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Hit the beach - It's free!

THERE'S no place better to spend a hot summer's day than by the sea and Jinshan District's coastal stretch offers a pleasurable seaside experience. Tan Weiyun looks at how the city beach has been made such an attractive destination - starting with the price.

As the summer heat approaches, so does a peak in Shanghai's beach tourism. The city's Jinshan City Beach is opened free this summer for the first time since its official opening in 2007. Urban day-trippers can cool themselves down by enjoying the sun, sand, seafood and lots of fun.

"It is one of our strategic moves to build the beach into a coastal resort on the northern seashore of Hangzhou Bay," says Zhao Yu, office director of the Jinshan Coastline Development and Management Committee.

"Visitors can enjoy the seawater fun without buying tickets and it also efficiently cracks down on scalpers," she says. The admission fee in the previous four years was 50 yuan (US$7.7).

This summer, the beach's opening hours run from 5:30am to 8:30pm. Swimmers are not allowed to stay late on the beach at night for safety reasons.

Located on the northern side of Hangzhou Bay, Jinshan beach is famed as a must-go destination in the summer for the city's urban dwellers for its clean seawater, golden sandy beach and tidy coastal environment. It has also held the World Beach Volleyball Tour for the past eight years. In 2008, it was honored as a 4A national scenic spot.

Statistics provided by the management committee reveal that the beach received more than 740,000 visits from June to August last year, with a record monthly high of 320,000 visits and a record daily high of 32,800 visits.

The management committee estimates that this summer the visitor numbers will exceed last year, which is going to impose a great challenge on the coastal environment's protection, food safety, security and traffic.

"The removal of the admission ticket will make it even harder for our management work," the director admits. "But we are getting ready."

In order to create a better sun and sand experience, the beach is sparing no efforts to prepare for the visitors.

A special team has been set up with joint efforts made by the district's various government departments, including police, coast guard, construction and traffic committee, quality inspection bureau, civil affairs, environmental protection office, urban management and many other departments.

During the summer, a 50-man onshore patrol will inspect the beach and coastline from the early morning until midnight. One of their jobs is to stop swimmers from entering the no-swimming zone.

An electronic monitoring system has been set up so that if an emergency occurs, rescuers will be alerted immediately. A parking lot that contains more than 100 cars has also been renovated this year.

In 2007, a 3.3-kilometer-long, 5.4-meter-high dam was built to enclose a 1.5-square-kilometer area of seawater to ensure visitors enjoy a golden beach and cleaner water.

Experts also released young fish, shrimp and other shellfish with coral reefs and shipwreck replicas into the enclosed seawater and a large amount of seaweed, which can absorb heavy-metal pollutants in the water.

Now after four years, a stable ecological system has formed and water visibility is now 6 meters, meeting the national standard.

? By car: Take the S4 highway, get off at Tingwei Highway Exit. Turn left, drive south along Tingwei Highway until Jinshan Avenue and then turn in to Weiling Road; the beach is at the end of the road.

? By public transport: Take Metro Line 1 to Jinjiang Park Station, then take the Shimei Bus Line at the Southwest Bus Station.


 

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