afuning

Number One - Departure from Hangzhou
I managed to grab a second-class sleeper ticket departing at 8 pm, with the destination being Qingdao West. However, considering that it was too far from the city center of Qingdao, we decided to go directly to carriage number 7 after arriving at Qingdao West Station to buy tickets to Qingdao North. The advantage was that we could sleep and arrive in Qingdao when it was already bright, and the price was relatively cheap. The downside was that it was difficult to fall asleep due to the noise of children crying and the sound of the train moving, even with earplugs.

After arriving at Qingdao North, we took Line 3 directly to the hotel we had booked. The hotel prices during the Double 11 shopping festival were about three times higher than usual! Compared to staying in a guesthouse, I prefer booking a hotel, and Huazhu Hotels are my first choice. This time, I booked an ibis hotel because it left a good impression on me when I was in Vietnam. However, since it's not in Southeast Asia, I can only say that it is at the level of an affordable hotel.

Number Two - Qingdao City Walk

• Zhanqiao Pier 🌟 🌟 🌟
  After quickly checking into the hotel, we started our tourist itinerary in Qingdao. After discussing with my travel companions, we decided to start our city walk from Zhanqiao Pier. Zhanqiao Pier is a road that extends into the sea, with a small tower at the end. There were many people on the nearby beach and on the pier. We walked back and forth on the pier, and we also went inside the small tower to read about the nearby buildings. However, we couldn't go up to the second floor of the tower.

• St. Michael's Cathedral 🌟 🌟 🌟
  After leaving the crowd at Zhanqiao Pier, we followed the crowd and went to St. Michael's Cathedral according to the map. Along the way, we sat by the roadside and had a simple meal of Zibo barbecue and a bag of Qingdao beer, which tasted average. There was an entrance fee for St. Michael's Cathedral, which was about 20 yuan. We walked around the cathedral, but since most Chinese people don't believe in this religion, it didn't have a solemn atmosphere. We just briefly visited the cathedral as tourists. By the way, the restroom was dirty, so we went to a nearby mall.

• Signal Hill 🌟 🌟 🌟
  After walking around St. Michael's Cathedral, we decided to go to Signal Hill to overlook the old city area of Qingdao. When we arrived at Signal Hill, there were also many people. At first, we thought we needed to make a reservation in advance, but it turned out that there was a paid reservation option on Ctrip. We bought a 30 yuan package ticket, which included a postcard and a ticket to the observation tower at the top of the hill. We lined up and climbed the hill, which was about 100 meters high. The view of the old city area from the top of the hill was indeed very beautiful. We queued up to enter the observation deck, which was slowly rotating to provide a panoramic view. The scenery in different directions, including the city, mountains, and sea, was all very beautiful. The most special thing was the European-style buildings in the old city area, with red roofs against the blue sky, white clouds, and green plants, with the vast sea in the distance.

• Instagrammable Street 🌟 🌟 🌟
  After coming down from the hill, we were really tired and our feet were sore. Since we didn't have any other plans, we just wandered around the old city, sat by the roadside, and had coffee. Sometimes, we would stumble upon pleasant surprises around the corner. We accidentally found an Instagrammable street, where the walls were covered with cute and vivid graffiti. Many people were queuing up to take photos at certain spots, and there were handsome guys and beautiful girls. Especially at the entrance of a store, there was a long queue just to take a photo with the words "Qingdao" on the wall. This long queue became part of my scenery. After leaving the Instagrammable street, we encountered another popular spot, which blocked the entire street. Since my friend was too tired, we walked to the nearest subway station and returned to the hotel to rest. Unfortunately, my poor friend had to deal with work in the hotel. As a programmer, I couldn't bear to see this exploitation of employees' holidays!

• Dinner 🌟 🌟 🌟
  We found a local restaurant nearby on Meituan, which was similar to steam seafood restaurants in other cities. To be honest, I didn't have high expectations for Qingdao cuisine because, like Hangzhou, most of the seafood we eat is fresh. I didn't doubt the freshness of the seafood in this restaurant, as they were all alive and kicking. However, the prices of seafood in this seaside city were slightly higher, but still within an acceptable range. We spent less than 300 yuan for two people, ordering half a kilogram of shrimp, clams, snails, and a bowl of fish soup.

Number Three - Getting Close to the Sea
When in Qingdao, it is necessary to plan activities close to the seaside. Therefore, on the second day, we mainly went to the beach.

• Ve Cafe (Dog-themed Pet Cafe) 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟
  Since my friend's feet were too sore after walking nearly 20,000 steps the previous day, she stayed in the hotel to work after breakfast. I was bored, so I wandered around near the hotel and found a pet cafe that I discovered the night before. It was just a random encounter, but seeing others going in, I bought a 39 yuan voucher on Meituan. Not only could I interact and play with the dogs, but it also came with a drink and a small amount of dog treats. The dogs inside were so cute!!! The owner of the cafe gave each person a small notebook to introduce the names and personalities of each dog. It was irresistible for a dog lover like me. Later, my friend came out to find me and also bought a voucher. We couldn't leave the dog cafe. The owner even allowed the dogs to pose for photos with us. Since we weren't fond of taking photos, we didn't take any pictures together, and now I regret it a bit. It's difficult to encounter such a group of cuties again.

• Qingdao Stone Man Beach 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 (4 stars just because it's the sea, worth it)
  Afterward, we took a taxi to the beach, even though the subway was only 400 meters away from our hotel. The drivers in Qingdao drove much more aggressively than those in Hangzhou, giving us the feeling of being in a go-kart. When we arrived at the beach, we changed into the flip-flops we had prepared and walked onto the sand, getting close to the sea, feeling the sea breeze, and digging holes in the sand with our feet. When we got tired of standing on the beach, we sat on the sand using the shoe insoles we brought. Coincidentally, an aunt came by selling sand buckets and shovels for 15 yuan. Since we were already there, we bought a set and played with the sand. Neither of us had any artistic talent, so we just dug a hole and built a small sand mound on the beach. When we got bored, we washed our feet, found a cute little girl, and gave her the sand tools we had. Her mother thought we were selling the tools and initially refused, but the little girl really wanted them, so we just gave them to her. Adults are always on guard against being scammed.

• Taking a Cruise 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟
  After leaving the beach, we originally planned to take a cruise. There were several options available, with each route taking about half an hour. The daytime cruise cost 99 yuan per person, while the evening cruise cost 199 yuan. We chose to take the daytime cruise because it was cheaper and we could also see the sunset on the sea around 5 pm. After having dinner near Stone Man Beach, we took a taxi to May Fourth Square and went straight to the pier to queue for the cruise. After about half an hour, we boarded a large ship and occupied a favorable position to enjoy the view of the city and the boundless sea. Since I had been on this type of ship before, it wasn't particularly exciting for me, but it was a new and exciting experience for my companion. Everyone on the ship stood on one side, gazing at the cityscape or the endless sea. We took the cruise a bit too early, so the sun wasn't as red and beautiful as it would be during the last cruise of the day. It was a miscalculation on our part.

After the activities on the third day, we were already a bit tired. It was clear that there were too many people in Qingdao during the National Day holiday, making it difficult to truly experience the unique charm of the city. It felt more like a crowded and noisy tourist destination, with many compromises in terms of the travel experience. Originally, we planned to go to Laoshan on the fourth day, but I saw a message on Xiaohongshu (a social media platform) saying that someone went to Laoshan and couldn't come back, so we were hesitant about whether to go or not. In the end, we decided to change our itinerary. On the fourth day (originally planned for the fifth day), we took a high-speed train to Zibo to explore and have barbecue, and then returned to Qingdao on the same day. Moreover, at that time, we still hadn't bought high-speed train tickets back to Hangzhou on the fifth day, which made us quite anxious. Plus, we had two hungry cats at home, so we were a bit worried.

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