Weihai Huaxia City Scenic Area is located in Huancui District, Weihai City, Shandong Province. It is a national 5A-level tourist attraction with a total area of about 2,700 mu. With "Chinese civilization" as its theme, the scenic area integrates natural landscapes, cultural landscapes, folk experience and large-scale live performances. It is a large-scale cultural tourism complex integrating tourism, leisure vacation and cultural experience. The scenic area has ancient-style building complexes such as the First Archway of Huaxia, Xia Garden, Yuwang Palace, and Taiping Zen Temple, with a total construction area of about 180,000 square meters, among which the core attractions cover 86,000 square meters. The feature of the scenic area lies in combining traditional culture with modern tourism functions, showing the development of Chinese civilization by restoring historical scenes and interpreting classic stories. It also has rich ecological landscapes with a green coverage rate of over 70%, making it a landmark cultural tourism attraction in Weihai.
Historical Culture
Although Weihai Huaxia City Scenic Area is a modern reconstructed cultural scenic area, it deeply explores and displays the historical context of Chinese civilization. With time as the axis, from ancient legends to modern civilization, the scenic area systematically presents the development of Chinese culture through architecture, sculpture, performance and other forms.
Yuwang Palace is one of the core cultural buildings in the scenic area. Based on the historical legend of Dayu controlling the floods, the palace displays reliefs of Dayu's flood control scenes and ancient flood control tools, reproducing Dayu's dedication of "passing his home three times without entering", echoing the early history of the Chinese nation governing nature and creating civilization.
The history of Taiping Zen Temple can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty. Originally named "Taiping Courtyard", it was an important Buddhist activity site in Weihai. Later, it was destroyed due to historical changes. The scenic area rebuilt the temple near the original site, retaining the original inscriptions and other cultural relics, continuing the local Buddhist cultural heritage. The Tang-style buildings and Buddha statues in the temple show the religious artistic characteristics of the prosperous Tang Dynasty.
The large-scale live performance "Legend of Shenyou" is an important carrier of cultural display. Through six chapters, it connects important historical events and legendary stories in Chinese civilization, such as Pangu creating the world, Nuwa creating humans, and the Silk Road. Using modern lighting, sound effects, machinery and other technologies, it allows the audience to immerse themselves in the profound heritage of Chinese culture. Since its launch in 2013, this performance has become an important business card showing the charm of Weihai's cultural tourism.
Main Attractions
The First Archway of Huaxia
The First Archway of Huaxia is the iconic entrance building of the scenic area, 21 meters high and 86 meters wide, with a five-bay and six-column structure. The top of the archway is covered with glazed tiles, and the beams and columns are carved with auspicious animal patterns such as dragons, phoenixes and unicorns, as well as reliefs of historical stories related to Chinese civilization, with a total of 175 carved patterns. It is decorated with 12,000 pieces of glazed tiles, looking magnificent. The front of the archway is inscribed with "Huaxia City", and the back is "Shenyou Dongfang (Wandering in the East)". It is one of the largest archways in China, symbolizing the long history of Chinese civilization.
Xia Garden
Xia Garden is located in the middle of the scenic area, covering an area of about 18,000 square meters. With the historical culture of the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties as its theme, it consists of a worship platform, totem poles, and a bronze exhibition area. There are 12 totem poles 6 meters high in the garden, carved with ancient totems such as the sun, dragons and phoenixes, showing the primitive worship of the ancestors; the bronze exhibition area displays replicas of representative bronzes such as the Simuwu Ding and the Four Sheep Square Zun, restoring the bronze civilization of the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties; the water feature project in the garden covers an area of about 3,000 square meters, creating a lively garden atmosphere through fountains, cascades and other landscapes.
Yuwang Palace
Yuwang Palace is a palace-style building built to commemorate Dayu's flood control. It covers an area of about 23,000 square meters, with the main building 36 meters high. It adopts the style of palaces in the Ming and Qing dynasties, with vermilion walls and yellow glazed tiles, looking solemn and respectful. In the center of the hall, there is a 9.9-meter-high statue of Dayu. The large murals on the surrounding walls depict the whole process of Dayu's flood control, with a total area of 580 square meters; the exhibition halls on both sides display models of ancient water conservancy projects, flood control documents and other materials, systematically introducing the development of ancient Chinese water conservancy civilization, and it is a core attraction in the scenic area showing the early history of Chinese civilization.
Taiping Zen Temple
Taiping Zen Temple covers an area of about 12,000 square meters, and is a Tang-style building complex consisting of a mountain gate, Heavenly King Hall, Mahavira Hall, and Sutra Collection Building. The Mahavira Hall is 25 meters high, with three Buddhas - Sakyamuni Buddha, Amitabha Buddha and Medicine Buddha enshrined in the hall. The Buddha statues are 8 meters high, carved from camphor wood, looking resplendent and magnificent; the temple preserves a fragment of the Tang Dynasty "Taiping Courtyard" stele, with clear inscriptions, which is an important witness to the history of the temple; the surrounding area of the temple is planted with pine and cypress trees, creating a quiet religious atmosphere, and it is a place for tourists to experience Buddhist culture.
Performance Venue of "Legend of Shenyou"
The performance venue of "Legend of Shenyou" is located between the mountains and waters in the east of the scenic area, covering an area of about 45,000 square meters. It adopts a rotatable auditorium design, with the auditorium 65 meters in diameter, which can accommodate 2,000 audiences to watch at the same time. With natural landscapes as the background, the performance combines modern lighting, fireworks, water curtains and other special effects to create an immersive performance experience. The performance is divided into six chapters such as "Kaikai Pidi (Creation of the World)", "Xunzu Suyuan (Tracing Ancestors and Origins)", "Tiandi Hexie (Harmony between Heaven and Earth)", with a duration of 60 minutes. Through the performances of more than 300 actors, it shows the development process of Chinese civilization, and it is one of the most distinctive cultural experience projects in the scenic area.
Weihai Shenyou Ocean World
Weihai Shenyou Ocean World is adjacent to Huaxia City Scenic Area, covering an area of about 55,000 square meters. It is a large oceanarium integrating marine life display, popular science education and interactive experience. There are more than 10 exhibition areas in the museum, such as the tropical rainforest area, underwater tunnel and polar animal hall, displaying more than 300 species and over 20,000 marine organisms including beluga whales, penguins and sharks. The underwater tunnel is 100 meters long, and tourists can watch marine organisms swimming through the acrylic glass; the temperature in the penguin exhibition area in the polar animal hall is controlled at -5°C, restoring the living environment of the Antarctic. It is a popular attraction for parent-child tours, complementing the cultural landscapes of Huaxia City.
Food
Featured Food in the Scenic Area
"Huaxia Flavor Restaurant" in the scenic area mainly serves local seafood and Shandong cuisine of Weihai. "Weihai Prawns Braised with Chinese Cabbage" is a local classic dish, using fresh prawns from Weihai Bay braised with Chinese cabbage. The prawn meat is tender, and the cabbage absorbs the freshness of the prawns. A dish is priced at about 68 yuan; "Scallion-Braised Sea Cucumber" uses sea cucumbers from the Bohai Bay, braised with Zhangqiu green onions, which are soft, glutinous and tasty. A portion is priced at about 168 yuan, suitable for banquets or sharing among multiple people. The restaurant also provides "Seafood Platter", including seasonal seafood such as scallops, clams and oysters, with a portion priced at about 120 yuan, meeting the needs of tourists to taste seafood.
Jiaodong Big Steamed Buns
Jiaodong Big Steamed Buns are traditional pasta in Weihai and surrounding areas, which can be tasted in the "Folk Snack Street" in the scenic area. This kind of steamed bun is made of flour as the main ingredient, mixed with milk, eggs, etc., kneaded and fermented, then steamed. It is large in size and soft in taste. Common ones include round steamed buns and fish-shaped steamed buns. Among them, the fish-shaped steamed buns symbolize "abundance year after year", with a price of about 8 yuan each. They can not only be used as staple food, but also become popular souvenirs for tourists because of their beautiful shapes.
Mackerel Dumplings
Mackerel Dumplings are a characteristic food of the Jiaodong Peninsula. The "Fisherman's Dumpling Restaurant" in the scenic area is characterized by making and boiling dumplings on the spot. It uses fresh mackerel, which is deboned and minced, mixed with leeks, and wrapped into crescent-shaped dumplings. The dumplings have thin skins and large fillings, full of freshness. A portion (20 pieces) is priced at about 45 yuan. The dumpling restaurant also provides cuttlefish dumplings, sea urchin steamed eggs and other seafood snacks, satisfying the tastes of different tourists.
Surrounding Food
Weihai Economic and Technological Development Zone Food Street, about 3 kilometers away from the scenic area, gathers more local characteristic foods. "Weihai Clear Soup" is a local traditional breakfast, with pork bone soup as the base, added with fresh meatballs, coriander, laver, etc. A bowl is priced at about 15 yuan, light and refreshing; "Rushan Happy Cake" is a specialty of Rushan City, baked with flour, eggs and sugar as raw materials. It is crispy outside and soft inside, with moderate sweetness, priced at about 3 yuan each. It can be bought at the "Time-Honored Happy Cake Shop" on the food street, suitable as snacks or souvenirs.
Tickets
Ticket: 99 yuan/person (including the glass bridge). Ticket: 160 yuan/person (including Shenyou Ocean World).
You can search for the official WeChat public account "威海华夏城" to get the latest news or buy tickets online.
Opening Hours
Opening hours: April-October 8:00-17:30; November-March 8:30-17:00.
Performance time of "Legend of Shenyou" live performance: It starts at 19:30 every night from April to October (it may be cancelled or postponed in case of rain or special weather, please check in advance), and the performance duration is about 60 minutes.
Opening hours of Weihai Shenyou Ocean World: April-October 8:30-17:30; November-March 9:00-17:00.
Tour Route
Recommended one-day tour route (excluding the Ocean World): Arrive at the scenic area at 8:30 am, visit the First Archway of Huaxia (30 minutes); enter Xia Garden at 9:00 am to learn about the culture of the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties (1 hour); go to Yuwang Palace at 10:00 am to watch murals and flood control culture exhibitions (1.5 hours); have lunch at Huaxia Flavor Restaurant at 11:30 am; visit Taiping Zen Temple at 13:00 pm to experience Buddhist culture (1 hour); taste Jiaodong Big Steamed Buns, Mackerel Dumplings and other snacks at the Folk Snack Street at 14:00 pm (1 hour); walk along the ecological trail of the scenic area to enjoy landscapes at 15:00 pm (1.5 hours); return to rest near the entrance of the scenic area at 16:30 pm, prepare to watch the "Legend of Shenyou" performance at 19:30, and end the day's trip.
If including Shenyou Ocean World, it is recommended to arrange a two-day tour. On the first day, visit Huaxia City Scenic Area and watch the performance. On the second day, go to the Ocean World in the morning (visit for about 4 hours), and in the afternoon, you can go to Weihai International Beach and other coastal attractions.
Transportation
- Public transportation: Take buses No. 35, 41, 58 in Weihai to "Huaxia City" station, walk about 300 meters to the entrance of the scenic area; take bus No. 41 from Weihai Station (railway station) directly to the scenic area, with a journey of about 20 minutes and a fare of 1 yuan; take bus No. K2 from Weihai North Station (high-speed railway station) to "Huaxia City" station, with a journey of about 40 minutes and a fare of 2 yuan.
- Self-driving: Starting from Weihai city center (Huancui Tower), go south along Qingdao Middle Road, turn into Huaxia Road to reach the scenic area, with a total distance of about 8 kilometers and a driving time of 15 minutes; starting from Weihai Dashuibo International Airport, go along Weiqing Expressway to Century Avenue to Huaxia City Scenic Area, with a total distance of about 40 kilometers and a driving time of 50 minutes; the parking fee of the scenic area is 5 yuan/hour, with sufficient parking spaces.
- Taxi/online car-hailing: It is about 5 kilometers from Weihai Station to the scenic area, with a driving time of 10 minutes and a cost of about 12 yuan; it is about 15 kilometers from Weihai International Beach to the scenic area, with a driving time of 25 minutes and a cost of about 30 yuan.
Must-Visit Attractions
- The First Archway of Huaxia: A large archway 21 meters high and 86 meters wide, with exquisite carvings. It is a landmark building of the scenic area, and is included in the scenic area ticket for free.
- Yuwang Palace: A 23,000-square-meter palace-style building, displaying Dayu's flood control culture. It is a core attraction to understand the early civilization of China, and is included in the scenic area ticket.
- "Legend of Shenyou" live performance: Starting from 299 yuan/person, a 60-minute immersive performance, showing Chinese civilization with modern technology, and it is a characteristic experience project of the scenic area.
- Taiping Zen Temple: A 12,000-square-meter Tang-style temple, preserving historical steles, where you can experience Buddhist culture, and it is included in the scenic area ticket.
- Weihai Shenyou Ocean World: 160 yuan/person, displaying more than 300 kinds of marine organisms, complementing cultural landscapes, suitable for parent-child tours.
Tour Suggestions
- The scenic area is large, so it is recommended to spend 1-2 days visiting. If you watch the "Legend of Shenyou" performance, you need to arrange time from evening to night.
- Pay attention to sun protection when visiting in summer (June-August). There are many shade trees in the scenic area, but you still need to bring sun hats and sunscreen; the temperature is low in winter (December-February), so keep warm, and some open-air attractions may be affected by the weather.
- Buying a combined ticket is more cost-effective than buying separate tickets, especially for tourists who plan to watch the performance or visit the Ocean World. You can buy tickets in advance on the official public account to avoid queuing on site.
- It is recommended to enter the venue 1 hour in advance to watch the "Legend of Shenyou" performance, and choose seats in the middle for a better view; some scenes in the performance involve splashing water, so you can prepare a disposable raincoat in advance (available in the scenic area, 5 yuan/piece).
- It is recommended to choose restaurants in the scenic area or regular restaurants to taste seafood, check the freshness of ingredients, and avoid buying from mobile vendors to prevent food safety problems.
Matters Needing Attention
- There are many steps in some buildings within the scenic area. Elderly people and children should pay attention to walking safety. Wheelchairs can be rented in the scenic area (50 yuan per day, with a deposit of 300 yuan).
- The venue for the "Legend of Shenyou" live performance is an open-air theater, which may be cancelled or postponed in case of rain. Be sure to check the weather forecast and pay attention to the official notices of the scenic area before your trip.
- Some areas in the Ocean World are relatively dark and the floors are slippery. Tourists with children should take good care of them and prevent them from chasing and frolicking.
- It is forbidden to bring pets, inflammable and explosive items into the scenic area. Smoking is only allowed in designated areas. Please protect the environmental hygiene and do not litter.
- There are a large number of tourists during holidays (May Day, National Day, summer vacation). It is recommended to enter the park during off-peak hours (before 8:00-9:00 a.m. or after 14:00 p.m.). When parking spaces are tight, public transportation can be chosen for travel.