Shanwei is in Guangdong, in South China.
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Guangdong · City Guide
Shanwei, an Hour from Shenzhen and Facing the Open Sea.
Overview
Why Go
Red Bay picks up swell that much of the Guangdong coast misses, and Zhelang Cape has beaches on both sides so one of them usually works. Board hire and schools operate through the autumn and winter season.
At the Red Bay market the catch comes off the boats and onto trestle tables a few metres away, three times a day. Visitors buy it there and the stalls behind will cook it while they wait.
Lufeng keeps one of the few surviving southern shadow puppet traditions, with leather figures, a lit screen and its own repertoire. It is listed as national intangible heritage and is not performed on a schedule.
Shanwei's golden dragon dance is performed low, with the dancers working the dragon along the ground rather than overhead on poles. It comes out at temple festivals and at the lunar new year.
See
A narrow headland with a beach on each side, so there is usually shelter on one and swell on the other. Surf schools, boards and simple accommodation along the road in. A day or a weekend.
A Ming temple complex on a low hill at Jieshi, with Buddhist and Taoist halls, heavy incense and a constant flow of pilgrims. Very busy at the lunar new year. Ninety minutes.
A Mazu temple on the hill above the city harbour, with a tall stone figure of the sea goddess looking out over the port. The view of the fishing fleet is half the reason to climb up. An hour.
Three trading windows a day: iced fish from six, boats unloading between seven and nine, and a second landing mid-afternoon. Buy and hand it to a cooking stall. Two hours, and bring cash.
Small undeveloped islands off the Red Bay coast, reached by fishing boat when the weather allows, with clear water and no facilities. Arrange through a boat owner and agree the return time. A day.
A large stand of red castanopsis in Luhe County, unusual for its size on this coast, with stream walks under closed canopy. Cool and quiet. Half a day inland from the beaches.
On the Map
Approximate locations of the attractions above, across Shanwei.
Eat
Prawns, crab, razor shells and small reef fish, steamed or boiled and eaten plain. The Shanwei argument is freshness rather than technique, so order simply and let the cooking stall keep it short.
A local crab eaten steamed with the roe intact, or salted and steamed with glutinous rice. The season peaks in autumn and the market grades them by weight and by how full the roe is.
Tea leaves ground with sesame, peanuts and herbs in a ridged bowl, let down with hot water and eaten with puffed rice on top. Savoury rather than sweet, and served to guests rather than sold.
Green plums grown on the Luhe hills, picked in March and April and turned into preserves and plum wine. The orchards flower white in January, which is its own reason to drive inland.
Do
Schools run from the beach road with boards and instruction, and the autumn and winter swell is the reliable part of the year. Check the flags: the two sides of the cape behave completely differently.
The seven-to-nine window is when boats are actually unloading and the shallow-water fish and shellfish appear. By ten it is a shop again. Point, agree a price, then find a cooking stall.
The climb up from the harbour takes twenty minutes and puts the whole fleet below visitors. Mazu is the sea goddess of every fishing town on this coast, and here the connection is visible from one spot.
Lufeng troupes play at temple festivals and on commission rather than to a timetable. The county culture centre knows who is working. The figures are leather and the screen is lit from behind.
When
Dry, warm and the ideal surf of the year, with typhoon season over. The strongest window.
Cool, dry and still working for surf, with plum blossom inland in January and temple festivals through the lunar new year.
Warm and humid with the plum rains, and flatter water. Green plums picked in Luhe and the forest walks at their peak.
Hot and the typhoon season, with warnings that close beaches and boats at short notice. Watch the forecast rather than the calendar.
Explore More
Shanwei is in Guangdong, in South China.
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