It’s been awhile since we’ve left the city and the weather has been rough recently. We’re experiencing springtime rain showers near daily and for some reason we’ve had strangely high levels of wind blowing through the city. A nightmare for umbrellas. And it howls past my twentieth story windows during the night. 下下雨，大风多了. Xiaxia yu, dafeng duole. Lots of rain, lots of wind.
But this weekend was perfect. Super warm and sunny. We decided to go to the beach. Now I know what you’re thinking, beach in Shanghai??? You’d certainly be right to think so. Beaches are not really a Chinese thing unless you make your way down to the southeast Asian Chinese coastline, Hainan, Hong Kong, etc. The greater Shanghai area has some opportunities to escape the heat. There are a few pools open to the public, 50 kuai entry fee, bathing caps are mandatory, and dudes wear thongs. There is also a man made “beach” along the south part of the Bund where 100 kuai gets you entry and the chance to rent a lawn chair and sun tan by the murky banks of the river Huangpo (黄坡). Not my cup of tea. But there is an actual ocean-side beach in the southern suburban town of Jinshan (金山, golden mountain). One of my classmates has been there and described it as “doable”. So we thought we’d get a group together and make a day trip of it. And we had the long weekend free of work and classes, China’s May Day holiday was well underway.
Eight of us then woke up early on Friday morning and set out, flip flopping our way to Line 3, a twenty minute walk from the university. Jinshan is not close, and therefore makes the beach seem more desirable. We took Line 3 from Jiangwan City in northern Shanghai to the city’s South Station, an hour and a half away. Then we hopped a regional bus to take us another painstaking 90 minutes to the coast. Jinshan is well in the south and far away from any shipping traffic to the city. There are some visible and unattractive factories in the distance however, both north and south of this beach town. But its distance from the city was its greatest asset and we were happy to have finally arrived. A quick walk from the bus station through the little town led us straight to the beach. We stood along the walkway, perched well above the beach below, and looked out toward the ocean. Here is what we saw.
To be fair, the beach was relatively legit. Nice, soft sand sprawls out along the shore for about a mile in either direction. The beach was packed full of Chinese beach-goers. In the distance, out to sea, there were some really interesting looking islands that looked like perfectly conical volcanoes, kind of Fuji-shaped. There was a haze that blended the warm weather humidity with the omnipresent smog and shrouded the islands in the distance with some air of oriental mystery. But the open ocean broke toward shore onto a monstrous jetty that stretched from the shore to the right and cut parallel to the beach which effectively prevented the waves from reaching shore. This wouldn’t have been a big deal, a lot of beaches do that to protect the boats and beach goers from dangerous open ocean waves, except for the the fact about five yards from where the tepid ocean water met the beach were a series of pile-ons that propped up and strung along a large and lengthy net which effectively prevented anyone from swimming. This was a very disappointing realization as swimming in the ocean was a major goal of mine. Off to the right was a pier that stretched along the shore a ways, acting like a beach-side promenade, and jutted into the water a bit, like an L shape.
We stood there awhile, admiring the view, feeling the breeze a bit. We had brought towels and blankets and picnic-style stuff along with us so we spotted an open area and poked down to the beach for a closer look. The beach was packed with people, all Chinese with a very few exceptions, and everyone was wearing their full city get-up. No bathing suits, no bikinis, no sun hats or flip flops—just normal city clothes, and shoes, and dresses even, at times. We felt a bit exposed as we walked shirtless and bikini clad through the hoards of people. There were a lot of families there, and many of them had propped up tents to escape the sun. So yes, the beach scene was a little different than we were used to but we have been relatively well adapted to this type of cultural experience. We found a spot, camped up, and beached out. We played cards, threw a frisbee around, made some Chinese friends. Three young girls approached the group and chatted with us in Chinese, a great way for us to practice. They wanted to know what our thoughts were of China and what our favorite hobbies were and things like that—we basically talk like toddlers in Chinese anyway, it worked out well.
The photo taking was annoying though. In many parts of China, especially where few foreigners live, photo taking of foreigners is prevalent. Sometimes it happens in subtle ways where people take photos discreetly with their smart phones, hoping to snap a photo without attracting attention. Sometimes it happens with permission (and I usually oblige, why not?) and foreigners pose for a few snaps with individuals or couples or entire families. This happened to me a lot while I stood with my feet ankle deep in the water, hands on my hips, shirtless, ray ban-ed, and beaming with sea-side satisfaction. I got through four or five photos, posing with people before I gave up and retreated back to the group. But sometimes it happens unabashedly, like paparazzi, and that gets annoying. You start to feel like you’re on display for a while, or a zoo attraction. This happened a lot here at the beach. Probably a lot of these people weren’t from the city and may never actually see foreigners in person. It happens a lot. I have been the first foreigner Chinese people have ever seen in person on several occasions. And it makes sense that that would be interesting. It gets old though, quickly, especially here at the beach where at home, at the beaches we are used to, people feel relatively secure in wearing beach attire, sort of an unspoken rule that the beach is a safe zone.
But again, go with the flow. On the flip side, the pier-side promenade was awesome and exceeded any expectations I had. The food and beer were cheap and the atmosphere was lively. Around the pier were some cheap and less than appealing carnival style attractions but the pier itself was worth the visit. The pier was a dense maze of food stalls selling skewered and barbecued seafood and chilled beers. Absolutely perfect. We walked up to one and pointed to different fishes and crustaceans and meats as the man behind the counter put the skewers on a tray for barbecuing. Another nice aspect of the pier was that interaction with the stall keepers was very positive. Out here, no one sees foreigners let alone expect them to speak any Chinese. So our trying to communicate in Chinese was well received. I ordered a crab, three shrimps, and a flayed squid, along with a bowl of fried noodles. The skewers were slow roasted over coals and sprinkled with traditional Chinese spices and lajiao (辣椒, hot Sichuan peppers)—could not have been tastier, all for about four dollars.
After our long day out in the sun, and with bellies full of skewered seafood, we started to head back, it had been a long day and it was around dusk. But as we started heading back towards the road we noticed some beach volleyball courts where a lot of people had congregated and we quickly discovered that the World Beach Volleyball Tour was rolling through Shanghai and was being hosted at this beach. Massive Europeans and Americans were pounding the volleyball to and fro in officiated games. We walked to the center court, a small stadium actually, free and open to the public, and took a seat in the stands and watched as Germany knocked out Spain in a semi-final match. It was very cool and a nice surprise.
It was late and with a three hour ride back to the university, we took off. We were back around 11pm. When all was said and done we spent about seven hours at the beach and were properly tanned. I had a great time but probably won’t go back, to be fair. I was happy for the outing though. A nice way to spend May Day.
But this weekend was perfect. Super warm and sunny. We decided to go to the beach. Now I know what you’re thinking, beach in Shanghai??? You’d certainly be right to think so. Beaches are not really a Chinese thing unless you make your way down to the southeast Asian Chinese coastline, Hainan, Hong Kong, etc. The greater Shanghai area has some opportunities to escape the heat. There are a few pools open to the public, 50 kuai entry fee, bathing caps are mandatory, and dudes wear thongs. There is also a man made “beach” along the south part of the Bund where 100 kuai gets you entry and the chance to rent a lawn chair and sun tan by the murky banks of the river Huangpo (黄坡). Not my cup of tea. But there is an actual ocean-side beach in the southern suburban town of Jinshan (金山, golden mountain). One of my classmates has been there and described it as “doable”. So we thought we’d get a group together and make a day trip of it. And we had the long weekend free of work and classes, China’s May Day holiday was well underway.
Eight of us then woke up early on Friday morning and set out, flip flopping our way to Line 3, a twenty minute walk from the university. Jinshan is not close, and therefore makes the beach seem more desirable. We took Line 3 from Jiangwan City in northern Shanghai to the city’s South Station, an hour and a half away. Then we hopped a regional bus to take us another painstaking 90 minutes to the coast. Jinshan is well in the south and far away from any shipping traffic to the city. There are some visible and unattractive factories in the distance however, both north and south of this beach town. But its distance from the city was its greatest asset and we were happy to have finally arrived. A quick walk from the bus station through the little town led us straight to the beach. We stood along the walkway, perched well above the beach below, and looked out toward the ocean. Here is what we saw.
To be fair, the beach was relatively legit. Nice, soft sand sprawls out along the shore for about a mile in either direction. The beach was packed full of Chinese beach-goers. In the distance, out to sea, there were some really interesting looking islands that looked like perfectly conical volcanoes, kind of Fuji-shaped. There was a haze that blended the warm weather humidity with the omnipresent smog and shrouded the islands in the distance with some air of oriental mystery. But the open ocean broke toward shore onto a monstrous jetty that stretched from the shore to the right and cut parallel to the beach which effectively prevented the waves from reaching shore. This wouldn’t have been a big deal, a lot of beaches do that to protect the boats and beach goers from dangerous open ocean waves, except for the the fact about five yards from where the tepid ocean water met the beach were a series of pile-ons that propped up and strung along a large and lengthy net which effectively prevented anyone from swimming. This was a very disappointing realization as swimming in the ocean was a major goal of mine. Off to the right was a pier that stretched along the shore a ways, acting like a beach-side promenade, and jutted into the water a bit, like an L shape.
We stood there awhile, admiring the view, feeling the breeze a bit. We had brought towels and blankets and picnic-style stuff along with us so we spotted an open area and poked down to the beach for a closer look. The beach was packed with people, all Chinese with a very few exceptions, and everyone was wearing their full city get-up. No bathing suits, no bikinis, no sun hats or flip flops—just normal city clothes, and shoes, and dresses even, at times. We felt a bit exposed as we walked shirtless and bikini clad through the hoards of people. There were a lot of families there, and many of them had propped up tents to escape the sun. So yes, the beach scene was a little different than we were used to but we have been relatively well adapted to this type of cultural experience. We found a spot, camped up, and beached out. We played cards, threw a frisbee around, made some Chinese friends. Three young girls approached the group and chatted with us in Chinese, a great way for us to practice. They wanted to know what our thoughts were of China and what our favorite hobbies were and things like that—we basically talk like toddlers in Chinese anyway, it worked out well.
The photo taking was annoying though. In many parts of China, especially where few foreigners live, photo taking of foreigners is prevalent. Sometimes it happens in subtle ways where people take photos discreetly with their smart phones, hoping to snap a photo without attracting attention. Sometimes it happens with permission (and I usually oblige, why not?) and foreigners pose for a few snaps with individuals or couples or entire families. This happened to me a lot while I stood with my feet ankle deep in the water, hands on my hips, shirtless, ray ban-ed, and beaming with sea-side satisfaction. I got through four or five photos, posing with people before I gave up and retreated back to the group. But sometimes it happens unabashedly, like paparazzi, and that gets annoying. You start to feel like you’re on display for a while, or a zoo attraction. This happened a lot here at the beach. Probably a lot of these people weren’t from the city and may never actually see foreigners in person. It happens a lot. I have been the first foreigner Chinese people have ever seen in person on several occasions. And it makes sense that that would be interesting. It gets old though, quickly, especially here at the beach where at home, at the beaches we are used to, people feel relatively secure in wearing beach attire, sort of an unspoken rule that the beach is a safe zone.
But again, go with the flow. On the flip side, the pier-side promenade was awesome and exceeded any expectations I had. The food and beer were cheap and the atmosphere was lively. Around the pier were some cheap and less than appealing carnival style attractions but the pier itself was worth the visit. The pier was a dense maze of food stalls selling skewered and barbecued seafood and chilled beers. Absolutely perfect. We walked up to one and pointed to different fishes and crustaceans and meats as the man behind the counter put the skewers on a tray for barbecuing. Another nice aspect of the pier was that interaction with the stall keepers was very positive. Out here, no one sees foreigners let alone expect them to speak any Chinese. So our trying to communicate in Chinese was well received. I ordered a crab, three shrimps, and a flayed squid, along with a bowl of fried noodles. The skewers were slow roasted over coals and sprinkled with traditional Chinese spices and lajiao (辣椒, hot Sichuan peppers)—could not have been tastier, all for about four dollars.
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| Food stalls wedged into canopied mazes along the pier |
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| Some seaside attractions |
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| A little dirty, but full of interesting stuff |
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| My group, a surprise photo |
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| Fish for fish? |
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| In the distance were some less than pleasant looking factories, probably good we didn't go swimming |
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| My tray of crab, shrimp, squid, and mantou |
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| Other trays, fish and shrimp, and some noodles |
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| The aftermath |
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| What we spotted, some practice courts for the pros |
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| Spain in action! |
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| The semi-finals, Germany defeats Spain |
It was late and with a three hour ride back to the university, we took off. We were back around 11pm. When all was said and done we spent about seven hours at the beach and were properly tanned. I had a great time but probably won’t go back, to be fair. I was happy for the outing though. A nice way to spend May Day.
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