Luoyang to Mount Tai, Qufu and Jinan 4 Days 3 Nights

A morning train from Luoyang reaches Jinan in a little over two hours. Go straight to Baotu Spring, where three jets push up from the pool floor and steam rises off the surface in cold weather. After lunch walk half of Daming Lake, with the Chaoran Tower on the southeast shore. An evening train covers the twenty minutes to Taian.

Attraction introduction: Baotu Spring sits in the southwest of the old city and leads the seventy two named springs of Jinan, its three vents running all year. Daming Lake gathers the city springs into one sheet of water. Taian takes its name from the mountain, meaning peace under heaven, and the Dai Temple stands at the north of town.

Tips: The spring garden is crowded and the stone balustrade at the pool is slippery, so do not lean on it for photographs. Guests generally find the water clearest in the slanted morning light and washed out by afternoon glare. In practice the spring is scheduled for the morning and the lake for a slow afternoon walk.

From Tianwaicun a park bus climbs the half hour of switchbacks to Zhongtianmen, where the cable car covers the rest to Nantianmen in minutes. Step out onto Tianjie, the summit street of pancake stalls and souvenir shops. The afternoon goes to Bixia Temple and Yuhuang Peak, and the stone that marks the top.

Attraction introduction: Zhongtianmen sits halfway up where the footpath meets the cable car. Nantianmen stands at the head of the Eighteen Bends, built in the Ming era. Tianjie is the summit street, named for the clouds that often fill it. Yuhuang Peak is the highest point, its courtyard stone marked at 1,545 metres.

Tips: The summit runs seven or eight degrees colder with a hard wind, so a down jacket and a hat are not optional. Guests generally find the cable car queue grows after ten and half an hour earlier pays off. In practice the first bus goes up, the room is settled before noon, and the summit walk stays unhurried.

Up at half past four and out of Nantianmen toward Riguan Peak, a walk of some ten minutes with the wind numbing your face. The sky reddens, the sun lifts out of the cloud sea, and the whole thing is over in under five minutes. Breakfast on Tianjie, cable car down, bus to the foot, and Qufu by early afternoon for the Confucius Temple and the mansion beside it.

Attraction introduction: Riguan Peak lies southeast of Yuhuang Peak and is the classic sunrise position on the mountain. The temple was first built in 478 BC and now runs nine courtyards, with ten Ming dragon columns along the front of the Dacheng Hall. The mansion next door housed the direct descendants of Confucius.

Tips: Before dawn the summit hovers near freezing and half an hour of standing stiffens the hands, so gloves matter more than the camera. Guests generally find cloud seas are luck, though a plain wash of dawn light also rewards the early start. In practice the descent day carries no heavy sightseeing, and the cemetery waits for tomorrow.

Enter the Confucius Forest in the morning, past the stone figures along the spirit road to the grave of Confucius, its stone platform polished by hands. Old trees fill the grounds and autumn leaves lie thick on the paths. Back in town for a Confucian banquet at noon, then the afternoon train from Qufu East to Luoyang.

Attraction introduction: The Confucius Forest is the family cemetery of Confucius and his descendants, the largest of its kind in China, with thousands of old trees and steles. The joint ticket costs 140 yuan, split as 80 for the temple, 60 for the mansion and 10 for the forest, and the three can be visited separately.

Tips: The forest is a quiet place, so keep voices low and stay off the grass along the grave paths. Guests generally find the electric cart saves half the walking while the footpath shows more. In practice two hours are set aside for the spirit road and the grave, with the cart for the rest.