Silver Beach

Beihai's Silver Beach runs for around twenty-four kilometres along the Gulf of Tonkin, its sand unusually pale and fine because it is high in quartz, which is where the name comes from. The gradient is very gentle, so the water stays shallow a long way out and the tide exposes wide flats, making it popular with families and with people digging for shellfish at low water. It is a city beach with promenades, hotels and a large fountain sculpture rather than a wild coast, and it functions as Beihai's main summer draw alongside the ferry departures for Weizhou Island.

What you actually see

• The pale sand - quartz-rich beach running many kilometres.
• The shallow water - a gentle gradient wading far out.
• The tidal flats - exposed sand where people dig for shellfish.
• The promenade - the developed city seafront behind.

When to go

October to June for comfortable weather and quieter sand; July and August are hot and very crowded, with typhoon risk. Low tide exposes the widest flats. Sunsets face west over the gulf.

Honest expectations

It is a developed city beach with hotels and vendors, not a secluded one. Water clarity is modest and the sea often silty. Crowds in summer are considerable.

Nearby

Weizhou Island ferries leave from Beihai; Sanniang Bay is west.