Braving Huaguo Mountain with the kids! Complete one-day tour guide + pitfall avoidance tips

Finally took the kids to unlock the "Huaguo Mountain" from Journey to the West. Lianyungang’s divine mountain is really perfect for family trips! After a full day of fun, the kids were so excited they didn’t want to leave, and this old mom got to relive her childhood too～✨ Sharing our super comprehensive guide, follow it and you definitely won’t hit any pitfalls!

🚗 Self-driving: Navigate to "Lianyungang Huaguo Mountain Scenic Area," parking fee 15 RMB/day
🚄 High-speed rail: 30 minutes by taxi from Lianyungang Station (ride-share 20 RMB)
⏰ Opening hours: 7:00 AM - 6:00 PM
💰 Adults 90 RMB, children/seniors 45 RMB, free for under 1.4m!
🚌 Must-buy sightseeing bus ticket
Round trip 50 RMB/person (highly recommended with kids!)

🌟 Easy walking route
Foot of the mountain — Yunu Peak — Sanyuan Palace — Water Curtain Cave — Jiulong Bridge — Immortal Lake
✅ Take the shuttle bus directly to Jiangsu’s highest peak — Yunu Peak. The scenery is quite nice, and you can take the kids to the Sky Mirror for photos. We rented a Nezha costume for 30 RMB which included a photo, and there are also Hanfu and Sun Wukong costumes available.

✅ Take the bus to Sanyuan Palace, where you can spend more time playing. The monkeys are mostly concentrated here, scattered along the roadside and in the trees. Enter from Yuntai Mountain Gate and go up; you can pray at the Taoist temple. About a 15-minute climb up the steps leads to the Water Curtain Cave, which has some lighted caves and photo spots that kids find quite interesting.
✅ After Water Curtain Cave, you can walk down to Jiulong Bridge, where you’ll see some strange rocks and lots of 🐒 monkeys. You can also take the bus directly from Sanyuan Palace to Immortal Lake.
✅ Immortal Lake is at the foot of the mountain, with a Huaguo Mountain entrance sign perfect for photos. You can feed the koi fish and rest here.

📌 Tips:
🚫 Don’t show food! Monkeys will rush to grab bags. Keep a safe distance when with kids, just watch.
🍱 Sanyuan Palace has more food options like Dicos, snacks, and instant noodles, making it a good main rest stop.
📷 Official group photos inside Water Curtain Cave are 25 RMB each, but you can bargain down to 10 RMB. You get one large photo and a small photo keychain, very worth it!
🛝 Outside the scenic area, there’s a water park and a giant Journey to the West dome movie you can enjoy on your own.

Huaguo Mountain is friendlier than expected! It combines natural wild charm with cultural heritage. The kids went home still chanting “I am the Great Sage Equal to Heaven”～ The best part is fewer crowds, beautiful scenery, and great value! Consider a reverse trip during the May Day holiday～