10 Islands in Shandong That You Shouldn't Miss

Reviewed By jameshuang - Taipei, Taiwan

Liugong Island (劉公島) is located at the mouth of Weihai Bay (威海灣). It is 1.9 nautical miles (2.2 mi / 3.5 km) from Weihai (威海) Tourism Dock to Liugong Island Tourism Dock. The 315 ha (778 acre) Liugong Island with a coastline of 14.9 km (9.26 mi) was an important navy base in Qing Dynasty. The Beiyang Fleet (北洋艦隊) was one of the four modernized Chinese navies in the late Qing dynasty and based on Liugong Island. It was the largest fleet in Asia and the 8th largest in the world during the late 1880s. It has been open to public since 1985, and today it is a very popular destination in Weihai and has been listed as a highest 5A National Tourist Attraction since 2011. We took the bus from Weihai Railroad Station to the dock and took the ferry to the Liugong Island. Most of the time I stayed outside on the deck, enjoying the scenery and taking photos. The ride takes less than 20 min. Once we arrived at Liugong Island around 2 pm, we went to the left side of the island and visited the Museum of Sino-Japanese War of 1894 (中日甲午戰爭博物館). It was the original Beiyang Naval Office (北洋海軍公所) and the Naval Headquarters during the First Sino-Japanese War (甲午戰爭) between 25 July 1894 and 17 April 1895. We saw all of the setup of the Navy Headquarters 125 years ago and learned the history of the once largest fleet in Asia. We saw the wreck of the Chinese cruiser Jiyuan (濟遠艦) with the huge 209.3 mm (8.24 in) caliber main armament of Jiyua displayed at the end of the naval office. The new 2008 opened Museum of Sino-Japanese War Exhibition Hall Using the hi-tech AV explores the war in detail. We also visited the Dragon King Temple (龍王廟), Ding Ruchang Memorial Hall (丁汝昌紀念館), British Navy Liugong Island Command (英國海軍劉公島司令部), old submarine and the nearby unnamed area. We didn’t go to Liugong Island National Forest Park (劉公島國家森林公園), Liugong Island Expo Park (劉公島博覽園) and the cable car up to the mountain due to lack of time. We left Liugong Island around 5 pm. It is better to reserve a whole day to visit Liugong Island. You should bring a bottle of water with you because it is hard finding places selling drinks where we went. The island has many spots to visit, and it is better to plan in advance especially when you have only few hours to spend. As usual comfortable shoes and water are essential.