Ah, strolling along the coast, the surf washing against your feet, looking for the perfect palm to shade you from the sun’s pleasant rays. You lie down beneath one, the shade engulfing you in its chilled embrace, and quickly drift off, like a piece
of flotsam being carried down stream, only the soft thud of a falling coconut wakes you.’
WAIT! That wasn’t a coconut, but another three inch report dropped on your desk, and you’re not in paradise, but in a dusty little locker they call an office. And, what you imagined as the soft sound of one of the Siren’s of the sea singing ‘What can I do for you?,’ it is actually your oppressive and boring boss bearing down on you shouting, ‘What can you do for me?!’
Not sure if you will find Sirens, but that’s what dreams are for, and what a better place to let your mind run free, then that of Beihai.
With its southern location, directly on the Beibu Gulf Coast, along the South China Sea, the weather is subtropical and the nightly breezes off the sea help to stifle the extreme humidity that accompanies the summer months. Beihai’s fresh air and clean waters will be a refreshing break from the often smog-filled and polluted cities found in most of China’s cities.
Beihai may be a popular tourist destination for many Chinese tourists, people who are in search of white-sands, fresh seafood, and Beihai’s famous southern pearls. But most foreigners who live in China are not aware of Beihai, and often head to other similar locations such as Xiamen, Hainan or Qingdao. It may lack the more international charm you may find in Qindao or the moderness of Xiamen, but Beihai is economically friendlier and has been under major reconstruction for the past two years, with the hopes of attracting more Chinese as well as foreign tourists.
In 1992, the city, more specifically the beachfront along Silver Beach exploded into an odd mix of ancient Greek statues, miniature coliseums, and Swiss styled chalets. Policies changed, investor’s cash ran out, and these hulking empty structures were left to decay.
Thankfully, the city and a new wave of investors have decided to renovate and demolish, changing an eye-sore ridden coast into a tropical paradise, fit with blowing palms and wooden boardwalks.
There are many beaches to be explored, Silver Beach (Yintang, 15 yuan by taxi from the main square downtown) being the most famous and touted as the most splendid in China. They lay claim to the finest and whitest sands, a pure pleasure just to stroll all along, whiling away the hours, with no true destination in mind, the gentle breeze blowing away all of your worldly concerns. Whoops, sorry, started to slip there. Another popular beach with the locals, Qiao Gong Beach, found in Qiao Gong, home to many Vietnamese refugees, from the SinoViet conflict in 1979. And Beihai’s best kept secret, Nanwan Beach, known to the locals as a quiet spot for romantic walks and amazing sunsets.
And, if seafood wets your appetite, then you are in the right place. Make your way to Weisha Island, an upscale spit or peninsula located just north of Beihai. You will find a large collection of ornately built and decorated restaurants, serving any kind of seafood imaginable, from shark fin soup to sand worms (native to Beihai). If you are counting your pennies, then skip Weisha and stop at any of the little food stalls that litter the streets, (a large concentration can be found at the Chan Qing or Qi Dong Night Markets) and you will find fresh seafood, and simpler dishes, shrimp, shells, oysters, etc., at a fraction of the cost and eaten like the locals, amongst the palms, under the stars, smoked barbecue and the occasionally unpleasant wafts of stinky tofu permeating the air.
Is there anything else to do besides satisfying your palette with seafood, snorkeling and shopping for pearls and shelled jewelry? How about the Mangrove forest just outside of the city, or stroll up and down old Beihai, located near Weisha Island, and you can catch a glimpse of Beihai before its modernization, where the fisherman still live, mending nets and drying fish along the sides of the narrow roads from the often smog-filled and polluted cities found in most of China’s cities, then. As with seafarers anywhere across the globe, libations loosen lips and allow for truer if not slightly exaggerated tales of adventure and the everyday lives of the Beihai people, from pirates to mermaids.
A three hour ferry ride will take you to Weizhou Island, China’s oldest extinct volcanic island or even closer, Star Isle Lake (Hongchaojiang Reservoir,) surrounded by old temples and evergreens.
If you are traveling with the family, they will love playing on Silver Beach, where they have toys for young and old, jet skis and dune buggies. If the kids want to learn more about what they may just be swimming next to, take them to Underwater World, a giant aquarium located inside of Haibin Park, with its own crocodile feeding pit, where you are the ones who actually feed the large reptiles. But, keep an eye on the kids, the crocs are looking for fresher meat.
Getting across the city is never a problem, and if you have a day or two, take a leisurely walk through the parks, across the markets, and down the main streets, and you can cover most of the city in less than four hours. If you would like to rest your legs, hop in a petty cab and for 20-30 yuan, you will receive a tour of the city, as a wiry but tough driver navigates the busy traffic of grandmas on electric bikes and kids and their exploding fireworks.
The streets stay open late, and the crowds, from the crawling to the aging; do not head home until late into the night. In Beihai, most of the residents are not rushed, moving along in no real hurry, knowing that whatever is waiting, will still be there whenever they get there, be it the multitude of restaurants and shops or friends, new and old.
So keep your patience if things seem to crawl along like a sandworm on your plate, and just remember the old Chinese proverb, ‘One step at a time is good walking.’ Beihai’s pace reminds you to do just that, nothing rushed, so there is always time to smell the roses and a chance to appreciate the new and unexpected.
So, swing along in your hammock, with a fresh coconut drink in hand, grab a mike, and start to belt out one of your favorite karaoke songs as the sun slowly sets on a little bit of China’s paradise.
.
Beihai is located in Guangxi Province, approximately three hours south of Nanning, the capital of the province.
*Beihai has a train station that will take you to Nanning, bus stations (both long distance and local), and an airport, the best routes usually stemming from Nanning or Guangzhou. There is also an overnight ferry to Hainan.