Qinhuangdao - a beautiful Bohai Sea tourist destination

Nearby was another hotel experience that I am sure must be unique. I admit to being of the generation where I try to avoid children in hotels, particularly during holidays! This, the Health Valley RoEasy Hotel Beidahe was designed primarily for families with youngsters of different ages. Rooms, even corridors and elevators were decorated in themes children can identify with.

Back in my Scottish homeland, golf courses are regularly found along coasts. I noticed this happening around the resort hotels of Qinhuangdao. I am sure they could appeal both to the growing number of golfing enthusiasts in China and possibly overseas visitors attracted to such top quality greens.

Thirty minutes drive along the coast from my hotel sits Beidaihe, a town I have long wished to visit. Along the highway, as we crossed over the Dapu River Bridge, I asked my driver to stop. Below, the waters were crowded with many wooden fishing vessels. Looking closer I could see crews unloading net sacks filled with shellfish brought up from the seabed that morning. Among all the modernity of 21st century resorts all around, it felt like looking at another age. Indeed even Beidaihe initially was a small coastal fishing village.

During my earlier travels, in the mid-1990's, it was difficult for an individual foreigner to visit or stay at Beidaihe, particularly during mid-summer, when government leaders annually met there. Indeed Beidahe was a place whose name was familiar long before I initially came to China in 1987. Images of both Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping bathing in waters off the town's famed beaches remain iconic memories. Today it is open and welcoming to overseas visitors - indeed I noticed many signs in Russian as it remains a popular destination for visitors from Russia.