Rizhao is in Shandong, in East China.
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Shandong · City Guide
Rizhao, Green Tea Grown Farther North Than It Should Be.
Overview
Why Go
Rizhao sits near 35 degrees north, about as far north as green tea is grown at scale in China. The short season and cold nights make the leaf thick and the liquor markedly beany, which is what the region is known for.
Much of the Shandong shore is rock or mud. Rizhao has long shallow sand beaches with pine behind them and a tidal flat at Liujiawan where people go out at low water for clams.
Pottery from Lingyanghe carries incised symbols about four and a half thousand years old. Whether they are early writing or ownership marks is still argued, and the argument is why the site matters.
The ginkgo at Dinglin Temple on Fulai Mountain is counted in thousands of years rather than hundreds, with estimates that differ by a wide margin. It is one of the older living trees in the country by any of them.
Liu Xie wrote the Wenxin Diaolong, the foundational work of Chinese literary criticism, while a monk at that same temple. The hall he is associated with stands beside the tree.
See
The main city beach, long, shallow and backed by a promenade and pine belt, with a lagoon behind it for sailing. Free, busy in July and August. Half a day.
A broad flat that empties at low tide, where people go out with rakes and buckets for clams and small crabs. Check the tide table; the whole activity exists inside a few hours. Half a day.
A low hill at Juxian with the very old ginkgo, Dinglin Temple and the hall associated with Liu Xie. The tree is the reason to go and it takes several people to reach round it. Two hours.
The county museum at Juxian holding the Dawenkou pottery with the incised marks, plus bronzes from the state of Ju. It is where the symbols argument becomes concrete. Ninety minutes.
Tea terraces on the low hills inland from the coast, several of which take visitors through picking and pan-firing. Picking runs late April into autumn, later than in the south. Half a day.
Granite peaks with rounded boulders, a temple and stairways between them, inland from the coast. Cherry orchards on the approaches flower in April. A full day.
On the Map
Approximate locations of the attractions above, across Rizhao.
Eat
Thick-leaved green tea with a strong beany, chestnut character that comes from the cold nights and short season. Growers sell direct and will brew several pickings side by side if visitors ask.
Clams, razor shells, small crabs and mantis shrimp, steamed or boiled and eaten plain. What visitors dug at Liujiawan can be cooked at the stalls behind the flat for a small fee.
Cherries from the Wulian hills, picked in late May and early June over a short window. The orchards sell at the roadside and the trees flower white across the slopes in April.
Thin pancakes spread on a hot plate from millet or sorghum batter, dried and folded, then rolled around spring onion and bean paste. It is the Shandong staple and it is chewier than it looks.
Do
The flat at Liujiawan empties a long way and fills again quickly. Check the table, watch when the locals turn back, and do not be the last one still digging.
Spring and autumn leaf from the same hillside taste noticeably different here because the season is so compressed. Ask a grower for both in the same sitting; it is the clearest tea lesson on the coast.
The trunk takes several people with arms outstretched to reach around. Go in late November when the leaves turn and the whole courtyard goes yellow underfoot.
The marks are simple, repeated and deliberately placed. Read the case labels on both sides of the argument before deciding what visitors think they are looking at.
When
Cherries in late May, tea picking on and the sea warming without the crowds. The strongest window of the year.
Beach season, hot and completely full, with Shandong and Jiangsu families filling the coast. Book far ahead or stay inland.
Warm sea, empty beaches and autumn tea. The other good window and the better one for everything except swimming.
Cold and windy on the coast, with the ginkgo turning in late November. The museums and the tea sheds carry the trip.
Explore More
Rizhao is in Shandong, in East China.
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