Northwest of Penglai County, perched on a cliff of Danya Mountain overlooking the waves, Penglai Pavilion, together with Penglai Water City, has been considered as a fairyland and was declared a key cultural relic by the State Council in 1982.
Occupying 32, 800㎡, Penglai Pavilion Tourist Area is mainly composed of 6 different buildings that are Lvzu Palace, Sanqing Palace, Penglai Pagoda, Theanhou Temple, Long Palace, Mituo Temple. All those buildings are called Penglai Pavilion Tourist Area and waxed by Chinese mythological culture. Since the reign of Jiayu of the Song Dynasty, it had been extended and restored in all ages.
The most famous building, of course, is Penglai Pagoda. The double - layer wooden pagoda is 15 meters high and the corridor surrounding it is very good place for sightseeing. Inside is a collection of prized inscriptions left by famous visitors since the Song Dynasty, and a beautiful modern rendering of the Eight Immortals, by Zhou Jinyun. The Eight Immortals come from a famous Taoist legend called the Eight Immortals Crossing the Bohai Sea, which tells the immortals’ different walks and experiences of life and how they using different superpowers to cross the Bohai Sea.
If you arrive after a heavy rain, keep an eye on the marine layer where mirages appear every few years. Being the exact gateway to immortal lands brings mystery to the site, however, the picturesque mirage scenery is the real draw to earn Penglai Pavilion its well known title in China - “Paradise on Earth” since ancient time.
After the pavilion, you may take the cable car (CNY 30/50 return, 08:00-17:10) for Cliffside walks overlooking the Bo and Yellow Seas. There are also museums (open 07:30-17:30) dedicated to ancient shipbuilding, regional relics and Qi Jiguang, a national hero in anti-pirates battles in the Ming Dynasty.
Location: NO.7, Yingbin Road, Penglai County, Yantai
Admission Fee: CNY 140
Opening Time: 07:00-17:30 (Summer); 07:00-17:00 (Winter).
Telephone: 4006178877; 0535-5621111
How to go: Minibuses to Penglai (CNY 24, 05:15 – 18:30) depart every 20 minutes from Beimalu Bus Station and the Long-Distance Bus Terminal.