Juehua Island and Xingcheng Ancient Town (3 days)
Drive out to Liaoning Province for a three-day trip that takes in Xingcheng’s Ming Dynasty-era Ancient City and the idyllic Juehua Island.
Booking info
July 3–5 (Fri–Sun)
On the first day of this trip we’ll do the long drive out to Xingcheng, a city near the coastline in Liaoning Province. After a tour of the large and well-preserved Ming Dynasty-era Xingcheng Ancient City, an extremely solid walled garrison, we’ll overnight in a comfortable hotel.
On the second and third day of the trip we’ll be visiting Juehua Island, with a 40-minute ferry ride out to the island and a guesthouse overnight to enjoy, along with easy hikes to explore the shores and interior of the island.
The temperatures out here are typically lower than what we get in Beijing at this time of year, making this an excellent and family-friendly escape from the heat.
| Day One main activities | Travel from Beijing to Xingcheng, explore the ancient city with a guided walking tour, overnight in Xingcheng. |
|---|---|
| Day Two main activities | Ferry to Juehua Island, check in at island guesthouse, optional hike or beach time, sunset viewpoint hike, overnight on the island. |
| Day Three main activities | Morning coastal walk, ferry back to the mainland, return to Beijing in the evening. |
Xingcheng Ancient City
Shanhaiguan is famous for being the spot where the Great Wall meets the sea. It blocks the narrowest part of the easiest route from northeast China down towards Beijing and the North China Plain.
By the final century of the Ming Dynasty it was one of the most heavily fortified passes of the Great Wall.
Xingcheng Ancient City was part of those fortifications. When the walls, gates, and barbicans were first built in 1428, it was known as Ningyuan Garrison.
Located around 120km north of Shanhaiguan, it was the first main fort outside of the Shanhaiguan Great Wall.
The fort is famous for holding out against an attack by the army of Nurhaci, leader of the Later Jin Dynasty, with the “Battle of Ningyuan” featuring poisonous bombs, siege carts, burning oil, incendiary attacks, and cavalry being pulverised by cannon fire.
Today, the fort here is a well-preserved example of a Ming Dynasty walled town. Our “Tour of Ningyuan” will include visits to the barbicans and gates in the walls, a walk through the old lanes inside the walls, and stops at the Bell Tower, the Zhu Dashou Ornamental Gate, the Temple of the City God, and large courtyard homes like the Zhou and Gao Family compounds.
Also: modern-day Xingcheng city, which surrounds the ancient city, has the honorary title “Chinese Swimwear Town”.
Juehua Island
Juehua Island has an area of roughly 12km2, a 27km coastline of sandy and rocky beaches, and a highest point that’s 169m above the sea. It’s part of the Xingcheng Haibin National Park.
The island also has Ming Dynasty history, serving as the granary for the garrison at Xingcheng. The granary also featured in the Battle of Ningyuan, getting quite a surprise when Nurhaci’s cavalry rode out over the frozen sea to raid it. The winter of 1626 must have been a cold one—the modern ferry takes 40 minutes to cross the 9km of ocean between the shore and the island. That’s a lot of sea to freeze over.
There are still some Ming Dynasty sites and relics to find on the island, plus chrysanthemum flowers, but the main attraction nowadays is the peaceful island lifestyle, easy hikes that explore the island and its shores, and seafood banquets!
