Visit Laobian Gully in Benxi for the May Day holiday to see the valleys filled with blooming azaleas!

⚠️⚠️Important things first! The azalea sea is not in the gully of Laobian Gully, it's on another hiking trail! Visit Laobian Gully for the azaleas on May Day, the Yinhong and Xing'an azaleas are in season. 🌺Photo date: 2024.04.25 🌺Laobian Gully Azalea Blooming Period Mid-April to early May for Yinhong Azaleas Late April to early May for Xing'an Azaleas Early to mid-May for Dazi Azaleas Mid-May to early June for Huangyang Azaleas 🌺At the end of April, the azalea sea is concentrated in two places: the forest sea of flowers at the Phoenix Peak on the mountain and the azalea sea at the South/North Donkey Slope at the foot of the mountain. Phoenix Peak is the highest point of Laobian Gully, mostly Yinhong azaleas, spread over the slopes with peculiar peaks and rocks without streams. South/North Donkey Slope is halfway up the mountain, mostly Xing'an azaleas, with trails circling around the two scenic spots. The azalea sea in the pine forest is quite special, with azaleas in the gully accompanied by the babbling stream, very beautiful. 🌺Travel tips At the entrance, you can take a sightseeing car with two stops: South Donkey Slope and Phoenix Peak. (The azalea stops may change depending on the blooming period) One-way ticket is 10 yuan/round-trip 20 yuan, if you buy a one-way ticket you can go directly to Phoenix Peak and walk down, about 4 kilometers one-way, downhill, relatively easy. Remember to take a picture of the map at the entrance, the ticket only has the scenic spots along the gully, not useful. Walking down from Phoenix Peak station, it is recommended to take the road, the valley plank road is easy to walk to the bottom of the gully. If you want to see azaleas again without returning to the mountain top the same way, you need to climb back to near North Donkey Slope via Kanglian Road, or walk along the bottom of the gully to near the parking lot and then climb up to South Donkey Slope, both are quite strenuous. In April and May, the temperature in the gully is low, with only water, the leaves are just turning green, the scenery is average. 🌺Laobian Gully Scenic Area Address: Dongyingfang Township, Benxi Manchu Autonomous County, Benxi City Opening hours: 7:30-17:00 Ticket: 78 yuan/adult (69 yuan if purchased one day in advance) Parking fee: 10 yuan/vehicle 🍁Laobian Gully is more famous for its maple leaves, very beautiful in autumn The temperature in the mountains is lower than outside, need to wear more. Off-season, except for snack stalls near the parking fee, there is nothing on the mountain, need to bring your own. Laobian Gully is connected to Dashihu Scenic Area, if you have time, you can visit both. Besides mountains and rivers, hot springs and lamb soup are specialties of Benxi.