Liaocheng

The "Water City North of the Yangtze, Ancient Capital of the Grand Canal": Dongchang Lake encircles the old town and Guangyue Tower, while the Shanxi-Shaanxi Guild Hall, Jingyang Ridge and the Linqing Canal Customs House make up a Grand Canal tour.

Liaocheng lies in western Shandong Province, where Shandong, Hebei and Henan meet. Both the Beijing–Hangzhou Grand Canal and the Yellow River pass through it, and it is a National Famous Historical and Cultural City, known as the "Water City North of the Yangtze, Ancient Capital of the Grand Canal". This destination centers on urban Liaocheng (Dongchangfu District) and covers Linqing, Yanggu, Dong'e, Guan County and other counties. In the city, the core is the square old town encircled by Dongchang Lake, where Guangyue Tower, Haiyuan Pavilion, the Fu Sinian Memorial Hall and the Fan Zhuxian Memorial Hall are clustered; along the old canal are the Shanxi-Shaanxi Guild Hall, the Iron Pagoda of Longxing Temple and the China Canal Culture Museum. To the north, Linqing is a famous canal city, with the World Heritage-listed Linqing Canal Customs House, the Sarira Pagoda, a mosque and the Zhongzhou old town; to the south, Yanggu has Jingyang Ridge, Lion Tower and the ancient canal towns of Zhangqiu and Acheng; to the southeast, Dong'e has Ejiao City and the tomb of Cao Zhi on Mount Yu; and to the west, Guan County is famous for its spring pear blossom festival.

The climate is temperate monsoon; Apr–May and Sep–Oct are best, while summer is hot and rainy and winter is cold and dry. Getting there: the Beijing–Kowloon Railway and the Jinan–Zhengzhou high-speed railway pass through Liaocheng, and a taxi will get you from the city to the old town and Dongchang Lake. Sights in Linqing, Yanggu and Dong'e are spread out, 40–60 km from the city, so driving or hiring a car is recommended. Most visitors spend 2–3 days: one in the old town and around Dongchang Lake, one on the Linqing canal, and one at Yanggu's Water Margin sites and Dong'e. Local specialties include Wei's smoked chicken, Shazhen guada pastries, Linqing tofu on a board, Bapi fried dough and Dong'e ejiao (donkey-hide gelatin) products. Check official announcements for tickets and opening hours; most museums are closed on Mondays.

Top sights

• Guangyue Tower – A four-story wooden pavilion built in the early Ming dynasty and standing at the center of the old city of Liaocheng, one of the oldest and…
• Dongchang Lake – A large in-town lake encircling the old city of Liaocheng, covering about 6 square km. With its pleasure boats, lakeside greenway and islet…
• Liaocheng Ancient City – A square old city encircled by Dongchang Lake, centered on Guangyue Tower, where rebuilt courtyard houses and lanes hold former residences…
• Shanxi-Shaanxi Guild Hall – A guild hall built on the banks of the Grand Canal in the Qianlong era by merchants from Shanxi and Shaanxi, with exquisite brick, wood and…
• Iron Pagoda of Longxing Temple – An eight-sided, thirteen-story cast-iron pagoda from the Northern Song dynasty, standing on the banks of the ancient Grand Canal. It is one…
• Haiyuan Pavilion – The library building of the Yang family in the Qing dynasty, ranked with the Qu family's Tieqin Tongjian Lou and others as one of the four…
• Fu Sinian Exhibition Hall – A memorial set up in the Fu Clan Ancestral Hall, presenting the family histories of Fu Yiqian, the early Qing top scholar, and the modern s…
• Fan Zhuxian Memorial Hall – A memorial hall dedicated to the anti-Japanese general Fan Zhuxian, located in the old city, telling the story of the 1938 Defense of Liaoc…
• China Canal Culture Museum – A canal-themed museum on the north shore of Dongchang Lake that systematically presents the construction of the Grand Canal, the grain tran…
• Kong Fansen Memorial Hall – A memorial hall for Kong Fansen, a cadre who served in Tibet, located on the northwest shore of Dongchang Lake. It showcases his work in Ng…
• Jiangdi Paradise – A large ecological amusement park on the south shore of Dongchang Lake, combining lake scenery, flower fields and rides. It is ideal for fa…
• Linqing Canal Customs House – A tax station set up on the canal during the Ming and Qing dynasties, and the only surviving canal customs house site among the Grand Canal…
• Linqing Sarira Pagoda – An eight-sided, nine-story brick-and-wood pagoda built during the Wanli reign of the Ming dynasty on the bank of the Wei Canal. It is ranke…
• Linqing Mosques – A canal-city mosque founded in the Ming dynasty. The North Mosque is large, blending Chinese palace-style halls with Islamic decoration.
• Linqing Zhongzhou Old Town & Aotouji – The old town of Linqing, embraced by the Huitong River and the Wei Canal. The Aotouji and other Ming and Qing buildings, along with old can…
• Ji Xianlin Memorial Hall – The memorial hall in the hometown of Ji Xianlin, a great scholar of Chinese classical learning, in Kangzhuang Town, Linqing. It displays hi…
• Jingyanggang – The setting of the Water Margin story in which Wu Song fights the tiger. The scenic area includes a Mountain God Temple, a Wu Song Temple a…
• Lion Tower (Yanggu) – A replica restaurant tower in the Yanggu county seat, traditionally said to be where Wu Song killed Ximen Qing in Water Margin. The surroun…
• Zhangqiu Ancient Town – A historic town at the confluence of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal and the Yellow River, once a major grain and salt transport hub in th…
• Haihui Temple (Acheng) – An ancient temple beside the canal in Acheng Town, rebuilt in the Qing dynasty with funding from canal merchants and salt traders. Together…
• Dong'e Ejiao Town & Museum – An industrial tourism area built by the Dong'e Ejiao enterprise. The museum, traditional glue-boiling workshop and Ancient Ejiao Well prese…
• Cao Zhi's Tomb at Yushan – The tomb of Cao Zhi, the talented poet of the Three Kingdoms period, set against Yushan with the Yellow River nearby. Cao Zhi is said to ha…
• Wu Xun Memorial Hall – A memorial to Wu Xun, a late-Qing beggar who funded schools through alms, located in Guan County and showing the story of his begging to fo…
• Guanxian Pear Garden – Known as China's No. 1 Pear Garden, this ancient orchard spans 10,000 mu, with clusters of century-old pear trees. Every April brings pear…
• Dongping Lake – The second-largest freshwater lake in Shandong, a remnant of the 800-li Liangshan Marsh of Water Margin, with film sets, mountain stockades…

Itineraries

• Southwest Shandong Grand Canal Self-Drive Tour – Drive south along the Shandong section of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, from Linqing and Liaocheng to Weishan Lake…
• Peonies and Water Margin Road Trip in Heze and Liaocheng – Heze's peonies and the Water Margin sites at Liangshan in Yuncheng, then north to Yanggu and Liaocheng in western Shand…