Yandunjiao Swan Village

Yandunjiao is a village on a shallow lagoon at the eastern tip of Shandong where whooper swans arrive each November from Siberia and Mongolia, several thousand of them, and stay until March, feeding in water shallow enough to stand in and resting metres from the shore. The proximity is the point: the swans occupy the bay directly in front of the village houses, and photographers work from the bank at dawn with the fishing boats and stone-roofed seaweed houses behind. Some feeding is done by locals, which concentrates the birds. Rongcheng's coast holds several other swan wintering sites, and the area is protected as a national reserve.

What you actually see

• The whooper swans - thousands wintering in the shallow bay.
• The village setting - swans in front of the fishing houses and boats.
• The seaweed houses - traditional stone cottages with thick seaweed roofs.
• The dawn photography - the birds in early light with steam off the water.

When to go

November to March, with numbers peaking from December to February; the swans leave by early spring. Winter on this coast is cold and windy. Dawn is the standard time for photographers.

Honest expectations

Feeding by visitors is common and not ideal for the birds. The site is crowded with photographers in season, and access points charge small fees. The village is remote at the tip of the peninsula.

Nearby

Rongcheng lies west; Weihai is further along the coast.