Because of its fair weather and extensive coasts Yantai is a popular summer retreat. Like many other cities in China, Yantai has improved and upgraded many tourist sites targeted at both national and international tourists. An example of these improvements is the remodeling of the beach area to better accommodate patrons. It is also home to Asia's first bowling alley, which is located on the fourth floor of Parksons department store. There is also the haunted house, a highly exhilarating tourist attraction.

Long Island

Long Island, it’s called Temple-Island Islands in history, also called the long-mountain archipelago. It’s comprised of 32 islands, and the land area is 56 square km, the sea area is 8,700 square km, the coastline is 146 km. Long Island belongs to Yantai City.

Long Island belongs to the East Asian monsoon region continental climate, and it’s warm in winter, cool in summer. The annual average temperature is 19 ℃. The forest coverage rate of the whole town is 53.2%. The unique geographic location and good climate makes it an indispensable place of the movement of migratory birds, and every year 200 kinds of birds, as many as 1 million, fly through the Long Island.

Long Island has fresh air and quiet environment. The sea water is clean, without pollution. The whole year is a good tourism season.

Penglai

Penglai, located at the northernmost tip of the Shandong peninsula, is a charming city with beautiful seascape. Penglai has long been a popular tourist destination thanks to the stunningly beautiful Penglai Pavilion and a mirage appearing on the nearby sea.

Penglai Pavilion is often referred to a place of the gods in Chinese mythology, thanks to its stunningly beautiful scenery. For example, the well-known legend of Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea was said to take place here. The Pavilion, about 1000 years'old, is perched on a cliff top, overlooking the sea. It is considered as one of the four greatest ancient pavilions in China ( the other three pavilions being the Yallow Crane Pavilion in Wuhan, Hubei Province, Yueyang Pavilion in Yueyang City, Hunan Province and Tengwang Pavilion in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province).

Except the pavilion, there are other temples in the island. Visitors can walk around the tree-shaded trails among the buildings and take in the scenery of the buildinngs'grey titles interspersed with greenery. Or one can ascend to the top of the pavilion and enjoy the ever-changing view of the sea dotted with islands. If you are particularly lucky, you are likely to see a mirage.

Penglai can be easily visited as a day trip from Yantai. From Penglai, visitors can extend their trip to the Changdao Islands, which are chains of islands in the Bohai Sea, and which are known for their sandy beaches and picturesque limestone cliffs.

Horse-rearing Island

The "Horse-rearing Island" lies 3 kilometers from Yantai in the Yellow Sea, and is about 10 square kilometers in size. Legend has it that in 219 BC, Emperor Qinshihuang visited this island, and was deeply impressed by the agreeable climate and lush grassland there. Then he issued a decree to name the island the "Imperial Horse-rearing Island" and horses of fine breeds were thereupon reared and tamed on this treasured island.

Nowadays visitors flock to this island for the weekly horse races. They are held on weekends on a modern racetrack with a total of ten thousand seats. The newly-developed "Heavenly Steed Bathing Beach" lies near the eastern tip of the island and has fine quartz sand. Other places for entertainment include the Xiyouji Palace, Ocean World and Jinxiu City.

Yantai Hill

Yantai Hill, in the north of the city proper and surrounded by sea on three sides, houses a large collection of colonial-era Western architecture.

After they took over Yantai, the British took advantage of the beautiful settings of Yantai Hill and built their consulate, churches and post offices there. Several other nations, including the U.S., France and Japan, followed the British and built their consulates and other facilities in the mountain, turning it into a foreign settlement. The buildings have been well preserved, so much so that the park is renowned as a living museum of Western treaty port architecture.

Other attractions in the park include Beacon Tower, Stone Ship and Dragon Temple.

Yantai Museum

Unlike the museum in Beijing and Xi'an, which wow visitors with their culture and historical exhibitions, Yantai Museum attract travelers for its architecture rather than the displays housed within it.

The buildings were originally built by merchants from Fujian Province, in south China as a place of worship to the Heavenly Goddess, protector of sailors. No wonder it followed the architectural style of Fujian, which is exquisitely carved and resplendently painted.

Construction began in 1884 and finished in 1906 with more than 20 years’ effort. It was designed and completed in Quanzhou, a city in Fujian Province, and shipped for a long distance of 3,500 miles to Yantai for assembly. 

The complex covers an area of 3,500 square meters, and is brightly decorated with exquisitely carvings, so much so that it has been renowned as "a treasure of carving art". The themes of these sculptures are mainly birds, flowers, animals and figures important in Chinese legends, which are also the main subjects of Chinese painting and sculpture. These carvings not only add beauty and magnificence to the architecture, but portray scenes and legends.

Moushi Manor

Moushi Manor, near the city of Yantai, Shandong Province, is the residence for generations of Mou Molin Family, the most wealthy and powerful landlord of Qing Dynasty in north China. 

It is the best-preserved and most typical residential complex of landlords of the Qing Dynasty. The manor contains six courtyards, covering an area of 20,000 square meters, with over 480 rooms. All the buildings are colorfully carved and painted with flowers and animals. The patterns of flowers on the lattice windows are vividly carved and painted to the point that birds will be cheated and think them are the real things.

Walls of the manor were built up with river tiles of different colors, which look like the skin of tiger, and these walls are therefore called "tiger walls". These tiles were so evenly applied with very thin space in between, that the walls are as smooth as a mirror. Legend goes that coins were inserted in between the gravels in order to fill space between them so as to achieve the smoothness of the whole wall.

The most resplendent wall in the complex was made of 386 hexagonal-shaped tiles. Each of the 386 tiles, adorned with surrounding colored pebbles, forms a flower in hexagonal shape. The 386 tiles connect with each other, such that when viewed from a distance, they form a geometric pattern consisting of hundreds of flowers.

When designed their residential buildings, the Moushi Families probably had never imagined that they would have created an architectural wonder, which amaze later architects and travelers. But they did. The manor has been renowned as "little forbidden city" and "treasure of architectural art" due to its grandeur and large scale.

Kunyu Mountain

Kunyu Mountain is a high and vast mountain towering over areas of Yantai and neighboring Weihai. It is the highest mountain in the east of the Shandong Peninsula, with the highest peak over 900 meters above sea level.

Kunyu Mountain offers pristinely beautiful natural scenery. The mountain is covered by lush ancient trees, among which flow numerous clear streams. Countless mysterious and deep gorges largely remain untouched by human beings. The sound of waterfalls and the chirping of birds blend harmoniously with the quietness of the mountain. The mist-shrouded peaks add a mysterious touch. The original ecosystem is well-preserved, making the charming and inviting natural beauty worthy of added appreciation. The mountain lays claim to over 1000 species of plants and animals.

Mount Kunyu is also famous for its religious and cultural heritage, since it was revered by both Taoist monks and Chinese emperors, the latter often arriving to Mount Kunyu in search of the elixir of life, the belief in the existence of which was widespread at the time. It is not surprising that Daoist temples, monasteries, pavilions are scattered here and there all over the mountain. Some of the temples are still in active use and keep attracting pilgrims.

Changyu Wine Museum

Changyu Wine Museum, located at the formal site of Chongyu Wine Company (No. 56 Dama Road), in Yantai City, traces the history of Changyu wine from 18th century up to 21st century.

Changyu was founded in 1892 in the city of Yantai, in east China’s Shandong Province, as a small wine maker. It has developed into an internationally recognized wine brand whose Brandy, Red Wine, Vermouth and Riesling white wine is loved by wine lovers throughout the world.

The museum contains two parts: a display area and an underground wine cellar. The display area showcases the development and changes Changyu Wine has undergone during the past century, through pictures and videos.

The underground cellar cover an area of over 2,600 square meters, and contains eight interlocked arches. It is 7 meters in depth, less than 100 meters away from the coastline, and was the first underground wine cellar in Asia when it was completed in 1903. There are over 600 barrels in the cellar.

The barrels used for storing wine are made of oak. Three King-Barrels, each with the capacity of housing 15 tones of wine, are the largest wine barrels in Asia, which have a history of over 100 years.