The Dramatic Scenery of the Red Beach in China

 China's Red Beach, Enjoy Without a Swimsuit

      Beach tourism is synonymous with blue oceans, the sound of waves and beach sand. Well, if the beach has a blood red color? This is, of course, an unusual sight. (Wikipedia.org)

Every fall, tourists flock to the pier at the Red Beach Wetland in Panjin City, located in northern Liaoning Province, to admire the dramatic crimson beaches of China's northernmost coastline.

This beach is not like a beach in general which has a stretch of sand and blue water, but just a vast muddy wetland.

The beautiful color on the beach is caused by seaweed, a type of seaweed called Suaeda Salsa which can change color due to absorbing high alkaline salt levels. So you don't need a swimsuit to enjoy this China beach.

As the name implies, the scenery at Red Beach which is at the mouth of the Shuangtaizi River, Dawa region, precisely outside Panjin City is dominated by red.

Known as "China's most romantic recreational coastline" by local media, the 6,667-hectare stretch of mudflat within the Red Beach National Scenic Corridor is listed as a national natural scenic location.

The seaweed that covers this shallow sea begins to sprout in the spring and blooms in red in early July. The red hues get hotter as autumn approaches and peak in September and October, turning the coastal mud flats into a crimson carpet.

There are about 100 varieties of seepweed that grow in the tidal wetlands of the world. But the Suaeda plant growing in Panjin is a unique species.

The wetlands are also famous for mitten crabs, bamboo strips and rice, and the latter is the official rice for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The area is home to more than 260 species of migratory birds, including the critically endangered black-billed gull, black-billed gulls and red-crowned cranes, the wild red-crowned stork which is the second rarest in the world.

In order to maintain the safety and preservation of the beautiful nature and unique species that exist there, this area has been granted protection by the state level since 1988. Because of this, most of the red coast area has been closed to the public. But don't worry, there is a small part of the Red Panjin Beach area that is indeed used for tourist attractions.

Unfortunately, the wildlife and biodiversity in the Red Beach area are now threatened.

There is a long history of tensions between these protected wetlands and human economic activities.

The threat also comes from the Liaohe Oil Field company, seafood cultivation, and rice fields which are rivals for local wildlife.