Travel Notes Series: A Little Weekend in Hepu
After returning from Wolfberry, before the hot summer officially kicked off, Chaibak friends decided to find another beach and continue to practice their digging skills. This time I chose Hepu Town in Ningbo, which is not far away.
Hepu is not as famous as Shipu on the other side. In urban Ningbo, there are many seafood restaurants under the banner of Shipu. It was the first time I saw the introduction of Heura, and I also heard that this is an island that can be landed by car. I thought it was very strange.
Hepu Town is under the jurisdiction of Xiangshan County, Ningbo. The island it is located on is called Nantian Island, which is the largest island in Ningbo City.
There are two ways to get to the island. It is recommended that you choose one for the round trip. This time, the small group drove to the island and took the ferry when leaving. These two methods of landing on the island give you completely different feelings and scenery.
Overland
Navigating Hepu Town, passing through Gaotangdao Township, there is also a Xiangshan Film and Television Base. You can go over mountains and ridges, there is a cross-sea bridge to land on the island, and the scenery along the way is beautiful.
waterway
After arriving at Shipu Town from Xiangshan City, look for Shihe Ferry Terminal. Those who drive themselves can buy bus tickets, and those who don’t drive can buy individual tickets. It takes about 15 minutes to reach the other side.
You can check the specific sailing schedule online, and it departs every 20 minutes. The little friend arrived in town an hour in advance to accompany the masters for a walk and do daily errands. There is a seaside promenade near Heura Pier. There are few cars and nice greenery. It is a good place to get on the boat after doing something important.
View of the other side of the river from the 2nd floor
The car is parked on the first floor of the ferry
This is a hand-drawn map that a friend found online. During this trip of 3 days and 2 nights, the group circled the island, which shows that the marked location is basically accurate. Of course, some scenic spots, such as rapeseed flowers and pear orchards, have travel season requirements. In addition, niche attractions such as the Xiaohaitang hiking route require careful search as there are no clear instructions.
The purpose of this gang's trip is not only to dig holes, but also to dig holes! Therefore, during the 3-day trip, we arranged two "half days" at Dasha Beach, and spent the rest of the time driving around the island, watching and playing.
When people from Ningbo go to Hepu, most of them go to Dasha Beach. The beach is located in Dasha Village, where the B&Bs are most concentrated and ready to receive tourists.
The biggest advantage of going to Dasha Beach is that there are not too many people. After avoiding the summer vacation, the beach is wide and long, and the owners can run much more smoothly than in the small sand pit on the small island of Zhoushan. The small group rented a seat for about 100 yuan/day. Drinking beer, eating seafood and barbecue, and watching the silly children eating sand and chasing waves are one of the joys of life~
This is a relatively famous attraction on the island that most tourists visiting the island must visit. This attraction is also free.
It is said that watching the sunrise here is very good. There is a guide on the Internet that mentions that when you see a tree, you will arrive at Fengmenkou. Such a mysterious description made the small group full of expectations. In fact, although Fengmenkou is good, the gap is larger than expected. The most unforgettable thing is the small road that can only pass one car.
When entering, there was no rival car, so everyone could still joke and laugh. On the way back, cars began to come in one after another. Everyone's mood became tense for a while, and even the furry children became quiet. There are parts of the trail that are equipped with give-way strips, but if you unfortunately don't reach that spot, one of the vehicles will have to back up until it's easier to give way. If your driving skills are not good, it is recommended to enter the scenic spot on foot. On the same day, we also encountered a large tourist bus, which we really admired!
There is a resort hotel at Fengmenkou. Since the location is really inconvenient, I probably won’t even think about going out after staying here. The hotel has a website, and the pictures are more beautiful than the actual ones. The entertainment activities mentioned were not available that day.
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There are large and small Baizhang villages on the island, and they are also marked on the hand-drawn map. Almost no one mentioned it in the guide. My friend found the way here because he had a friend who was preparing a homestay project.
Following a friend's instructions, we took a sharp turn and drove into a quiet village. Part of the village has been abandoned, awaiting reconstruction. This project is not just a tourist B&B, but also carries the task of protecting historical buildings.
The natural river naturally separates the B&B area and the villagers’ residential areas. The yellowish bluestone has a light earthy smell. There is an orange grove in the village with green leaves. It is said that when the fruits bear fruit, you can smell the orange fragrance. The small village is at the foot of a hill, next to the reservoir, a geomantic treasure land with mountains and water. Walking into the residential area, according to an architect friend, it is a typical allocated house after liberation (I can’t remember this here, it is too professional). There are also veterans from the Korean War... Walking around in this way, I have benefited a lot.
FLOWER
Beautiful flowers
Hydrangeas can be seen everywhere in the village, and an unexpected encounter enriched the afternoon.
My friends have not had the opportunity to see rapeseed flowers. There are about 10,000 acres of rapeseed fields just over Gaokantou Village, which bloom around March and April.
In the past, there were not many choices for accommodation, and most were concentrated in Dasha Village. Dasha Village is dominated by farmhouses (most people on the Internet recommend Jiayi sisters. When my friends were strolling at night, they encountered the boss carefully preparing Kongming lanterns for the guests, singing and dancing, and the atmosphere was relatively harmonious; the warm sunshine of a typical farmhouse Xiaozhu is only a 5-minute walk from the beach; there is also the village chief’s super luxurious farmhouse, etc.), and there are also a small number of B&Bs. This time my friend stayed at the well-known Qinglai.
Qinglai Holiday Villa
My friend found Qing Lai on Pet Travel Network. In fact, there are many soft articles on the Internet reporting on this small and fresh seaside B&B. The owner of the B&B is a native of Hepu, a young and enthusiastic girl. Unfortunately, the boss works in Shanghai and only occasionally goes back during holidays, so the boss's mother is responsible for taking care of this B&B. The owner's mother is quite straightforward and domineering, which is why my friend's unpleasant stay experience was due to this.
The hardware conditions of the accommodation are already considered a good choice for Hepu, where there are only farmhouses. In the absence of competition, Qing Lai is the only choice. (Half a month after moving in, a good new B&B opened nearby, which will be introduced later) Qinglai is a B&B that is far away from the beach. It takes about 15 minutes to walk and is located on the mountainside of the village road.
Room small balcony
A corner of the family room
The B&B also has two furry children: Little Q (mother) and Princess (daughter). Little Q is not big, but his daughter, Princess, has slender limbs, which she probably inherited from her father. A big problem with our stay was the little Q. Little Q has a bad temper. When the small group dragged their families and luggage to check in, he rushed out and opened his mouth and bit, which really scared everyone. Because the domineering aunt felt that Xiao Q's behavior was legitimate defense and the enemy was clearly visible, she did not do much to stop her from such aggressive behavior. Therefore, during the stay of 3 days and 2 nights, I need to take good care of my baby every time I enter or leave the B&B. I want to go out to walk the dog at night for convenience, but also to avoid "encounters on narrow roads".
Since there are almost no restaurants in Dasha Village, if you want to eat, you have to go over the mountains to the town, so the friends chose to eat in a B&B on the first night. This is obviously a wrong choice. First of all, the fee is not cheap, 80 yuan per person. I asked the owner's "mother" what dishes she had and was told that there was no need to ask. The dishes she cooked were loved by "Shanghai people". (The problem is that none of us are from Shanghai~~) When it was time to eat, I was shocked to find that the dishes were not freshly cooked, but rice in a big pot... The dishes were prepared in one go, put in the kitchen early, and turned into cold dishes by the time they were served. In a place with not many food options, is it bearable to treat diners so rudely?
When leaving, the clerk looked nervous and kept the small group because he suspected that he saw hair on the bed. The confused friend took his own hair gluer and ran to the room with the clerk to take a look, only to realize that it was human hair. . . . First of all, when everyone checks in, they will make their own beds to prevent others from soiling other people's sheets. In addition, they will bring a lint remover and clean it up when they leave. Not to mention that everyone pays as required. Additional cleaning charges apply. This kind of treatment makes my friend very helpless. I feel that Qing Lai still has reservations about being prepared to receive pets.
Hepu Town
The dining on the island is concentrated in Hepu Town.
The more famous one online is Tiger Noodles, so named because the noodle shop owner’s nickname is “Tiger”. This kind of noodles is a kind of seafood noodles that can be "processed with supplied materials". It's in Hepu Food Market. My friends were really starving at the B&B and were frightened by the seafood noodles in Gouqi Island, so they tacitly missed the opportunity to eat tiger noodles.
So, during the 3-day and 2-night journey, the remaining two meals on the island were all eaten at Thorn Golden Age Seafood Restaurant .
The price is affordable, the seafood is quite fresh, and the fish noodles taste good. The cooking methods here are closer to those in Ningbo and Cixi, and are much more delicious than those on Gouqi Island. There is a bit too much MSG, if you mind, please remember to say hello.
We chose the land route when we arrived, and took the ferry on the way back. When we got off the ferry, we were at the famous Shipu Town .
Shipu is one of the four major fishing ports in the country and the only fishing port-type ancient town among many famous towns. When I was on a business trip to Ningbo, I always saw restaurants with the word Shipu. When I came here, I realized that the local seafood is quite famous. The seafood street in the town is affordable and of excellent quality. This was the biggest surprise during this trip.
Guangding Seafood
No. 39, Seafood Street
There are not many live seafood, some are chilled, and all are clearly priced. The food was well cooked and quite delicious. The restaurant is not big and mostly has private rooms, which is perfect for us with furry children and we are not afraid of disturbing others.
Traces of the past are everywhere in the town. You can find Starbucks in the square outside the ancient town and buy a cup of coffee to refresh yourself.
Shipu Ancient City
There is a long coast next to the pier. The friends wandered for a while and met many boat operators soliciting business on the road. You are welcome to bring your furry children with you to visit the harbor. Due to time constraints, before going home, the small group decided to visit Shipu Ancient City, which is built along the mountains and facing the sea, and take a look at the 1,670-meter-long ancient street.
❖ Shipu Ancient City
The old streets of the ancient town were built in the Ming Dynasty. Every other section of the road there are moon cave door-style wind and fire walls, which are said to be for fire prevention. A section of stone stairs climbing up is embedded in the hillside. Climbing up the stairs, I can't help but think of Jiufen. Walking along the ancient streets, you can see many old shops that have been deliberately restored: pharmacies, banks, silk shops, tobacco shops, seafood shops, etc. My friend didn't spend much time visiting, but on the way, he met a tough aunt on the ancient street who killed a fat rat that was running rampant with a brick on the spot. The dog slaves and masters were shocked to see it and broke out in cold sweats.
Don’t underestimate Shipu. Although the place is small, it is full of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. There are many famous people here. In ancient times, there was Yu Shiji, an important minister of the Five Dynasties of the Ming Dynasty and the minister of the Ministry of Justice, and recently there was the artist Ke Shouliang.
The Vice Minister's Mansion is the former residence of Yu Shiji. In fact, the contents displayed in it have little to do with this great scholar. There is a resting space in the house, so you can take a rest when you are tired from shopping.
The ancient city was built along with the undulating hills. When you climb to the top, you will reach the city gate. The city gate was constructed according to the situation and was located in a high-control port. It has now become the Guandi Temple. There is also a performance hall nearby, where tourists gather to watch the excitement.
Before leaving the ancient street, you will see the Ke Shouliang Memorial Hall. It displays Ke Shouliang's costumes, props, pictures and videos of various extreme events over the years. We lingered inside for a while before we really left the ancient city.
THE END
Hepu is a place that is not very popular and the scenery is not particularly beautiful. In the right season and on the right day, it is a very suitable place for a dog slave and his master to spend a warm weekend. (You can also go to Shipu for a delicious seafood meal before leaving)
Useful TIPS:
1) Children may easily get sand when playing wildly on the beach, or may be affected by small substances in the sea breeze, causing a large amount of secretions in their eyes. Remember to bring pet eye drops or artificial tears
2) In view of this B&B experience, it is recommended to buy a travel bed cover from Taobao to cover the entire bed, so that even human hair is not afraid of being misunderstood as dog hair.
3) It is recommended that you go to a beauty salon to have your hair treated before going out. Shedding is just like hair loss, it is inevitable, but try to avoid vacuuming at home, so the idea of combing hair outside can easily arouse disgust.
4) You can ask if there are private rooms when dining. It is most ideal and free to dine in a private room, which avoids the opinions of other guests on bringing pets to dine with them.