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:

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

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!