Guangxi's Seafood Capital: A Stunning Gem That Captivates Half of China

As the May Day holiday approaches, crowds of people are seen "shopping, strolling, and feasting" in some popular tourist cities. Among the many crowded destinations, Guangxi, not a top-tier hotspot, is truly a hidden gem.

What comes to mind when you think of Guangxi? The unparalleled landscapes of Guilin, the charming Zhuang-accented Mandarin, or the ethnic customs of the March Third Song Festival? In people's impressions, Guangxi is a mysterious land deep in the Lingnan region.

Little known to many, the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region is the only coastal provincial-level administrative area in western China. At its southernmost tip lies a city where azure seas and skies coexist with vibrant life, boasting "China's most beautiful beach" and the country's most stunning volcanic island. This place is—

Beihai's Silver Beach, now a favored tourist destination.

The fishing moratorium in May is approaching, when "boats return to port, nets are stored, and fishermen come ashore." Coastal residents and seasoned foodies are seizing this final window to indulge in seafood. At Beihai's bustling seafood stalls, delicacies like sandworms, oysters, and squid are irresistible. The nearby Beibu Gulf is China's cleanest sea, making Beihai's seafood especially enticing. Based on 2022 production figures, each Beihai resident could theoretically enjoy 1,166 pounds of seafood!

Beihai in the Beibu Gulf: The Most Beautiful "Maritime Guangxi"

Beihai is a peninsula city surrounded by the sea on three sides. From above, its urban area resembles a sturdy rhino horn. Tang Xianzu once wrote of it: "The spring town still warm, the highland sea cool as ever; the earth tilts, thunder shifts, the sky merges with faint stars." Today, Beihai is dubbed "Little Sanya" or the "Southern Beidaihe," but it holds unique scenery and charm.

China's most beautiful volcanic island—Weizhou Island.

Unlike Guangxi's typical mountainous terrain, Beihai offers only vast blue seas and snow-white beaches. As one of the few port cities in western China, Beihai enjoys a special location. It neighbors Southeast Asian countries, backs the greater southwest, and faces Hainan across the sea, making it a vibrant and culturally rich land.

The Beibu Gulf shapes Beihai's breathtaking seascapes. Located south of the Tropic of Cancer, it borders Hainan and Zhanjiang to the east, Vietnam to the west, and Beihai, Qinzhou, and Fangchenggang of Guangxi to the north.

The Beibu Gulf is nearly pollution-free, with rivers like the Nanliu and Red River carrying minimal sediment. Its waters are crystal-clear near shore and deeply blue farther out, surpassing most coastal areas in China.

Beihai is the crown jewel of the Beibu Gulf. Among the surrounding cities, its peninsula location offers superior port access and stunning natural beauty, making it a favored "snowbird city" for northerners.

Silver Beach is the first stop for most visitors. Its white sands shimmer with a silvery glow under sunlight, hence the name. Stretching 24 kilometers, it surpasses the combined area of beaches in Yantai, Qingdao, Xiamen, and Beidaihe. Blue skies, white clouds, azure seas, and silver sands divide the scenery into two hues.

The sand grains at Silver Beach are fine, each reflecting myriad colors. Beyond this, Beihai also boasts Qiaogang Beach, Golden Bay, and other coastal sights.

Yet Beihai's top natural attraction isn't Silver Beach but a volcanic island 27 nautical miles offshore—Weizhou Island. Here, lava, waves, and tides create a unique volcanic landscape.

Sculpting diverse coastal erosion formations,

Under the sea's relentless force, Weizhou Island's volcanic rocks have eroded into stunning shapes: sea caves, coral reefs, and geological wonders like Crocodile Hill and Five-Color Cliff. These formations, shaped over millennia, make Weizhou a marvel of China's volcanic scenery. National Geographic China ranked it the second most beautiful island in the country, and it is also China's youngest volcanic island.

Fig. 1 Xingdao Lake; Photographer/Chen Huaqian

Fig. 2 White Sand Beach; Photographer/Roseesee

Beihai also harbors a pristine and mysterious mangrove ecosystem. Typically, coastal beaches lack vegetation due to saltwater, but mangroves thrive as an exception.

On the coastal wetlands where land and sea intertwine in Beihai City, over 3,000 acres of mangrove forests create a biological kingdom at the city's edge, hosting hundreds of bird species and countless fish, shrimp, and crabs. Only here can one witness the breathtaking combination of crimson sunsets, white sands, blue skies, emerald seas, and pristine forests—truly experiencing the poetic scene of "a solitary wild duck flying with the sunset glow, the autumn river sharing the same hue with the vast sky."

The southern shores of Guangxi hide unparalleled vibrancy.

Beihai is located at the southernmost tip of Guangxi but is called "Beihai" (Northern Sea). The name originates from a small fishing village named "Beihai Village," which was situated on the northern part of the Beihai Peninsula, facing the sea to the north, hence the name.

Nestled along the Beibu Gulf, one of China's most ecologically pristine waters, Beihai enjoys a unique geographical advantage. Known as the "Southwest China's Back Garden," the Beibu Gulf boasts abundant natural resources and industrial strengths. Its vast reserves of oil, natural gas, and other resources are astounding. As one of China's four major fishing grounds, it is also home to a wealth of rare and exotic seafood.

Wai Sha Seafood Island, north of Beihai City, is the largest seafood distribution center and most renowned seafood dining area in Guangxi. A stroll through its seafood markets will leave you amazed: the seafood in Beihai is extraordinarily large!

Sea cucumbers as big as eggplants, emperor conchs too large to hold in one hand, mantis shrimp as thick as a wrist, sole fish shaped like shoe soles, and an array of clams, shellfish, snails, shrimp, and crabs—all noticeably larger than typical seafood.

Fishermen who harvest from the sea are now enjoying the joy of a bountiful catch.

Outsiders may not understand the secret, but seafood enthusiasts know: the warmer the seawater, the faster marine life grows; the cleaner and more pristine the waters, the better the chance for seafood to reach full maturity. For marine creatures, the Beibu Gulf is a tropical paradise.

In Beihai, the most authentic restaurants often prepare seafood using the simplest methods—blanching, steaming, or soy sauce steaming—eschewing complex techniques to preserve the natural flavors of the seafood.

People in Guangdong and Guangxi share a love for fresh seafood, but does Beihai have a specialty that stands out even in these regions?

Absolutely—the Beihai sandworm, known as the "sea cordyceps."

Sandworms are widely distributed along China's eastern coast, but only those from Beihai are the most famous, celebrated as "the treasure of the sea, with Beihai sandworms being the finest." Their taste is exceptionally sweet and crisp. The only drawback is their delicacy—they cannot survive even slight pollution in seawater or wetlands. Thus, even in Guangdong and Guangxi, where fresh seafood is highly prized, sandworms are considered a rare delicacy. For Beihai locals, however, they are a daily treat.

Blanched sandworms are fragrant, crispy, and delicious.

The natural sweetness of sandworms makes them delectable with just a quick blanching. But Beihai's sandworm enthusiasts didn't stop there. They creatively developed dozens of cooking methods to elevate this delicacy: stir-frying, soup-making, steaming whole, or seasoning with garlic or pepper salt—even using them in congee. Every method highlights the sandworm's exquisite flavor.

When it comes to Lingnan seafood, oysters are unavoidable. They reign as the king of Guangdong and Guangxi barbecue stalls and are revered by many as a nourishing superfood.

Beihai oysters are a must on the list of top oysters in Guangdong and Guangxi. The nearby waters' high salinity, warmth, and abundant plankton make them an ideal environment for oyster growth.

The king of Lingnan barbecue—charcoal-grilled oysters.

Along Beihai's intertidal zones, nearly 50,000 acres are dedicated to oyster farming. At night, the aroma of charcoal-grilled oysters fills the streets near seafood stalls and Qiaogang Folk Culture Street, a nightly ritual.

Beyond seafood, there's also a carb-loaded Beihai.

Guangxi locals adore rice noodles, and Beihai is no exception. Beyond the nationally famous Luosifen (snail rice noodles), Beihai's creativity shines with crab roe noodles, shredded chicken noodles, stir-fried snail noodles, and more—showcasing their ingenuity in the art of noodle-slurping.

Figure 1 Stir-fried Snail Rice Noodles; Photographer/Yu Yumi

Figure 2 Crab Roe Noodles; Photographer/Shi Sansan

Hé, a rice-based snack, is very common in the Lingnan region. However, "customs vary within ten miles and differ within a hundred," and the ways Guangxi and Guangdong people enjoy hé vary greatly, with Beihai locals being the masters of hé. The dough, made from rice flour, is kneaded freely in wheat flour and filled with sesame-peanut paste—"sweet, fragrant, soft, and sticky" perfectly describes the texture of Báizǐ Hé. When mixed with edible beeswax and wrapped in thick coconut shreds, it gains a slightly crisp texture and a fresher sweetness, becoming the beloved Coconut Shred Hé of Beihai.

In modern times, Beihai was once part of Guangdong Province and a settlement for overseas Vietnamese Chinese. This history has infused Beihai's culinary culture with Vietnamese and Cantonese traits. In Qiaogang Folk Street, morning tea and sweet soups are part of locals' daily lives, with colorful longan water and sugarcane juice evoking the ambiance of Guangzhou. Meanwhile, Vietnamese spring rolls and rice noodle rolls brought by overseas Chinese allow visitors to savor authentic Vietnamese flavors without leaving China.

Beihai is a young city, officially established in 1926, yet it boasts profound cultural heritage. These two labels may seem contradictory but align with Beihai's historical trajectory.

Beihai Old Street, China's longest arcade.

Photographer/madrigal

For a long time, Beihai has been a place of wonder and mystery to the outside world.

Over 2,000 years ago, to conquer the Lingnan region, Emperor Qin Shi Huang built the Lingqu Canal, linking the Xiang and Li Rivers and opening a north-south waterway. The Nanliu River, which flows into the sea at Beihai, became the southern terminus of the Qin Dynasty's maritime route. After Emperor Wu of Han pacified the Nanyue Kingdom, he established Hepu County in the Beihai area, making it a hub of transportation and culture in Lingnan. Ancient beads unearthed in Beihai—such as glass, garnet, and crystal, rare in ancient China—narrate the city's prosperity during the heyday of the Maritime Silk Road.

The name Hepu County endures to this day, with Beihai still governing a county by that name, reflecting the city's long history. Due to its developed transportation and early exposure to Central Plains culture, Hepu quickly became a gathering place for merchants.

Figure 1 Dark Blue Glass Beads from the Eastern Han Dynasty; Photographer/Artery Shadow

Figure 2 Turquoise Glass Ring from the Han Dynasty; Photographer/Artery Shadow

Figure 3 Bronze Phoenix Lamp with Feather Patterns; Photographer/Yu Zhong Manbu

Hepu County was a nodal city on the early Maritime Silk Road. According to Beihai's cultural relics bureau, the city has over 30 ancient kiln sites. The immense overseas demand for Chinese ceramics once made Hepu's ceramic industry flourish.

The West's Age of Exploration began with a thirst for gold, and Beihai's early development also stemmed from treasures beneath its waters. For millennia, the Chinese have regarded pearls as symbols of wealth and status. The Guangdong Xinyu records: "Eastern pearls are bluish-white, their luster inferior to Western pearls, which in turn pale beside Southern pearls." These Southern pearls refer to Hepu pearls from Beihai, Guangxi.

Many ancient tales of Beihai revolve around the pearl-diving industry. Hepu's Southern pearls were the finest, and the immense wealth they generated gave rise to the profession of "pearl divers."

Pearl diving is shrouded in myth, such as the legend of "mermaids weeping pearls." Some believe the half-human, half-fish "mermaids" actually refer to the Tanka people, a unique community living on water their entire lives.

The Song Dynasty text Tiewei Shan Congtan states: "Only Tanka people dive for pearls." The Tanka's origins are debated, but it is certain that seafood, Southern pearls, and shell carvings turned a peninsula in southern Hepu into an early Tanka settlement.

National Intangible Cultural Heritage—Hepu Horn Carving.

Ancient Beihai was once the starting point of the Maritime Silk Road, and in modern times, it remained a center of regional cultural and material exchange. The 1876 Sino-British Treaty of Yantai designated it as a trading port, spurring rapid development and attracting Cantonese migrants. Once part of Guangdong Province, Beihai today bears a striking resemblance to the Cantonese region.

Photo/GA; Image/Tuchong Creative

Arcades are typical Lingnan-style architecture, featuring a blend of Chinese and Western elements. Suited for tropical climates, they provide shelter from rain and sun. The previously popular TV drama "The Knockout" was instantly recognized as being filmed in Guangdong due to its scenes featuring arcade buildings. However, the longest arcade architecture in China is actually located in Beihai Old Street.

The old district of Beihai has witnessed the city's rapid development over the years.

Today, Cantonese is the common language in Beihai's urban areas, with older generations still referring to Guangzhou as "the provincial capital." In the rural counties under Beihai's jurisdiction, the Lianzhou dialect dominates, while on the more southern Weizhou Island, Hakka is widely spoken among the residents.

This unique linguistic phenomenon symbolizes Beihai's historical depth. Throughout the ages, the Tanka people left behind the legend of "mermaids weeping pearls," the Hakka people brought early commerce to Beihai, the Cantonese spurred its modern development, and the settlement of returning overseas Chinese infused Beihai with its distinctive Qiaogang culture.

The ocean's connectivity has drawn people from all over to this place, where they created their own cultures and histories, making Beihai a hub of multicultural exchange and the most captivating "sea" in Guangxi.

It all originates from the magical Beibu Gulf.