Today, Penglai still plays second fiddle to Yantai, who administers it as a county-level city, and the few blocks of new apartments and malls near the tourist attractions are encircled by fishing villages. These now mainly cater to Penglai’s growing reputation as a regional tourism hub, offering room and board to visitors who come from Beijing, Tianjin, and elsewhere in Shandong for beaches slightly cleaner than Yantai’s and seafood fresh off the boats.

The Penglai Pavilion, the city’s only 5A tourist attraction, is a must-see on any visitor’s itinerary; one can get a pretty comprehensive lesson in local history from the eponymous fortress, the on-site Dengzhou Museum, and Penglai Ancient Ship Museum. For those visiting with children, Penglai Ocean Aquarium is adjacent to the Pavilion and claims to be the biggest aquarium in Asia, while Europark offers standard amusement park attractions and European-style architecture.

A newer attraction, the Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea Scenic Area, pays tribute to the ancient legend and has an on-site cinema showing footage from two Fata Morgana spotted in 1988 and 2005. The massive Three Immortal Mountains Scenic Area nearby is a homage to China’s traditional religions and the eccentric tastes of its owner—a local property tycoon who amassed a unique collection of precious objects ranging from an 11-faced statue of the Guanyin bodhisattva to priceless “tree jade,” petrified snakes, and state gifts received by Chinese leaders.

This article is an excerpt from "Rivers Deep, Mountain High," TWOC's recent book on Shandong province.