Pine, Wangren Pine, Eighteen Bends, Shengxianfang
2. Or take the cable car (about 15 minutes, 100 yuan/person one-way, at your own expense) to overlook the panoramic view of Mount Tai
from the top of the mountain: Nantianmen - Tianjie - Bixia Temple - Riguan Peak - Yuhuangding; after the approximately 2-hour walking tour
, you can return to the original route or take the cable car down the mountain (100 yuan/person one-way, at your own expense);
Zhongtianmen - Tianwai Village; take the scenic shuttle bus for about 30 minutes (included in the price).
The total tour takes about 7-8 hours. After the activity, you will be transferred to the hotel. After a brief rest, we will arrange for everyone to experience Tai'an's special dining and experience the hospitality of Shandong tonight.
Day 6 Hotel → Lingyan Temple → Jinan Airport High-Speed Railway Station
·morning
After breakfast, we will gather at 8:00 to board the bus and depart for Lingyan Temple (4A), one of the "Four Famous Temples in China."
We will arrive around 9:15. Ming Dynasty writer Wang Shizhen once said, "A trip to Mount Tai without visiting Lingyan Temple is incomplete." From ancient times to the present, Lingyan Temple has attracted numerous scholars, high-ranking officials, and even emperors and generals to visit for its profound history and rich culture. There are so many treasures here, such as the "Iron Robe", the thousand-year-old "Yuanyang Sandalwood", and the second largest Pagoda Forest in China.
·afternoon
The tour will end around 11:00, and our Qilu trip has come to a successful end. We will send all guests to Jinan West Railway Station (arrive around 12:00) - Jinan Station (arrive around 12:30) - Jinan International Airport (arrive around 13:30).
The time nodes are for reference only. The service staff will arrange the return route reasonably according to your respective return transportation. The estimated arrival time of your reserved trains and flights needs to be delayed by at least 2 hours to cope with time errors caused by external factors during the activity. Thank you for your understanding!
