Motorcycle Routes of Shandong:

Harley Davidson – BMW – Honda – Yamaha – Kawasaki – Suzuki – Zongshen – Qijiang – Regal Raptor – Yujue- Haojue – Pioneer – Changcheng

As with many cities in Shandong, Qingdao’s Huangdao has a group of guys that like to ride. We put on a lot of kilometers throughout the riding season and welcome all bikes. Whether big or small as long as you can keep up we welcome you to join.

I have put over ten thousand kilometers on my Honda X-11 (CBR1100) riding throughout this province. There are a lots of good roads to cruise on, cool places to see. Get on your bike and do some sightseeing or just taking a break and getting out to feel some corners and fresh air. Below are some of my favorite one or two day cruises in the Qingdao, Jiaonan, Rizhao area.

 

Note on GPS Coordinates:
1. Google Maps or Google earth satellite views are a little old so when checking out some locations they may not look developed but all of the destinations mentioned below are as the pictures show or better.

2. Also when changing between satellite view and map view the GPS location can change a bit. Most of the coordinates were taken in satellite view so can be a little off when looking at map view.

 

Phoenix Island: (青岛凤凰岛)
Check out the GPS Coordinates for each location and map below.

Things to see:
– Cruise around Tangdao Bay and stop at the park to view Qingdao’s Kaifaqu. 35.92381,120.185439
– Stop at Silver Sands beach and the Kempinski Hotel for lunch and a Paulander Beer. 35.921534,120.196695
– The far west point on 399 Provincial Road point has a nice little restaurant with a spectacular view of Lingshan Island on the Yellow Sea. 35.893961,120.179669 (Picture 1)
– Far east point on 399 Provincial Road has spectacular view of Qingdao. (Picture 3)
– Seafood restaurants all along this peninsula’s coast line.
– And don’t forget Golden Sands Beach tourist area.

Langyatai: (青岛朗瑘太)
Kilometers of travel: It is 45 kilometers one way from Jusco in Qingdao, Kaifaqu. Check out the GPS Coordinates for each location.

Things to see:
– Langyatai beach. 35.665943,119.903399 (Picture 3)
– Langyatai mountain and tourist park with some of the historical Chinese culture. 35.646591,119.89779 (Picture 1)
– Fishing village with peer jutting out on the Yellow Sea. 35.635604,119.913325 (Picture 2)

Rizhao Lunan Seaside National Forrest Park: (日照鲁南海滨国家森林公园)

Kilometers of travel: Approximately 90 kilometers from Jusco in Qingdao, Kaifaqu.

GPS Coordinates: 35.530035,119.610665 (Park gate entrance)

Things to see:
– Resort beach. 35.53069,119.624632
– Rent a horse drawn cart or electric cart and tour the park. The park includes a small animal zoo, fish ponds, and circus entertainers playing with animals, flower gardens, forest park trails, paint ball site and lots of restaurants and pubs to cool down at.
– On the 220 Provincial Road about 700 meters south of the Rizhao Seaside Park entrance is “Dragon Mountain Temple” (龙山寺 – Longshan) road entrance which has some brass terracotta warriors in the trees on the way up the mountain to Dragon Mountain temple. Temple site: 35.517037,119.571236

Jiaonan Little Pearl Mountain: (胶南小珠山)
Kilometers of travel to go around the mountain: Approximately 35 km.
We like to ride around the whole mountain stopping at the various sites. You can start at Binhai Dadao and Haier Road (35.929996,120.153437) and head north until the 299 Provincial Road and follow that around the mountain until you end up back at Binhai Dadao in Jiaonan. This route is approximately 45 kilometers around with a couple in-roads to get to the below sights.

Things to see:
– Qingdao’s Wildlife Park and Zoo. (青岛野生动物园) 35.982677,120.053455
– Newly constructed temple in the Zhu Mountain National Forest Park. (珠山国家森林公园) 35.983372,120.058411
– On the west side (299 Provincial Road) tourist park (博盛苑景区) with a great hike to the top of Little Pearl Mountain. Park entrance: 35.939925,120.068792
– Also on the west side (299 Provincial Road) is Jiaonan Christian Church. (Maps are old, the church is about here: 35.936859,120.041145)
– East side has a beautiful Eco-Park with driving range, fishing ponds and tea gardens. Nice spot for lunch. (青岛周家夼瑞源生态园) 35.954144,120.132279
– East side tourist area (青岛小珠山古月山庄景区) with a huge Buddha statue (35.960119,120.102378) and some exotic birds, and now a lion and a tiger. Resort entrance: 35.956428,120.108535

Jiaonan Big Pearl Mountain: (胶南大珠山)
Kilometers of travel: Approx 25 km from Jusco in Qingdao, Kaifaqu.

Things to see:
– Big Pearl Mountain South Reservoir and the Shimensi Temple. (石门寺) Entrance: 35.802952,119.971647
– Big Pearl Mountain North Reservoir. Gate: 35.79714,119.999971
– Continue down the road to a cool viewing spot and see some military bunkers and bomb storage garages. GPS: 35.780386,120.012444

Qingdao Laoshan: (青岛崂山)
Laoshan is a beautiful and popular tourist area with historical temples, the famous Laoshan green tea farms, and a scenic road around the coast up to Yangkou beach resort and then continues around Aoshan Bay to Tianhengdao.

Things to see:
– First stop is the cable car at (海上名山第一 – 崂山) 36.133367,120.657287
– The famous Taiqing Palace Temple (太清观) area. 36.138022,120.671301
– Another temple of historical importance. 36.204975,120.677111
– Yangkou beach resort. 36.238398,120.667359
– Cable Car to mountain top above Yangkou. 36.235499,120.661726
– Travel north to Tianheng Island (田横岛) 36.420454,120.954666

Jiaonan Red Destination Eco-Park: (胶南红色革命区 – 杨家山里)
Directions: Its in Jiushanggou Village (上沟生态园) about 12 Kilometers north of Jiaonan City on the S329 Provincial Road.
Park manager mobile: 18661646170
GPS Coordinates: 35.911472,119.851656

Things to see:
– There is a quaint little village there with a small simple museum of some war remnants from Japanese invasions a nice windy road through the village.
– They have many 100 year old trees and orchards with beautiful cherry trees blossoming every spring. A few nice little Chinese restaurants to have a nice lunch or dinner at.

New Destinations:
Keep checking back every once and a while for we will be sure to add new routes and roads as we travel them.

Motorcycle Riding Safety:

Driving anything in China is a challenge, especially on a motorcycle. Those of us that regularly ride understand how to stay safe, be courteous and ride with some basic rules and understanding to keep together and keep safe.

As one friend says “ride like your invisible”! It is pretty good advice seeing as cars rarely yield or care about motorcycles so you have to be extra aware and expect people will cut you off and or pull out right in front of you without any warning. You have to ride being aware other drivers don’t follow the road rules so it doesn’t matter who has the right of way or who’s at fault. The fact is if you crash it is likely going to be you that will suffer the most.

Riding rules:
1. Although there is no helmet law in China we suggest you wear one.
2. Wear glasses. At night you should have clear glasses and in the day good shades. With all the dust and dirt in the air you want to be sure your eyes are clear.
3. Ride together. Safety in numbers as they say. Car will be more likely to yield to you if there is a group of bikes.
4. Ride occupying one lane but stagger the bikes (left and right tire path of a lane) so you see the road in front of you.
5. Ride with your head light on. It is easier for cars to see you and easier to identify your friend if one gets behind.
6. Agree to a destination before you set out and follow each other.
7. So you don’t get separated when the lead bike makes a turn he should wait for the rest of the group to catch up before continuing.
8. Use your peripheral vision all the time. You should be able to see everything going on in front of you using your peripheral vision and not just looking at one specific spot.
9. You must pay attention to all those little village roads and farm field entrances for a vehicle pulling out. In China many different kinds of vehicles will come from the left or right side without looking and pull right in from of you. (Do not ride in the shoulder or far right side as it is dangerous for the above reason.)
10. Watch out for the dirty dusty roads. Because of all the construction and farming roads can have light sprinkles of dust and dirt on the road and especially if the road is wet from a light rain it becomes very slippery.
11. Anticipate what other drivers are doing. You can usually tell when someone is going to turn left or right by their head movements and gestures. They don’t always signal and often turn right from the left lane or visa-verse.
12. If you are by yourself do not ride in a cars blind spot. They can’t see you there and you will be sure to get cut off.
13. Know the braking capability of your bike. – Using your front and back brake together. – Use mostly your front brake when going straight and on dry roads. – Use less of your front brake in slippery conditions or going around corners especially if there is loose gravel. – Don’t every lock or skid your front wheel. – Don’t try to turn if your braking very heavy, keep straight. – Don’t use your front or back brake heavy when going around corners.
14. Know the power of your bike so you can give it a shot of gas to get away or ahead of traffic or bad situations. (I personally like to stay ahead of traffic and don’t ride slow so that cars catch up and cut in and around you.)
15. Know your hand signals. – Left arm straight out means turning left. – Left arm bent up at 90° means turning right. – Left arm bent down at 90° means slow down or stop. – Arm straight out making a fist with your middle finger out means …….…. someone probably just cut you off.
16. Don’t expect people to stop or yield even if they see you clearly. It seems to mean nothing to a lot of drivers to pull out right in front of you putting you at great risk. Pay very close attention being prepared to brake or move quickly when going though intersections.
17. And finally when you encounter pot holes, rocks or stuff on the road we usually put our arm straight down pointing to it then open and close the hand a time or two. Others may kick out their leg. Either gesture is a warning something is on the road.

Ride safe my friend and enjoy the roads of Shandong.