Beijing Self-Driving Tour to Dongying: A Two-Day, One-Night Itinerary (with Guide)

I originally planned to go to Binzhou, but on a whim, I navigated to Dongying.
I really love Dongying. Having been to so many cities, Dongying's roads are wide and in good condition, making it a comfortable place for self-driving.

Itinerary:
Day 1: Yellow River Estuary Eco-Tourism Area
Day 2: Gudong Seawall
Accommodation:
Chengzi Hotel near Wanda Plaza, CNY 169/night. It's a newly opened hotel that's cheap and clean. Highly recommended. Chengzi Hotel (Dongying Petroleum University Wanda Plaza Xicheng Branch)

🚗 About Activities:
📍 Yellow River Estuary:
💰 Tickets + sightseeing bus: CNY 85/person; River-sea confluence boat ticket: CNY 169/person
A huge ecological scenic area, about an hour's drive from the city center. The scenery along the way is also beautiful, and I saw many people digging for wild vegetables by the roadside.
Many people go to see the "Mandarin Duck Hot Pot" (where the Yellow River meets the sea), but the queue during the holidays is really long. We waited for almost three hours. The boat ride takes one and a half hours round trip, just to see the confluence of the river and the sea. If the wind and waves are too strong, you can't go to the deck. Some people say you can call in advance to ask if the boat will be running that day, but it changes in real time. When we went, it was originally closed in the morning, but then it opened again at noon. It is recommended to take the sightseeing bus directly to the Yuanwang Tower and then walk back.
There's not much to eat inside, so be sure to bring your own snacks. I was starving when I came out.

📍 Gudong Seawall
About a 70-minute drive from the city center. It's a very long coastline with a paid entrance, CNY 30/person, but it's not really necessary to go there. If you drive a little further, you'll reach a free area.
This place is great for catching crabs and sea snails. There are so many, and the sea water is very blue.
You can also bring some simple camping equipment and enjoy the sea breeze and play games with friends. It's so pleasant.

🫕 About Food:
✅ Village Chief's Noodle Soup: The prawn noodle soup is super delicious; the steamed wild vegetables are delicious and highly recommended; the stir-fried chicken is just average; the braised pork is quite recommended. Village Chief's Noodle Soup (Dongying Tea City Branch)
✅ Yellow River Estuary Seafood: The stone pot flounder head is delicious and a little fatty; the oysters in the steamed seafood pot are very plump; the seafood pot stickers are made with shrimp and cucumber, which is very refreshing. Yellow River Estuary Seafood (Huifeng Branch)
✅ Lijin Fried Buns: I'm not a big fan because the bun skin isn't very soft and the meat inside is a bit fatty.
✅ Seaweed Noodles: I found an old shop in a market. The seaweed noodles were so delicious that I highly recommend them to everyone.
✅ Bafenchang Cold Noodles: Delicious, without sesame sauce, very refreshing. We even packed two bags to take back to Beijing. Bafenchang Cold Noodles Old Shop