Since the Qingming Festival brings a surge of tourists, soaring accommodation prices, and scorching heat, I decided to visit Qinhuangdao two weekends before the holiday.

But during planning, I had to push it back a week for a few reasons, so I only noticed the cold front was coming—and completely missed that the temperature those two days would be below 10°C. I set off wearing nothing but a light autumn outfit.

March 29

After nearly 20 hours on high-speed and regular trains, departing from Zhengzhou Station and transferring at Tianjin West Station, I finally arrived at Qinhuangdao Station around 8 in the morning.

Taken on the way from Tianjin West Station to Qinhuangdao Station:

Taken after arriving at the station:

It was the first time I truly understood what "as far as the eye can see" means when looking at the ocean. The deep blue sea and the blue sky complemented each other—absolutely magnificent.

The next stop was the Qinhuangdao Qiuxian Ruhaichu, the spot where Emperor Qin Shi Huang is said to have sought immortality and entered the sea. Walking into the scenic area, I found very few visitors. Some entrances were closed off, and many buildings were hidden behind construction barriers.

The only photo I took there:

On the way to Golden Dream Beach, I'd originally planned to take a bus. But after waiting in the freezing wind for a long while, I discovered that bus route was temporarily suspended, so I hailed a taxi instead.

By then it was only 8°C, and the sea breeze on the beach was brutal. After sticking it out for a while, I set off on foot for Qinhuang Alley.

Taken on the beach:

I reached Qinhuang Alley around 11 a.m. Most shops were still closed, and the few that were open had only just started setting up.

After an hour's drive, I arrived at the first stop in the Shanhaiguan District—the First Pass Under Heaven. The ancient buildings felt utterly dull, but the mountains further north pulled me in.

So I changed plans on the spur of the moment and grabbed a taxi to the nearby Jiaoshan Scenic Area. When buying a ticket, my age qualified me for a discount, but the ticket seller insisted on seeing a student ID.

The climb started off smoothly enough, but as the altitude rose, my fear of heights crept in. Halfway up, I was so paralyzed I couldn't move forward and just sat on the steps, too scared to look back down the mountain. In the end, I slowly made it to the summit. Thank goodness there was a relatively gentle path down—otherwise I might still be stuck up there waiting for a rescue.

Taken at the foot of the mountain:

Taken halfway up:

Taken at the summit:

The last stop was Laolongtou (Old Dragon's Head), where I barely made it inside before the scenic area closed.

March 30

The next day, I visited the Qinhuangdao Museum in the morning.

The museum didn't have much on display—mainly an introduction to Qinhuangdao's history and some unearthed artifacts.

At noon, I visited Pigeon Nest Park. The outdoor temperature had dropped to 3°C, with gusts of cold wind blowing through now and then. Staying outside for long was impossible, so I left after a quick look around.

In the afternoon, I'd planned to visit two more places. But one was too remote—the bus there was temporarily out of service and a taxi would have cost a fortune—and the other had suddenly closed to the public. With no other options, I headed straight to Qinhuangdao Station. After killing three hours there, I left Qinhuangdao at 7 p.m.