Along the sunny coast of Rizhao city in east China's Shandong province, bordering the Yellow Sea, there is a scenic greenway that stretches 28 kilometers long. Hugging the shoreline, it weaves through mountains, forests, and villages. To locals, it is not only a scenic route, but a route to happiness.
On a morning, Li Xiaoshu and her friends from a cycling club set off from a square in Donggang district of Rizhao, biking northward along the greenway, which is known as the Sunny Coast Greenway. They stopped to admire the vast sea at the Wanpingkou scenic area and visited an ocean aesthetics museum on Taigong Island, marveling at the breathtaking scenery along the way. Continuing onwards, they rode into a towering metasequoia forest.
"We just arrived at the 'forest oxygen bar,'" Li said, calling this her favorite spot – the Rizhao Seaside National Forest Park. Over 300 tree species like metasequoias, black pines, and oriental oaks flourish in the park, covering 78 percent of its area. Besides, the park is also a habitat for more than 200 bird species, including azure-winged magpie.
Li's destination was Wulian Mountain. After passing through the Liangcheng Estuary National Wetland Park, the cycling group switched to another greenway – the Mountain and Sea Scenery Greenway. Relevant authorities have worked to interconnect the Sunny Coast Greenway with the Mountain and Sea Scenery Greenway into a 61.
8-kilometer route, which is adorned with mountains, sea, rural guesthouses, an.
