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At the Beach in Chinese Posted by on Aug 3, 2017 in Culture, Vocabulary

We’re in the dog days of summer at the moment. It’s so hot outside you could even fry an egg on the sidewalk. What better way to beat the heat than a trip to the beach (沙滩 – shā tān)? Let’s learn some beach related vocabulary and take a look at a few popular destinations to see what it’s like at the beach in Chinese.

Beach Vocabulary

The beach is kinda popular here.

Get excited for a Chinese trip to the beach by learning these 30 vocabulary words:

beach
bathing suit
bikini
beach towel
sunglasses
flip flops
beach chair
beach umbrella
shovel
bucket
beach ball
cooler
sand
sun
ocean
sea
seashell
wave
tide
high tide
low tide
sunscreen
tan
palm tree
swimming
jet ski
sand castle
beach volleyball
snorkeling
surfing
沙滩
游泳衣
比基尼泳衣
沙滩浴巾
墨镜
夹趾拖鞋
沙滩椅
遮阳伞
铲子
水桶
沙滩球
冷藏箱
沙子
太阳
海洋

贝壳
波浪
潮汐
涨潮
落潮
防晒霜
晒黑
棕榈树
游泳
摩托艇
沙堡
沙滩排球
浮潜
冲浪
shā tān
yóu yǒng yī
bǐ jī ní yǒng yī
shā tān yù jīn
mò jìng
jiā zhǐ tuō xié
shā tān yǐ
zhē yáng sǎn
chǎn zi
shuǐ tǒng
shā tān qiú
lěng cáng xiāng
shā zi
tài yáng
hǎi yáng
hǎi
bèi ké
bō làng
cháo xī
zhǎng cháo
luò cháo
fáng shài shuāng
shài hēi
zōng lǘ shù
yóu yǒng
mó tuō tǐng
shā bǎo
shā tān pái qiú
fú qiǎn
chōng làng

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

At the Beach in Chinese

Chillin’ on the beach.

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.

Qingdao in summertime – “people mountain people sea.”

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!

See what summer time in Qingdao looks like in this video.

Hotels, beaches, and tourist traps…

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.

See the “Streets, Beats & Eats” of Xiamen in this travel video.

Have you been to the beach in China? Where did you go? Let us know in the comments below!

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About the Author: sasha

Sasha is an English teacher, writer, photographer, and videographer from the great state of Michigan. Upon graduating from Michigan State University, he moved to China and spent 5+ years living, working, studying, and traveling there. He also studied Indonesian Language & Culture in Bali for a year. He and his wife run the travel blog Grateful Gypsies, and they're currently trying the digital nomad lifestyle across Latin America.


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