10th February, 2001
Dalian, Golden Pebbles Almost Deserted On Chinese Spring Festival. Attractive Collection Of Sea Shells on Promenade Stall. Rowing Boats Above Water Line On Sandy Beach
February, 1999
When the taxi dropped us off at the pavement near Golden Pebble Bay, there were not many people about and I thought the sensible ones were indoors out of the  bitterly cold wind, but we were not the only crazy people about on that day ! On the wide promenade a large model of a seashell was mounted on a concrete plinth the colors blending well with new buildings across the road. I am afraid that my first impression of the model was that it resembled a dead pig, although I am sure it was a good replica of a shell type unknown to me.
 Of the small stalls on the promenade, only two were open and one of the stalls attended by a woman muffled up against the cold, had an attractive display of sea shells in many colours and shapes. Because of the name given to the bay, I thought I would have been able to collect a shell or two of my own off the beach which would have been a better memento than one bought from a stall, but was soon to be disappointed. All I found was wonderfully clean sand and shining wet pebbles.
We found no shells but there were other compensations, for it was truly a magnificent bay with a wide sandy beach curving away to a rocky headland to our right. Just as we got onto the beach, a number of cold water swimmers were standing on a concrete slab in front of one of the small buildings, some were getting dressed after their swim, but others were being hosed down by a woman attendant, despite the bitterly cold weather, so we were not the only crazy people about at the time ! On one part of the beach a number of rowing boats had been lined up out of the water; the water taxis for tourists to get to the offshore islands, breaking the skyline.
The bay, as the location for a summer holiday was  undoubtedly well suited. Even though our visit was during the Spring Festival Holiday, the beach was practically deserted because of the cold, so we had good views of everything. There were the rocky headlands to explore; listen to the gentle lapping of waves breaking on shiny wet pebbles or try to spot a shrimp or small fish in the crystal clear seawater, but the day was too cold to linger, so I left my footprint in the sand if only for a moment in time, then we returned to the comfort of our hotel.
If you are intereted in further Dalian topics, such as...
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...then just click them !
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