Xingcheng Travelogue and Travel Guide

Xingcheng is a northern town with a rich regional culture. In winter, it transforms into a magical ice and snow wonderland, with breathtaking scenery that flows like a painting. Below, I’ll share a glimpse into my Xingcheng travelogue.

Famous Attractions:

Xingcheng Ancient City, Xingcheng Hot Springs, Xingcheng Beach, Xingcheng Shoushan Mountain, Juehua Island, Longtouhui Scenic Area

Xingcheng Travel Guide:

I started planning about a month and a half in advance, including contacting high school friends to join me, booking tickets, reserving rooms, and researching routes.

There were about seven of us from Shenyang, my high school friends. Three of them were studying at Liaoning University of Technology in Xingcheng. We booked round-trip K-series train tickets, taking about five hours each way. We reserved a sea-view room at the “Haibin Zhijia” Daily Rental. (I have to say, this homestay on Meituan was really unreliable. The room information on Meituan was incomplete, so I called and asked. They said they had two rooms with two bedrooms and one living room and that I could book them via WeChat. We agreed and I paid a deposit through WeChat. But when I called her about the location from the train, she told me she had forgotten about me and had booked out the room. There was no room left!

Then she offered to find me a room. She only cared about the price difference, but how could I find an affordable room on Qingming Festival with so many tourists? Even more ridiculous, she later told me she couldn’t find any rooms. She refunded the deposit and left me hanging. I tried to reason with her, and she simply hung up the phone in a rude manner.

I was speechless. I called 12315 to complain, but both times, no one answered. It seems that successful complaints only happen in the news. This was an unpleasant little incident! If any friends go there, absolutely avoid “Haibin Zhijia” Daily Rental!

(Also, don’t book on WeChat. It’s difficult to seek redress.) As for the route, it depends on the weather.

With a goal in mind, I was eagerly anticipating the vacation, looking forward to it every day. Finally, Qingming Festival arrived, and I was overjoyed. However, the weather was really bad for the next two days. The temperature was unusually low, and it even rained and snowed on the 6th.

On the morning of the 5th, we boarded the 9:11 train from Shenyang North Station. We were all excited and finally got together. We chatted along the way and didn’t feel tired. We just didn’t have time to buy food, so we decided to eat as soon as we arrived.

We arrived around 1:00 p.m., and our friends from Xingcheng were waiting for us in the cold wind outside the station. After catching up, we headed towards the daily rental. It took almost an hour by bus! Then came the incident I mentioned before.

The room issue didn’t dampen our spirits, probably because there were so many rooms in Xingcheng, we weren’t too worried.

We were starving and took a taxi to a restaurant called XXX at Liaoning University of Technology. Ten of us ordered eight dishes, plus dumplings and scallion pancakes. The food was great and the price was reasonable. After two years, the friendship between our classmates rekindled.

We booked a homestay in a nearby apartment complex opposite Liaoning University of Technology. It was a two-bedroom apartment with a living room, costing just over 200 yuan. It was clean and well-equipped, with a kitchen for cooking, hot water, air conditioning, TV, and Wi-Fi.

We reached the homestay around 4:00 or 5:00 p.m. After a brief rest, we watched TV and played games, enjoying each other’s company. When it got dark, we went grocery shopping at Wal-Mart, buying vegetables, oil, and rice. We planned to cook dinner ourselves.

After shopping, we headed to our first attraction, the Juhuanu Beach. We took a taxi, costing 7 yuan. The prices in Xingcheng are low, with a starting price of 5 yuan. We rushed towards the beach, shouting and laughing, completely forgetting to check out the Juhuanu sculpture.

Many of us were seeing the sea for the first time. Looking out at the vast ocean under the light of the lighthouse, the feeling was truly exciting. Although it was cold, we played with the waves again and again, laughing and having a good time until our excitement subsided. Then we headed back.

We got back to the homestay around 10:30 p.m. After a short rest, we started preparing our midnight snack. Haha, those who could cook busied themselves in the kitchen while those who couldn’t played games and waited to eat and wash dishes. Of course, I pretended to help out by cooking two dishes. By the time everyone had dinner, it was almost midnight.

We all huddled together to sleep.

The next morning, the diligent girls got up early and prepared breakfast. However, it started raining and snowing outside. After breakfast, we could only play King’s Glory indoors until around 9:00 a.m. when the rain and snow stopped. We checked out and headed to Longtouhui. The taxi fare was 15 yuan.

Longtouhui was a truly nice attraction, and there was no entrance fee! The sea wind was strong and the weather was cold, but there weren’t many people. Even though spring had not fully arrived, the ocean view was still beautiful.

It was so cold, my hands were frozen red, but I still had to take pictures. I was very satisfied with the photos, thanks to the excellent camera capabilities of my Meizu E3!

After Longtouhui, we went to the Ancient City. Along the way, we ate noodles at Xinglong, which were quite delicious.

The Ancient City looked old and weathered from afar, and the marks of history were evident up close. The streets were lined with shops selling clothes, souvenirs, and everything in between. A unique feature was the sign of the Rural Credit Cooperative, which was written as a “Money Shop.”

This marked the end of our trip. We walked to the train station to return home.

In summary, Xingcheng offers beautiful scenery, with the sea, mountains (Shoushan Mountain, great for climbing at night, with lit pathways), and a city. A great place for budget travel.