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Top 8 Coasts in China with Google Earth Links (I)

Jul 30, 2009

[sources] 1. syue2k |2. Matthew Fang | 3. imboa | 4. shawnieqin

The coast is defined as where the land meets the sea. — wikipedia

China has nearly three million square kilometers of sea territory and coastline of 32,000 kilometers long, 18000 km of which is the mainland coastline and the rest is islands coastline. Its northern starting point is at the mouth of Yalu River estuary (boundary between China and North Korea) and its southern end is at the mouth of Beilun River estuary (boundary between China and Vietnam)

Here, I will introduce you 4 of top 8 most beautiful coastal sceneries in China with google earth links. Let’s embrace the sea!

You can view all these part I (4 of 8 ) of top coasts in Google Earth here (KMZ file).

1. Yalong Bay 亚龙湾 – A piece of fallen sky
Google Earth | Wiki | location: Sanya, Hainan

Crowned as “World’s No. 1 Bay” “Oriental Hawaii”, Yalong Bay is inevitably the best beach in China. It’s not only a long beach (~7,500m) and but also smooth and wide, with a 50-60 meters wide shallow region.

Its sand is white and fine, the water is blue and clear (7-9m visibility); it also has rich marine resources, such as coral reefs, colorful tropical fishes, and rare shellfishes. With an average temp of 25.5 degree C, you can swim here all year around.

2. Yehliu Geopark 野柳 – Artwork on land left by waves
Google Earth | Wiki | location: Taipei, Taiwan

A cape at the north coast of Taiwan Island, it stretches approximately 1,700 meters into the ocean and was formed as geological forces pushed Datun Mountain out of the sea.

Yehliu is famous for its hoodoo stones that dot its surface. Salty ocean waves gradually carved its stones into distinctive gorgeous formations, many of which are given imaginative names based on their shapes. For example, “The Sea Candles (as shown above)”, “the Queen’s Head”, “the Fairy Shoe”, etc。

3. Chengtou Hill 成头山 – Inland’s eagerness to the sea
Google Earth | Wiki | location: Weihai, Shandong

The easternmost point of Shandong Peninsula, also known as “Where the Sun Rises” “China’s Cape of Good Hope”. Chengtou Hill not only has beautiful rocky coastal scenery, more importantly but also has a rich cultural history.

In ancient China, Chengtou Shan is believed as the place where the Sun God lives. First Emperor Qin Shi Huang worshiped the Sun here and sent people to look for Gods in the East Sea. The Great Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty was also touched by the magnificent sunrise scene here and wrote a poem. In contemporary Chinese history, the Battle of Yellow Sea between China and Japan also happened on the sea here.

4. Dong-zhai-gang Mangrove 东寨港红树林 – Greenwaves that stayed on land
Google Earth | Wiki | location: Qiongshan, Hainan

The first established Mangrove Reserve in China, Dong-Zhai-Gang is one of the seven precious International Wetland Reserves in China. In this vast “Forest on the Sea”, you can enjoy the richest mangrove ecosystem in China. And you can see different views during high (only tree crown above water)or low tide(muddy land will show).

Besides the mangrove, there is also a famous “Underwater Village” in the reserve resulted by a disastrous earthquake in Ming Dynasty. When the weather is nice and water is clear, you can see the remains (bridges, wells, tombs and paifangs) of the ancient village still there underwater.

[Scenic Splendor of China Series]
This is one post of the Scenic Splendor of China Series. In 2005.10, Chinese National Geography (CNG) selected 114 “most beautiful places” covering 17 different types of scenic patterns. The complete list is here. In Chinese. These scenic places will be covered individually in future.

[Chinese Keywords]
中国最美的地方 海岸



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