2026 Summer Vacation Self-Driving Trip to Qingdao and Weihai
This trip had five people: our family of three, plus my wife’s best friend and her mom. Even with five people—four adults and one child—the long drive didn’t feel cramped. Plus, there were plenty of random topics to pass the boring hours on the road.
The photos were taken with a Sony a7M3 (50mm prime lens), and the recently purchased DJI Osmo Pocket 4, or straight from the iPhone.
Departing from Chengdu, it took 14 days, total distance 4902 km, gas 1771, charging 328, highway tolls 2111, total tolls 4210 yuan. Since most of the route was natural scenery with few paid attractions, the expenses were mainly on accommodation and food; our family of three’s total spend was around 10,000 yuan.
First stop Xi’an—we arrived at night, and we’ve all been here a few times before. But since we were passing through, we still revisited the Muslim Quarter and the Tang Dynasty Ever-Bright City.
The next day, from Xi’an we crossed the Taihang Mountains. I’d already seen the magnificent scenery of Linzhou’s Taihang Mountains on Douyin, and since it wasn’t much of a detour, we stopped by one of the attractions along the way.
After driving for a few hours, we arrived at Hongni Village in the Taihang Mountains. As a Sichuan native, I’m not usually afraid of steep, rugged peaks; but when I was hiking at the base of the Taihang cliffs and saw those massive boulders hanging overhead, it felt like they could drop at any moment and turn me into a puddle of mush—I couldn’t help but quicken my pace. When we got out, everyone’s legs felt like jelly; I thought I was the only one who got scared.
That night we stayed in a small county called Nanle County; took the opportunity to try the local food. The Vienna Hotel here with breakfast was only 170 yuan—prices in small counties are really low, great value for money.
On the road, I especially like staying in small counties with few tourists. Because every time we hit a big city, I get stressed out figuring out where to stay—is the hotel good value? How far from the highway? Will there be traffic jams? All things we have to consider. But staying in a small county has none of those worries. The location is bustling enough, the hotel is mid-to-upper range; once we arrive, we feast on delicious food, then crash on a comfortable big bed, and all the day’s fatigue vanishes.
On the third afternoon, we finally arrived in Qingdao. Thanks to having a car, we didn’t stay in the expensive downtown area, but in Huangdao where the beaches are better. The kid came here mainly to see the sea—only us adults were interested in the cultural sites. But when we drove to May Fourth Square, we found Qingdao’s traffic is just as twisty and confusing as Chongqing’s, making my head spin. In Qingdao we visited Signal Hill, May Fourth Square, the Olympic Sailing Center, various beaches, and Laoshan.
Laoshan is a mountain full of jagged, bare rocks, almost no soil for tall trees to grow. I joked with the kid that these rocks look like the scenic area boss deliberately placed them on the mountaintops; one push and they’d roll right down.
At the peak of Laoshan Yangkou Scenic Area, there’s a strange rock weathered into a natural roof, shaped like an open clam shell. You can sit inside the “belly” of this shell. My daughter climbed in and lay under the rock, and I followed her in. My wife and her friend joined us a bit later. Through the gaps in the shell, we looked out at the sea in the distance—the vast ocean under the sunlight seemed boundless; the horizon disappeared, blending into the blue sky. Only a few islands stood faintly on the sea; on the white beach by the shore, countless people were packed densely like ants, too small to make out details. Only the white waves could be seen crashing layer after layer. A cool breeze blew in through the cracks in the rock. At that moment, even with the endless cicada chirping, my mind was completely at peace—time seemed to stand still. How wonderful!
Qingdao feels incredibly vast to me, with tons of cultural attractions—almost like the real capital of Shandong Province, handling so many functions. Weihai is a quiet coastal town with beautiful coastlines, calm beaches, and rich natural scenery; perfect for photo ops. Or you could do absolutely nothing—just sit by the sea drinking coffee. We hiked along Weihai’s coastal ring road and came across a particularly beautiful cliffside cafe. We stayed there for over two hours—my wife busy taking photos, the kid busy playing in the water, and me just sitting there.
We also went to Rongcheng. But because of a flaw in my travel planning, we only stayed one night in Rongcheng. Even the clam digging didn’t work out—because I didn’t understand the tide patterns, we got up at 5 AM when it was just getting light and went clamming, but came back empty-handed. The kid, however, was thrilled because at the seaside resort, we stayed in a really interesting hotel. It had a loft structure with two floors, and each room had two 1.8-meter big beds, one on each level. The child had never stayed in a hotel like this before and insisted on claiming the upper bed all to herself, not sleeping with mom. We pretended to be very disappointed, but we totally understood inside. Kids, after all, don’t know anything.
After Qingdao and Weihai, we’d already been out for 10 days. It seemed only the kid and I were still eager to continue; everyone else was getting a bit tired. So we had to plan the return route. Originally, my plan was to stop by Huaguo Mountain in Lianyungang, then check out Xuzhou. Considering everyone’s mood, I didn’t add more detours—we just passed through Qufu, Kaifeng, and Xuchang, then via Ankang back to Chengdu. Along the way, we visited the Confucian Temple in Qufu, the Qingming Shanghe Garden in Kaifeng, and the Pang Donglai in Xuchang.
