The Changli Golden Beach

The Changli Golden Beach lies in northeast Hebei Province, it was formed 2,000-3,000 years ago by sand brought by the Liugu River that empties into the Bahai sea in neighbouring Liaoning Province.

Originating in the Yanshan Mountains that extend from northeast Beijing eastward to the Bohai Gulf, the river deposits huge quantities of silt into the sea, which drifts southeast with the current, driven by the strong northeasterly winds and piles up along the west coast of the gulf. The sand is then blown up by the northeast wind and after a short distance falls down on the beach, creating dunes.

In the slow process of accumulation down the ages, the dunes have got biggest and higher. The gentle sea-facing slope has a gradient of 6-8 degrees, whilst the steep escarpment on the other is 30-32 degrees. There are all together 40 chains of dunes, forming a rare landscape 30 kilometers long and 4 kilometers wide, and 44 meters high at the highest part. The fine, glittering sand has earned the beach the accolade ¡°golden beach.¡±