[2025 Jinan Stay] Travel Guide for Mingshui Ancient City Shuangquan Resort (Updated Mar)

💗Guest Experience Mingshui Ancient City is the most beautiful old town I’ve ever seen. It’s relatively simple to walk around, not being too expansive, but with enough detail that it would take a few days to see and experience everything. The experience in early March was great as not many people were there, and the Cherry Blossoms and Magnolias were starting to bud. I found one afternoon/evening and one morning was more than enough time to satisfy my curiosity for this place. 💰 The souvenirs inside the ancient city were much cheaper than souvenirs in Shanghai and Beijing, so if you’re into souvenirs, buy them *all* here! 💞Reasons to Recommend: I had a language barrier (I don’t speak Chinese), and found that staying at the resort was best option because staff went out of their way to help me (with support of translator apps!) to access all experiences available within city with only one point of contact (hotel reception desk). This included complementary unlimited entry/exit to ancient city whilst staying at resort (which is located just a few steps away from resort front door), complementary boat (gondola) ride, and complementary VIP access to light show (seating at 7.10pm). Language Note: Mingshui Ancient City appeared to me to cater to locals who might come here for a weekend away (it’s about 90mins by bullet train from Beijing). It didn’t appear to intentionally try to attract international tourists, despite being a world class tourist attraction! As such, English is very limited. Information within the city about the city is mostly in Chinese, staff within the city don’t speak English, and the light show has a storyline shared over speakers that is only in Chinese. If you have an overactive imagination however, you can make up your own storyline to go along with it!! With the help of translator apps however, staff are more than happy to help with any question! Everyone was super lovely. 💡 Light Show tip: if it’s windy at all, grab a complementary poncho at the light show VIP entry gate, because the huge bursts of water that shoot up into the sky, 2 metres away from you, may saturate you. I did not know about this, but thankfully we had no wind on the night I was there!! After seating myself I turned around and saw everyone else had poncho’s and only after the light show started I understood why!!! 🧺 Laundry facilities: upon arrival/check-in at 4pm at the resort, I was advised the advertised laundry facilities for guests, were only available from 8am the next day, not on the afternoon I arrived. I wanted to do a load of washing as soon as I arrived (to dry in my room overnight) and not being able to do so was the only frustrating part of my stay, but was very very minor! 🕰️Business Hours: ancient city closes at 10pm. Most people started to leave about 8pm (after the light show finished).

Mingshui Ancient City is located in Zhangqiu District, Jinan City, Shandong Province. It is an ancient city with a history of more than 1,000 years. Mainly composed of Ming and Qing dynasty buildings, the main buildings and facilities in the scenic area include the visitor center, smelting workshop, cloth workshop, Meng family compound, city towers and walls, Temple of the God of Flowers, Shuangquan Hotel and supporting hotel complex. The people living in the springs here live a peaceful and prosperous life. Outside the city, the green lotus ponds compete with each other for beauty, like a vivid picture scroll. Strolling along the small paths in the city, it seems as if you are riding on a small boat, drifting slowly from the words of Liu Zongyuan, "The flowing water of peach blossoms along the south bank of the river shatters the green shadows of the river, and opens the dream of a thousand years in the south of the Yangtze River." Location: Mingshui Ancient City, Jinan Opening hours: 9:00-22:30 Ticket price: 98 yuan/person, free for seniors over 60 years old and children under 6 years old Boat ticket: 120 yuan for the whole trip, 60 yuan for half trip Transportation: ① Airplane: Yaoqiang Airport → take a taxi to Mingshui Ancient Town ② High-speed rail: Zhangqiu Station/Zhangqiu North Station, take a taxi after arrival ③ Self-driving: Navigate to Zhangqiu Mingshui Ancient City Route: Park at the tourist center parking lot → Confucian Merchant Street → Cloth Shop → Meng Family Courtyard → Fox Fairy Street → Mingshui Street → Yamen, Tofu Shop, Soy Sauce Factory, Post Office, Oil Shop, Newspaper Office Spring route: Li Qingzhao's former residence, Shuyu Spring, Plum Blossom Spring (the Plum Blossom Spring has five petals, which is very interesting), Longquan Temple (a thousand-year-old temple, where Baimai Spring is located), Moquan, Jinjing Spring

🚩Mingshui Ancient City: Mingshui Ancient City in Zhangqiu, Shandong, seems like a painting spanning thousands of years🖼️. Zhangqiu is renowned for its Baimai Springs, which gush out directly. Here, you can find the warmth of the water towns in Jiangnan, the grandeur of the northern landscapes, and the unique spring water scenery of Jinan, the Spring City. Strolling through it, every step reveals a new scene, allowing you to feel the charm of history and the sediment of time✅ 📍Address: Zhangqiu District, Jinan City, Shandong Province 🎫Tickets: 98 RMB/person, half price for discounted tickets, free for those over 60🆓 🚌Transportation: Take the high-speed train to Zhangqiu North Station, then a taxi to Mingshui Ancient City, which takes about 20 minutes↔️ 🏨Hotel: Mingshui Ancient City Twin City Resort Hotel (includes tickets + boat tickets + evening light show tickets + on-demand shuttle service within the scenic area) ✅Must-visit spots: 🌟Ancient City Wall: Standing on the city wall, you can see the beautiful scenery of various parts of the ancient city, and taking photos📷 feels amazing 🌟Morning Wine Market: Here, you can enjoy various local delicacies such as soy milk, fried dough sticks, spring water lamb soup, and wontons😋 🌟Li Qingzhao's Former Residence: Also known as Baimai Spring Scenic Area, including Longquan Temple and Moquan 🌟Ancient Building Complex: Exquisitely carved and painted, stunningly beautiful, every casual shot is a masterpiece. 🌟Spring Show: The evening light show and drone performance combine classical and modern elements, making it worth the ticket price🎫 🌟River: Take a small boat🛶 to shuttle through the river, enjoying the scenery on both sides, which is very pleasant.

Ming Shui has always been known as the "Little Spring City". When you step into the gate of Ming Shui Ancient City, there is an illusion of being in a painting, as if traveling back to the Ming and Qing dynasties. 🌿The entire ancient city is surrounded by water systems, quaint and charming, not only with water wheels, pavilions, and towers, but also with black-awning boats shuttling through the ancient city. 🛶Small bridges over flowing water, willow banks, black tiles, green bricks, oil-paper umbrellas, a black-awning boat rippling on the emerald waves, the boatman dressed in Hanfu calmly rows the oars, the boat leisurely passes under the stone arch bridge... 🍃Walking on the stone-paved road, you can visit Meng Family Mansion, Meng Hongsheng Cloth Workshop, Wansheng Furnace Foundry, Yamen, Wei Chuan Pharmacy, Chang Yuan Soy Sauce Garden, Yi Xiang Zhai Oil Workshop, Mo Dou Tofu Workshop, Rui Fu Xiang... Behind each shop, there is a historical story. You can also experience intangible cultural heritage skills up close. 🥢For snacks, you can try hanging oven baked buns, spring water mutton soup, Quan Cheng scallion roast, good luck cake, candied hawthorn, Ou Yu, iron pot roast, and so on. 🏠Accommodation recommendations: Ancient City Hotel, Shuang Quan Hotel, Bian Gu/Ming Shui Inn, Yi An Inn (Qing Zhao Culture), Xing Mu Inn, Meng Family Inn, etc. Staying here also offers: free rides on the scenic area's electric cars, multiple entries and exits from the scenic area during your stay, complimentary luggage consignment service, reduced parking fees at the scenic area, enjoy the quiet morning of the ancient city, and enjoy an exclusive viewing area for the Quan Show performance. ⭐️At night, be sure to watch the Quan Show performance. With the city as the scene, the spring as the soul, and the characters' stories as the context. You can enjoy the spring scenery, classical music and dance, poetry voice-over, drone performance, high-tech lighting and sound, breaking the shackles of time and space, it is a moving chapter from ancient to modern times, a breathtaking audio-visual feast! For the May Day holiday, take your family to Ming Shui Ancient City for a stroll.

Mingshui Ancient City is located in Zhangqiu District, Jinan City, Shandong Province. ❤️ The ancient city is dominated by Ming and Qing architecture, designed by the team of Chen Xianghong from the Wuzhen scenic area in Zhejiang, with an investment of 1.1 billion yuan already completed. 🧡 It was established during the Tang Dynasty, and Xiquan Town was set up during the Zhenguan period. By the Song and Yuan dynasties, it became one of the four famous towns in Zhangqiu. The administrative center of the town was located where the ancient city stands today. 💛 This ancient city has a history of over a thousand years. On October 1, 2023, the new landmark of the world's spring city—Mingshui Ancient City will open to welcome visitors, featuring a hundred springs, green bricks and black tiles, mountain springs, rivers, lakes, and flat boats. 💚 Zhangqiu is known as the 'Little Spring City', and the ancient city scenic area includes the Baimei Springs system. The Plum Blossom Spring gushes like a river, the Ink Spring surges like a wheel, with small bridges over flowing water, a sight too beautiful to absorb all at once! 🩵 Zhangqiu is also the hometown of 'the world's number one talented woman' and 'the master of lyrics'—Li Qingzhao, where cultural and natural resources blend harmoniously. 💜 Scenic area performances: Fox Fairy Performance: 14:00-15:00, 16:30-17:30 at Fox Fairy Residence Square Spring Show & Drone Performance: 19:00-19:30 at the Spring Show Area👍👍👍 💙 Accommodation in the scenic area: There are two hotels and six or seven guesthouses in the scenic area. The environment is very nice, each with its own characteristics, all located within the ancient city. Waking up and opening the window feels like you're in an ancient town in the south of the Yangtze River.⚠️ I stayed at the Shuangquan Hotel in the ancient city scenic area, 600+ including tickets for two to the scenic area + hotel breakfast. The hotel is very characteristic, built by the moat, and the rooms are clean, tidy, and spacious! A very good experience⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🚘 Transportation: 1.5h drive from Jinan 🅿️ There are two parking lots in the scenic area. The first parking lot is large, but it takes about 10 minutes to walk to the scenic area. It is recommended to park at the Visitor Center parking lot, which is more convenient for entering and exiting. 🧆 Food: Fufront Street is a food street with various snacks such as lamb soup, hanging oven baked buns, tofu brain, fried tofu corners, pizza, burgers, noodle shops, wontons... There is also Mingshui Restaurant, medicinal meal restaurants, etc... 🎫 Ticket: 68 RMB per person 🌳 Zhangqiu locals free ⚠️ The prices of hotels and tickets are expected to rise, so hurry up!! I visited Wuzhen ten years ago, Wuzhen is very beautiful, I have been to Mingshui Ancient City, the ancient city is already very beautiful on a cloudy day, if it is a sunny day to visit, it will be even more beautiful!!

There is actually a Little Jiangnan in Shandong, the Mingshui Ancient Town which locals can visit. It only takes 2 hours to get there by high-speed rail from Beijing. I took advantage of the fact that there were no crowds and visited it for 2 days! . 🧨 2-day itinerary D1 Arrive in Zhangqiu, 🚖 Go to Mingshui Ancient City Visitor Center (check-in, tickets, and entry to the scenic area are all here). In the afternoon, we will gather around the stove in the hotel to make tea - Spring Festival customs such as DIY or handmade lanterns, in different places in the ancient city. At night, you can watch the [Spring Show] at Mingshui Street Market Building. You can buy river lanterns (Luochuan Lantern Shop) to pray for blessings when you visit the ancient city at night. D2 Li Qingzhao's Former Residence-Bai Maiquan Park . 🧨Spring Festival Fun 1. Meng Family Courtyard: The old appearance of the residence of the Confucian merchant Meng Luochuan 2. Cloth Shop-Meng Hongsheng Defense: There are many large dyed cloths in the courtyard 3. Smelting Shop-Wansheng Furnace Smelting Shop: Zhangqiu Cast Iron Craft Display 4. Bai Maiquan, Jinjingquan, Moquan: The spring water vapor floats on the water surface 5. Li Qingzhao's Former Residence 6. Longquan Temple 7. Others: Ancient City Government Offices, 💊 Bureaus, Soy Sauce Gardens, Tofu Shops, Oil Shops, Post Offices, Newspaper Offices, etc. 📅Mingshui Ancient City Spring Festival Event Time: 2.9-24. Performances are concentrated on 2.10-17 [Mingshui has drama - performances gather lively year]: 2.10-17 fixed point performances at the Tourist Service Center, Acrobatics at the Lantern Shop Square on Rushang Street, and Iron Flower Show in the waters north of Li Qingzhao's former residence (2.9-16). There are also themed immersive performances at the venue [Send blessings to thousands of families in the New Year, wash your hands and pray for blessings at Moquan, beat drums at Moquan to spread blessings, pray for blessings at Longquan Temple, pray for blessings on the west wall of Longquan Temple, pray for blessings with river lanterns (2.9-17 South Gate Mooring Bank/Bai Maiquan Dongmawan) [Mingshui Fish Lantern Festival Dreamy Chinese New Year]: Paper-carved fish lanterns, flower lanterns, French flying fish show [New Year Handmade Ritual Year]: such as lanterns, paper cutting, rolling printing, rubbing New Year pictures (Denglongpu, Muxia Jiecao, Bufang, etc.) . 🧨 Eat Mainly there are Ruifuxiang Restaurant, Mingshui Restaurant, 💊Shan Restaurant, [Searching for flavors and gathering for reunion] Spring Festival New Year's Eve dinner, making dumplings and rolling Yuanxiao, these special food experiences . 🏨 Accommodation 7 inns + 2 hotels are open, and the new opening 💰 is very powerful. The Shuangquan Resort Hotel where I stayed had a very "Flower" feel. The balcony was facing the river. You could cook tea around the stove in the lobby. The floor-to-ceiling windows had a great view. Boats passed by from time to time. 🚄 Transportation It is more than an hour's drive from Jinan. If you drive, you have to park in the parking lot outside the tourist center. Beijing-Zhangqiu North has 1 high-speed train per day, 2 hours Jinan-Zhangqiu North high-speed train takes about 30 minutes Zhangqiu North-Mingshui Ancient City takes 20 minutes by taxi (it is recommended to book a taxi in advance) [In the scenic area] Cruise 8:00-21:30, mainly for sightseeing Sightseeing bus: 24-hour operation, 10 yuan/person