The red carpet
To the horizon.
吴张帆 — CC BY-SA 3.0 · 爵士鼓手 — CC BY 3.0 · 白云悠悠 — CC BY-SA 3.0 · 白云悠悠 — CC BY-SA 3.0 · 吴张帆 — CC BY-SA 3.0
Wide mudflats at the river mouth on Liaodong Bay that turn in autumn into a deep red carpet stretching to the horizon, coloured by Suaeda salsa, a salt-loving seepweed and one of the few plants that live in highly alkaline soil; it starts growing light red in April and deepens as it matures. The beach lies within a national wetland reserve at the mouth of the Shuangtaizi River, protected since 1988, home to more than 260 kinds of birds; red-crowned cranes breed here, it is the world's largest breeding ground of Saunders's gull, and beside it grows Asia's largest reed marsh. Visitors walk wooden boardwalks over the red carpet between the tides, and photographers come for the sunsets. The best time is mid-September to mid-October, when the red is at its deepest. Tickets cost CNY 120 from April to October, including the electric cars inside the reserve, and 80 the rest of the year; arriving before 9 am avoids the crowds, per visitor guides.
To the horizon.
Over the flats.
Asia's largest.
Dawa District, about 20 km south-west of central Panjin, Liaoning
From mid-September to mid-October, when the seepweed reaches its deepest red; in spring and summer the colour is paler, and it fades in winter.
Panjin is known for river crab and seafood, and it has restaurants run by Hui Muslims under the halal sign, while other restaurants may serve pork, so ask before ordering.