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Beijing by the beach By Annette Kossow The quickening sets in around July. Suddenly all around the city, there's less time, less energy, less clothing. Tempers fray, air conditioners groan and insects nibble private parts. Enough already. Broad sun-stoned beaches. White heat. Scorched yellow palms. Bamboo huts, swaying hammocks, drowsy, long, hot summer days. Days you have held, days you have lost, days that outgrow, like daughters, our harboring arms. Pack your bags. We're going on a summer holiday. And don't forget the suntan lotion. Hebei - Liaoning - Shandong - Guangxi - Fujian - Hainan Attractions: Beidahe and Shanhaiguan Qinhuandao, in the northeast of Hebei Province, is a tourist port city in North China opening to the outside world. Qinhuangdao has Beidaihe to the west, a famous seaside resort with soft and smooth beaches, a calm water surface and light surf. Beidahe is dotted with several scores of sea bathing grounds. To its east, backed on to the mountains and facing the sea, Shanhaiguan Pass is strategically located, formed of a gate tower, watch tower, ramparts and walls built in the Ming Dynasty, and known as "the First Pass under Heaven." From Shanghaiguan, you can easily go to the beach to see the place where the Great Wall meets the sea, and then cycle to the other spot where it enters the mountains. This can all be done in one day. Transport: Take train T503 at Beijing Railway Station, which goes to Qinghuandao. Attractions: Dalian Dalian's beaches with their attached parks are the main reason to go here, especially now the football team is so bad. Major beaches lie to the south of downtown. Lahutan Park has a rocky beach rather poor for swimming. Fujiazhuang is best: fine sand in a deep bay. Xinghai Park has a crowded beach. Jinshitan (golden stone beach) has splendid coves and rock formations. Lying at the seashore of the Bohai Sea and 16.2 km to the center of Dalian, north Ganjingzi District, Xiajiahezi Beach is a part of Jinzhou Bay. Being the largest shallow inland sea beach of Dalian, Xiajiahezi is 1,000 meters long with a new crescent shape, embraced at its east and west sides by high hills. Its wide expanse of even, fine sand and shallow, warm water are the key attraction. Transport: Dalian has both domestic and international air connections. Direct trains K81 and 2529 go from Beijing to Dalian. Ships depart at 7 pm from Tanggu on odd dates (July 1, 3, 5...etc.) and return from Dalian on even dates. Tickets can be bought at Lainyun ticket office at No.88 Dongsibei Dajie. The ticket includes bus to Tanggu Port and ship fare. A third-class ticket is RMB280, RMB470 first class. Bus departs from Zhaogong-kou long-distance bus station at 2.30pm. Attractions: Qingdao, Yantai Qingdao, on the Yellow Sea, is the province's largest city. It is well-known for its beaches and tasty Tsingtao Beer (old pinyin has stuck) and Laoshan mineral water. The city is pretty with hills, trees and red-tiled roofs. It has six beaches, usually crowded in summer. The No.1 Bathing Beach enjoys the most-favored status in Qingdao. It has a 580-meter stretch of fine sand, lots of facilities, multi-colored bathing sheds and restaurants. No. 2 Bathing Beach is smaller, quieter and more sheltered than No. 1 and is preferred when No. 1 Beach is overloaded. Forty kilometers east of Qingdao is the Laoshan Mountain, home of the eight Taoist Immortals. Transport: Trains T25 and 2539 go from Beijing Railway Station to Qingdao. Yantai (Smoke Tower) is another coastal city on the Bohai Sea. It is one of the prettiest small cities in China, nestled between the sea and gentle hills. Yantai's beaches are not the greatest -- they are unsheltered and prone to heavy wind-lashing.The main one is hemmed in at the southwest side by an industrial complex and a naval establishment. No. 2 Beach, out by the Zhifu Hotel, is smaller and more pleasant, but difficult to get to. Yantai is a must for seafood lovers. It produces prawns, abalone, scallops and jellyfish. Transport: Take train 2547 which goes from Beijing Railway Station to Yantai. Attractions: Weizhou Island Weizhou Island, 36 sea miles from Beihai, is the largest volcanic island in China. The journey to Weizhou takes three hours by small ferry. Keep in mind that it can be a rough trip in poor weather. From the top of the island, there is a grand view of the sea and beach. A long, winding narrow path of steps descends to a good view of the caves formed in the side of the volcanic crater that now forms the bay. These caves were popular with ancient South Sea pirates. The island is also famous for colorful corals and shellfish. A relaxing idea sitting here in sweltering Beijing is to think of taking a walk by this island's beautiful coral beach. Attractions: Gulangyu Island Gulangyu Island, separated from Xiamen Island by the 500-meter-wide Egret River, was renamed Gulang in the Ming Dynasty, meaning "Drum waves", as the waves crashing into the southwestern reefs sound like a drum. Today, the entire island is free from any sort of vehicles and particularly quiet.
The Eastern Beach (Dadeji) lies south of the statue of Koxinga which overlooks Xiamen port. The beach can be accessed via the park surrounding the statue but this requires the payment of an entrance fee. At the edge of the beach there is a huge banyan tree under which sit tables and chairs. The beach is a seething mass of humanity on the weekends, but almost deserted during the weekdays. Transportation: The ferry to Gulangyu leaves from Xiamen city. Xiamen has flights to all major domestic destinations around China. It is worth noting that fares on the ferry to Gulangyu are collected on board once the trip is underway. Tickets for the upper deck and tokens for the lower deck on the return trip are bought at a ticket booth on the Gulangyu side of the ferry wharf. There are innumerable ticketing offices around town, some of which are in hotels. Take train K107 from Beijing. It goes directly to Xiamen. Attractions: Sanya Sanya's best swimming spot is Yalong Bay. Its fine white sand is incredibly soft and pure, with crystal clear waters even when sea waves surge and beat the coast. The three-kilometer long bay, which used to be a large wilderness area, is the only national holiday zone in the tropical regions of China. Wuzhi Island is a star among the newly opened tourist attractions, lying in the blue waters of Haitang Bay northeast of Sanya city, 2.7 kilometers from the wharf at Linwang. It takes only 10 minutes to get to the island by speedboats and another 10 minutes will be enough to circle the 1.48-square kilometer island. The current developer is making careful use of this green islet's natural terrain to introduce bamboo bungalows, one-story houses, swimming pools, paths, swings, stone tables and stools nicely hidden under the shade of swaying trees. The water around Wuzhi is so clear you can see right to its bottom 25 to 70 meters below, providing divers of all levels with many good sites. The rocks around Wuzhi also form ideal fishing terraces. Transport: There are daily flights between South China cities and Sanya. Buses and taxis go from the airport to downtown and Yalong Bay. For sightseeing, taxis and motor tricycles are available. A one-day trip in a hired car from a hotel costs around 600 yuan. From Linwang, boats take visitors back and forth to Wuzhi.
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As far as the beaches go, the main area of activity is the West Beach (Gangzaihou), defined by clear water and sand and hundreds of people at any one time.