Mandarin Go | Going to the beach in China (and we give you some ideas for holidays …)

beach 沙滩 shā tān                                                         cooler 冷藏箱 lěng cáng xiāng       

wave 波浪 bō làng                                                         sand 沙子shā zi                                           
tide 潮汐 cháo xī                                                            sea 海 hǎi                                         
palm tree 棕榈树 zōng lǘ shù                                          beach chair 沙滩椅 shā tān yǐ               
sun 太阳 tài yáng                                                           high tide 涨潮 zhǎng cháo           

shovel 铲子 chǎn zi                                                         bucket 水桶 shuǐ tǒn                             
ocean 海洋 hǎi yáng                                                        swimming 游泳 yóu yǒng                 
tan 晒黑 shài hēi                                                              sunscreen 防晒霜 fáng shài shuāng  

jet ski 摩托艇 mó tuō tǐng                                               sand castle 沙堡 shā bǎo                           
 snorkeling 浮潜 fú qiǎn                                                    shell 贝壳 bèi ké                               
beachball 沙滩球 shā tān qiú                                           low tide 低潮 dīchá                   
flip flops 夹趾拖鞋 jiā zhǐ tuō xié                                      surfing 冲浪 chōng làng
beach towel 沙滩浴巾 shā tān yù jīn                                beach volleyball 沙滩排球 shā tān pái qiú

bikini 比基尼泳衣 bǐ bikini jī ní yǒng yī                          sunglasses 太阳镜 tài yáng jìng 

beach umbrella 遮阳伞zhē yáng sǎn                              bathing suit 游泳衣  yóu yǒng yī     

Now try to use those words to answer a few questions:

你喜欢去沙滩吗？为什么？

nǐ xǐ huān qù shā tān ma? wèi shén me

Do you like going to the beach? Why?

去沙滩的时候…

qù shā tān de shí hòu…

When you go to the beach…

你带什么东西？

nǐ dài shén me dōng xī

What do you bring?

你穿什么？

nǐ chuān shén me

What do you wear?

你喜欢做什么？

nǐ xǐ huān zuò shén me

What do you like to do?

                        Popular Destinations

There are plenty of places where you can sit on a beach across China. You could go to Beidaihe (北戴河 – běi dài hé) or Nandaihe (南戴河 – nán dài hé) in Hebei province if you’re looking for a quick beach getaway outside of Beijing. You won’t find the nicest beaches in the world here, but both are good enough for a short trip out of the city. Fill up on seafood, play in the sand, or take part in some water sports.

One of the most popular cities for a beach vacation is definitely?Qingdao (青岛 – qīng dǎo). Just be forewarned of the crowds you’re likely to encounter. If you’ve ever wondered where the hilarious Chinglish idiom?“people mountain, people sea” (人山人海 – rén shān rén hǎi) comes from, you’ll know as soon as you take a look at a beach here. That being said, with a little bit of legwork you can find yourself on a (relatively) empty beach, and you’ll have so much fun at the Qingdao Beer Festival that it won’t matter how crowded the beach is!

If you’re in the south, a better option is?Xiamen (厦门 – xià mén) in Fujian province. Take the very short ferry ride to the small island of?Gulangyu?(鼓浪屿 – gǔ làng yǔ). It’s a pleasant place to walk around for half a day, with lots of green space, great views of the skyline, and a few beaches. Of course, it also gets quite crowded in the summer, but that’s the case just about everywhere in China.