Day 14 - 15: From Yantai via Dalian to Panjin/Yingkou

Route: 101 km Travel time: 05:41 In motion: 9 hours.

We won't cover much distance in the coming days on our bikes (by the way, I only count the days when we were actually riding our bicycles).

Day 14: Upon arriving in Yantai, we take advantage of the sunny midday to explore the area with our bikes and go swimming. Later, thick clouds gather and it starts to rain in the afternoon.

For the ferry crossing to Dalian, Zhaoyang organizes tickets for us and our bikes the next day. The ferry takes about 7 hours and we arrive in Dalian in the dark. It was about time, as the air in the 8-bed cabin was almost depleted.

It rains incessantly again. Zhaoyang's girlfriend takes us in her car for a 'sightseeing tour in the rain'. The coastline around Dalian is varied, with green hills, wide beaches, and many bridges... Unfortunately, it stays rainy and we decide to cover the next leg to Baluquan (approx. 160 km) by van. It's a pity, we would have liked to spend more time in Dalian, but we must move on.

Day 15: Finally, the weather has improved and from Baluquan, we head north along the coast to Panjin (a district of Yingkou). We pass by much industry, wind farms, and fish farms. We encounter only a few untouched areas. Then we reach the Daliao River near Yingkou, which we cross over a nearly 4 km long bridge at dizzying heights.

Early in the evening, mist rises from the sea, enveloping the area in fog. Everything is damp, but the temperatures are pleasantly cool at around 27 degrees.

At the hotel, we experience a nice surprise: The hotel manager has learned that we are guests from abroad traveling with bicycles. He is excited and lets us move to a large luxury room so we can rest from our 'struggles'. I feel guilty because we booked our room at a very cheap rate and now this unexpected upgrade (the luxury room would normally cost four times as much).

Our next destination is the 170 km distant Huludao, unfortunately, there are no overnight options in between, so we book a van again. Well, that’s one way to move your bikes...

By the way, the multi-day heavy rain has not been without consequences. Further to the northeast, where we originally planned our next leg, over 200,000 people have been evacuated due to flooding. The rivers are bringing floodwaters, and we are glad that we are following another route back to Beijing now.

Oh yes, since we are traveling along the coast, it’s no surprise to find seafood restaurants everywhere. Friends of Zhaoyang invited us to dinner, and one specialty after another is served. Thus, it comes that we eat sea cucumber for the first time in our lives. This delicacy has little taste of its own, is very crunchy, and after chewing, it feels like you have a mouth full of chewed tasteless gummy bears. The rice soup in which the sea cucumber swims provides the necessary seasoning. The sea cucumber is supposed to be healthy anyway, as it is rich in protein and contains neither fat nor carbohydrates. We also tried sea worms, but I couldn't warm up to the cartilage-like consistency...