My 16 days Free & Easy Visit to Shandong, China (Qingdao, Weihai, Yentai, Fenglai, Nanshan, Weifang, Taishan & Jinan) April 12 > 27 2026 - D16 & 17 Jinan (Shandong), China & Kula Lumpur, Malaysia

Daming Lake, Jinan, Shandong, China

Spring City Square, Jinan
Shandong, China

Baotu Spring Park, Jinan
Shandong, China

Day 16 (Final Day) Monday April 27 2026 (Jinan, Shandong, China) - after the hotel breakfast, we took a Didi from our hotel to Daming Lake followed by a visit to Kouhouli & a short walk to Spring City Square, from there I made a solo visit to Baotu Spring Park & joined up with my group for a last minute shopping in Inzone Supermarket before heading back to our hotel. Departed Jinan International Airport by Shandong Airlines (Rm644 = US$161) at 08.45 & arriving Kuala Lumpur at 02.30 thus ending my exciting 16 days free & easy visit to major coastal cities of Shandong (Qingdao, Wehai, Yantai & Fenglai) & fulfilling my dream of seeing Jinan, the capital of Shandong & walked my way up (at age 76) the Jade Emperor Peak of Mt Taishan from the cable car station (my last visit was in 2010), a sacred mountain of China & visited by Emperor Qin Huang Di some 2,000 years ago !     

1) Hotel buffet breakfast - one of the best I savoured throughout my hotel stay in Shandong province in this trip !

2) Daming Lake, Jinan, Shandong - the largest lake in the city of Jinan, capital of Shandong, covers a total area of 860,00 sq meters (about 212 acres of which the lake itself comprises of 460,000 sq meter (about 113 acres) & one of the city's main natural & cultural landmarks & a 5As tourist attraction; sightseeing boat & buggy ride services are available for visitors in the park, a must visit when in Jinan !  

3) Kouhouli & the surrounding shopping district, Jinan, Shandong - a pet dog here seemed to have a wonderful life enjoying a leisure drive with the car owner ! 

4) Musical Water Fountain, Spring Square, Jinan - the timing of our visit coincided with a musical water fountain display at the Spring City Square, Jinan, very entertaining & nice to watch ! 

5) Spring City Square (Quancheng Square) - a public square in central Jinan known as the "City of Springs", the square has the length of 790 meters & width of 280 meters which occupies about 220,000 sq meters, completed in Sept 1999; a late morning visit with my wife & two travel buddies, cool & pleasant weather, very relaxing to walk around the square ! 

6) Baotu Spring Park, Jinan, Shandong - renowned as the best of the 72 springs in Jinan, Shandong, highly regarded as a well known scenic spot which makes an ideal location for admirers of the wonderful natural spring, culture & various construction in the park, the spring retains its temperature at 18c all year round, the spring water here is pure in quality & mellow in taste, ideal for drinking & making tea, this spring reported has a history of 3,543 years, dating back to the Shang Dynasty (16th - 11th century), free entry for senior citizens above 60s

7) Underground supermarket shopping in InZone Supermarket, Spring City Square, Jinan, Shandong - ended my final day by visiting a supermarket near the Spring City Square, window shopping & also bought Xinjiang red dates, snacks, black fungus & pumpkin seeds etc. 

8) Hotel check-out (13.30) & a late lunch (15.00) - prior to my group's departure from our hotel to Jinan Airport by a Didi car, we had a lunch in a local restaurant nearby our hotel, savoured a claypot chicken + white rice (CNY22 = Rm13 = US$3.25) & a tub of yogurt. 

9) Jinan International Airport, Shandong, China - took a Didi from our hotel to Jinan International Airport arriving around 16.30.  

10) On board the Shandong Airlines (ETD 20.45 > ETA 03.05) & a simple & no frills in-flight meal + juice drinks ! 

Day 17 (Final) Monday April 28 2026 (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) - arriving in Kuala Lumpur International Airport 1, Sepang, Selangor at 02.30 after a 6 hour flight journey; immigration clearance, luggage collection, security screening & a short walk to Level 1 Door 5 to e-hail a Grab car for a ride (Rm72 inclusive a toll fee) to my home place ie SS17, Subang Jaya, Selangor (approx. 45km). Home Sweet Home again ! Another of my China Sweet Dream has been accomplished !  Well done, KM ! Now that I had done the Mountain East (Shandong) free & easy visit, I could be keen to do a River West (Jiangxi) trip in a near future as I have yet to visit Nanchang, the capital of Jiangxi & the famous city of Jingdezhen with a history of 2,000 years, famed for making the finest & high quality ceramic wares for the imperial family & exporting  to overseas ! 

KIV (Keep in View) for my future visit to Jiangxi (River West) Province, China (especially the cities of Nanchang, Jingdezhen, Ganzhou & re-visiting Mt Lushan which I visited in Sept 2010 !).

Map of Jiangxi Province, China