I've travelled (and lived!) quite a lot in Shandong province.<p>The area slightly west of Yantai, where the tunnel is apparently supposed to land (judging by the map in the article), is known as Penglai. This area was a small historic port near a promontary that used to be known in Chinese literature as where the eight immortals cross the ocean. This is apparently due to visual phenomena during certain weather conditions that make it appear as if there are magically appearing islands offshore. It's also claimed by some (perhaps local tourist authorities, only) to be where China's first totalitarian ruler, Qin Shi Huang, sent hundreds of young children out in to the ocean in search of his own immortality. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penglai_City" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penglai_City</a><p>Unfortunately, what used to be a beautiful area (a hugely historic small fishing port, and lots of old architecture) was ... in the manner of so many historic potential tourist attractions across China ... completely flattened and then rebuilt as a "new" old town by the local authorities; complete with surrounding wall!<p>Some shots of the destruction: <a href="http://pratyeka.org/penglai-destroyed/" rel="nofollow">http://pratyeka.org/penglai-destroyed/</a> .. I have shots from prior to the destruction, but not online. Basically it was a vibrant port with an ancient history.<p>Also nearby in Shandong province are some lesser known (and some relatively well known) attractions:<p>(1) the world soccer federation approved (great pictures of cafe-dining on a Swiss junket in the museum there!) original home of football (the Chinese invented everything, you know!), in <i>Linzi</i>.<p>(2) the ancient capital of <i>Qingzhou</i>, the site of the 1996 discovery of the largest hoard of Buddhist statuary of the entire 20th century, some Buddhist carved mountain grottoes, and some of the oldest mosques in the country; <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qingzhou" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qingzhou</a> [MY PICK]<p>(3) the historical (Tang Dynasty; ~1000 years ago) route of Ennin (<i>Yuanren</i>), a Japanese Buddhist monk who travelled by ship to China in search of Buddhist lore, recorded his direct observations in colloquial Chinese (perhaps to sharpen his language), and has since become one of the most important sources on the average person's lot during what is commonly considered to be China's apex era; the Tang. Interested hackers can can follow a previous retracing of his steps that I helped to facilitate: <a href="http://pratyeka.org/ennin/" rel="nofollow">http://pratyeka.org/ennin/</a><p>(4) the waters of <i>Zhang Bogo</i>, a Korean Chinese pirate captain who grew to significant fame operating off the east of the peninsula at about the same time; <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jang_Bogo" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jang_Bogo</a><p>(5) <i>Taishan</i>, one of the most sacred mountains of China; particularly used by ancient emperors; <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taishan" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taishan</a><p>(6) <i>Qufu</i>, the home of Confucius (unversally hated by travellers for its strange, endemic hassle; but some nice sculptures in the temple and massive outdoor family mausoleum) <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qufu" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qufu</a><p>(7) The Grand Canal that linked historic northern and southern China, primarily for supporting the north with the year-round agricultural produce of the south; <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Canal_%28China%29" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Canal_%28China%29</a><p>(8) <i>Dezhou</i>, an otherwise uninteresting little town on the Grand Canal which was the final resting place for a Philippino muslim Sultan who came to visit the Chinese emperor and is sometimes thought to have been poisoned by the Chinese state .. possibly in retribution for not showing enough deferential respect for the emperor .. on his homeward journey; his flunkies decided to settle to protect the tomb and take local wives; thus many locals are partly descended from Phillipinos! <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dezhou" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dezhou</a><p>(9) The former German treaty port of Qingdao, with some nice architecture and China's most famous beer; <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qingdao" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qingdao</a><p>(10) The former British treaty port of Weihai, where well to do Shanghai residents took their summer holidays; this featured prominently in later wars; <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weihai" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weihai</a><p>(11) Much of China's wine production. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shandong#Wine_industry" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shandong#Wine_industry</a><p>(12) The site of Fa Xian's landing in 412. Fa Xian was one of the most important of the few well recorded pilgrims in early Chinese history who went to India in search of Buddhist scriptures; thus paving the way for Buddhism's further expansion (including to Japan and Korea). <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faxian" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faxian</a><p>All in all, an interesting part of China. Though largely destroyed by industrial development these days, it hides some fascinating history for the motivated.