China Beaches?

Many travellers ask us: does China have beaches? (yes) And can I spend a few relaxing days at the beach at the end of my China itinerary? (yes.... but...)

China has 14,500km of coastline, some of which is located in a tropical climate zone. In any case, there's ample opportunity to spend time in a beach chair on a tropical beach at the end of your China trip.

Most travel organisations do not offer China's beaches in their travel programme. We offer China's beaches on Hainan Island near Canton, Putuoshan near Shanghai and Hong Kong.

The Chinese consider a brown skin as something inferior: only workers who live outside on the cities have a skin coloured by the sun. A white, light skin means status and wealth. But saying that, with the increasing influence of the Western culture, it's now common to find Chinese sun worshipers too.

For these reasons China's beaches are not generally over developed, but there is usually a selection of accommodation, and a few resturants and bars only a short walk from the beaches.

Another point is that due to the geography of China, beaches are not so easy to work into the end of your time there. Most travellers travel start in Beijing, and head south towards Hong Kong or Shanghai. If it's your first time to China, and you want to see and do as much as possible, and only have between 1 and 3 weeks, it will not leave you a lot of time for the beach, as the extra effort to get to them eats into your overall time.

Below is a list of the most important/popular beaches destinations, each with their benefits and drawbacks.

Hainan Island

You'll find the most beautiful China beaches here: white powdery sand, palm trees, tropical climate, diving and other water sports are available. One disadvantage is that you'll have to fly to the island and that there are no other attractions around besides Canton.

Click here to go to the 'Hainan Island beach paradise' China tour module.

Putuoshan Island

You can take the ferry from Shanghai to Putuoshan Island, where you can spend several relaxing days in an area with ancient temples, pagodas and deserted beaches.

Although Putuoshan isn't a tropical island, it is a great place to get a tan on the broad, brown sandy beaches. Since Chinese do not engage in sunbathing and there are few foreigners here, except for maybe one or two ex-pats from Shanghai, the island is very peaceful. It's a great place to go for walks through ancient villages, visit temples and meet the friendly locals playing a game of Mah-jong on the street.

Click here to go to the 'Putuoshan.... the island that time forgot' China tour module.

Hong Kong

If your China trip ends in Hong Kong you can choose from the following three options:

* stay in Kowloon and go on day trips from here to the beaches of Repulse Bay of Shek O on Hong Kong Island or to the Sai Kung peninsula
* stay at Lantau island at Silvermine Bay
* stay in Kowloon at a resort hotel with a large pool deck, such as the Harbour Plaza Hotel

We suggest staying at a resort in the centre of Kowloon since the beaches in this cosmopolitan are becoming more and more polluted. You can swim in the water; however the water is not clear and the beaches aren't as beautiful as those on Hainan Island or Putuoshan Island.

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