A One-Day Trip to Liaocheng: 30,000 Steps in China's Water City

Why Liaocheng

After working for a long stretch, I have a habit of going somewhere unfamiliar — a big city or a small county town, it hardly matters. Any place I have never been carries some freshness for me. This time the destination was Liaocheng in Shandong Province, a place that calls itself the “Water City of the North.”

Getting There: The 43-Yuan Slow Train

There is no high-speed rail from my city to Liaocheng — only a K-series fast train, a three-and-a-half-hour ride costing 43 yuan. Honestly, I dislike K-series trains. The environment is rough, and some passengers actually take their shoes off and lie across the seats, so a wave of foot odor comes at you. That is the one thing I cannot accept.

It is the off-season now, so the station was not crowded — most travelers were people heading out for work or returning home from business trips. Tourists like me, out purely for a trip, were probably a rare sight.

Inside a K-series slow train in China, with passengers and luggage in the carriage — Three and a half hours, 43 yuan, K-series class

Arriving at Night

I reached Liaocheng at 9:30 in the evening. The railway station is not large, but it still looks fairly grand. Outside the exit, a crowd of minibus drivers and inn owners shouted for customers — a clamor that gets on your nerves after a long ride.

Liaocheng railway station square illuminated at night — Liaocheng station, 9:30 p.m.

A 50-Yuan Hotel Room

I had booked the hotel in advance on the Ctrip app: 500 meters’ walk from the station, a small single room for just 50 yuan — probably the cheapest hotel I have ever booked. When you travel, your routine is broken anyway; even a luxury hotel does not guarantee sleep. A cheap little inn would do for one night.

At the front desk I registered by scanning my ID card, took the room key, and went up. It was about what I expected: a very small room, a little window hidden behind a curtain, some stains on the wall — but, mercifully, no strange smell in the room or on the bedding. There was half a bucket of drinking water on the table, but it looked old, so I doubted it was drinkable and went out to buy two bottles of mineral water instead. The kettle wore a layer of dust — clearly untouched for a long time — so rather than trust it with drinking water, I boiled a full kettle just to scald the public slippers and kill any fungus. I have no intention of catching athlete’s foot from shared slippers. The bathroom was tiny but had a shower; the sink was not quite clean, with some grime. Honestly, there was nothing to complain about — the room is worth exactly 50 yuan!

A very small budget single hotel room with a narrow bed and a curtained window — The 50-yuan room: small, but exactly as advertised

The tiny, narrow bathroom of the 50-yuan budget hotel room — The tiny, narrow bathroom

A Bad Night’s Sleep

As expected, I slept badly — probably not until after midnight. Not because the inn was too spartan, but because after years of sleeping in my own comfort zone at home, any change of place keeps me awake. That is just how it is.

Breakfast: Doufunao and Gua Da

I had breakfast at a small restaurant nearby: a bowl of doufunao — silken tofu pudding that looks, frankly, like a brain — and a gua da, a local Liaocheng specialty that resembles a stuffed flat pie and comes with meat or egg filling. My honest complaint: the doufunao was not authentic at all. It was far too salty, as if the bowl were half soy sauce, and the gua da’s texture was mediocre too. Perhaps I should have hunted down a well-known local restaurant instead. Together the two cost 10 yuan.

A bowl of doufunao tofu pudding and a gua da stuffed pie, a typical Liaocheng breakfast — Doufunao and gua da — the local way to start the day

Dongchang Prefecture: An Old Town Surrounded by Water

In ancient China, Liaocheng was known as Dongchang Prefecture. The old town of Liaocheng is a true water city — an ancient town surrounded by water on all four sides, first built in the Song Dynasty. Inside its walls stands a great deal of old architecture: some of it genuinely handed down from ancient times, some of it modern construction in the antique style. I took my time photographing it — Chinese-style ancient buildings really are beautiful.

From the morning until four in the afternoon, I did nothing but explore this old town ringed by water — and by the end of it, the step counter read 30,000.

Scenes from the Water City: A Photo Walk

The rest of the day needed no itinerary — just the camera, the water, and the old town. These are the frames I brought home.

Ancient buildings along the water in Liaocheng old town

Chinese-style pavilion and lake view in Liaocheng

Stone bridge and moat surrounding the water city of Liaocheng

Traditional Chinese architecture in Dongchang Prefecture old town

Street scene inside the ancient city of Liaocheng

Reflections of ancient buildings in the waters around Liaocheng

Upturned eaves of a Chinese building in Liaocheng old town

Lakeside promenade of the Water City of the North

Red lanterns and old architecture in Liaocheng

Panorama of the old town of Liaocheng ringed by water

Tower rising over the ancient city of Dongchang Prefecture

Willows and water at the edge of Liaocheng old town

Detail of carved woodwork on an old building in Liaocheng

Boats on the lake surrounding Liaocheng ancient city

City wall and gate of the Liaocheng water city

Narrow lane with traditional facades in Liaocheng old town

Sunset light over the water city of Liaocheng

Skyline of ancient towers reflected around Liaocheng

Last look back at the water city before leaving Liaocheng

                        Trip totals: 43-yuan train + 50-yuan inn + 10-yuan breakfast + 30,000 steps = a full day of the unfamiliar, for about 13 US dollars.
                    

The point was never the destination. It was stepping off a slow train into a place no map of mine had creased.