Asian media tour the fairyland-like Penglai

A group of nearly 20 reporters from South, Southeast and Central Asia paid a visit to Penglai, a fairyland-like prefecture in Yantai, East China's Shandong province on July 7 to experience the city's picturesque landscape and rich wine culture.

Penglai is one of the vital spots in the week-long fact-finding tour of Shandong that started on July 3. The main focus of the trip is to explore how the East China province is taking advantage of the Belt and Road Initiative.

The event titled "Asian Reporters' Shandong Trip" was jointly organized by China Daily and Shandong provincial government.

The coastal city of Penglai is the place of origin of powerful elixirs and home to immortals in Chinese legends. The beautiful city on the Jiaodong Peninsula is rich in fairytales and fascinating scenic spots, while also being one of the top seven world-famous grape coasts.

The reporters visited some of Penglai's representative scenic spots such as the Penglai Pavilion, the Sanxian Mountain ("Three Fairies Mountain"), and the Chateau Junding to capture the essence of the city.

Magnificent view of the ancient architectural complexes in Penglai Pavilion perched on the cliff top overlooking the sea. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The 1,000-year-old Penglai Pavilion perches on the top of the cliff that overlooks the sea. It's an ideal place to watch the immense sea, and is also the best place for the famous "Penglai mirages", on which sometimes you can witness buildings, mountains and palaces.

The scenic spot at Penglai Sanxian Mountain. [Photo/Yantai Travel Network]

Catering to sightseeing and leisure activities, the Sanxian Mountain features ancient trees, strange stones, precious animals, a peninsula, a cultural museum and a Buddhist temple.

The top attractions in the spot are the world's largest reclining jade Buddha weighing 108 tons, a 72-ton jade sculpture of Guanyin (the Buddhist goddess of mercy) and a 260-ton Guanyin statue with 11 faces.

In Penglai, there are 30 luxury chateaus built by world-renowned wineries including domestic brands Junding and Century Chateaus, France's Chateau Lafite Rothschild and Treaty Port Vineyard from the United Kingdom, among which, Chateau Junding is the most reputable.

Backed by a 300 million yuan ($47.1 million) investment from China Oil and Foodstuffs Corp, Junding was developed around a scenic lake and covers a total area of six square kilometers.

It is the first chateau in Asia with a membership club, offering fine wine and cuisine, golf, cigars and other luxuries.

Foreign reporters are enchanted by the vibrant and vivid clay figurines at the Penglai Ancient Ship Museum. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

All the reporters were fascinated by Penglai's beautiful landscape and wine culture.

Kunsaya, a social media specialist from Kazakhstan's JSC Khabar Agency, said that she has fallen in love with the city and is attracted by the city's scenic beauty, quality wine and, most of all, its warm and hospitable people.

Kunsaya added that if she ever gets a job offer in Penglai, she would immediately take it.

Located on the northwest corner of the Shandong Peninsula on the southern coast of the Bohai Sea, Penglai is a vibrant and dynamic tourism city with a booming wine industry.

The murals in the Penglai Pavilion are made more than a thousand years ago. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]