“赶海” is a Chinese term that translates to “sea chasing.” It refers to the activity of searching for and collecting various marine creatures such as clams, mussels, and crabs along the shoreline when the water recedes. This pastime is popular in coastal regions like Sanya and is often enjoyed as a recreational activity or for gathering food.

However, you don’t need to book a flight all the way to Sanya to experience it. Take a trip out to Haidian and you can find a gigantic indoor fishing ground where the whole family can spend the day catching fish, crabs, turtles, giant clams, mudskippers, crawfish, and other critters. Known as 四季赶海馆 (Sìjì Gǎnhǎi Guǎn) or Season Seaside Picking Crabs, it features six sections of shallow pools that only reach up to about your calves, as well as indoor sandpits.

Upon arrival, you’ll be equipped with the appropriate waterproof outfit. With your rubber shoes and pants fitted, you’ll be given a bucket, a net, and tongs, and then you’re off! There’s no limit to how long you can spend there, and they don’t restrict how many times you can re-enter on the same day. You can literally spend the whole day there and take lunch breaks at a nearby restaurant if you want.

Pro tip: Bring a change of clothes. They provide you with rubber pants and shoes but your shirts are bound to get wet too.

Their pools are teeming with sea creatures swimming around, putting the bravery and catching skills of kids and adults alike to the test.

Pro tip: Like most places, they’re busier on the weekends. However, on weekends, they also have shows and animal performances throughout the day.

Prices: Buy tickets online for RMB 178 for 1 adult + 1 child and RMB 198 for 2 adults + 1 child.

Find it:
四季赶海馆
101 Tiancun Lu, Haidian District
海淀区田村路101号
Hours: Mon-Fri from 9.30am-8.30pm; Sat & Sun from 9.30am-8pm
Tel: 882 08866

Images: Pexels, Dianping

Together with the Great Wall and the Karez Well, the 1,700-kilometer-long Beijing-Hangzhou (Jinghang) Grand Canal has been described as one of the three greatest building projects in China. Often lauded as the largest and longest conservation project in the world, the canal starts at Beijing, passes through Tianjin, and ends at Hangzhou in the south.

Tongzhou Grand Canal Forest Park has been built to spread the culture of this project. Covering a total area of 3.68 million square meters with a length of 4600 meters, this canal park is a multifunctional place that includes sports, boating, fishing with drones as a creative  idea we got from dronesuavreport.com, camping, recreation, education, and tourism for all ages.

How to Get There

Last time we took subway line 6, and got off at exit A of Beiyunhe West (北运河西) station. It was not difficult to find shared bikes around the subway station. For those don’t care about the quality of the bikes and don’t want to go through the hassle of renting a bike from a store, it’s convenient to take a shared bike to the canal park since it only takes about 20 minutes.

If you want to go by bus, you can take bus 24 at Dongzhimen Station (东直门站) and get off at Beijing Station （北京站）. Walk to Beijing Qianjie Station （北京前街站）, and transfer to bus 804, then get off at the Qiji Village Station （七级村）. From there, biking or walking to the north gate of the canal park takes less than 20 minutes.

Main Attractions to See

There is one river, two pathways, six gardens, and eighteen scenic spots (一河、两岸、六园、十八景) in the Tongzhou Grand Canal Forest Park. If you are on one side of the canal, It is a very long way to cross to the other side. Therefore, packing a lot of water is a must!

Along both sides of the river, there are six scenic areas. Entering from the north gate, the first place we saw was the Taoliu Scenic Area in Luhe River (潞河桃柳景区), which covers a large area of flowers, weeping willow, and fruit trees. Biking towards the south, we stopped at the Wenying Scenic Area in Moon Island (月岛闻莺景区) to enjoy a peaceful moment, taking in the beautiful flora and fauna. It was pleasant to see many lotuses and to feel the breeze at the end of summer.

               
The further south we biked, the more people we saw. The southern side is definitely more popular, but if you want to go for a picnic, the north is better. Passing by Yinfeng Autumn Scenic Area (银枫秋实景区), at Jungle Scenic Spot (活力丛林景区) we found a mini version of the amusements in Chaoyang Park. It had been shut down previously, but now it’s back for kids to play. There are also signs saying you can camp along the way, but it’s not permitted to stay overnight there.

If you want to rent a cruise boat, Mingjing Yizhou Scenic Area (明镜移舟景区) is a good place to go. It costs RMB 50 and above to rent a boat depending on what kind of boat you pick. Around the wharf area, docks, a food warehouse, stores, bars, and inns can all be found here. Finally the southernmost part of the park is the Gaotai Pinglin Scenic Area (高台平林景区), where you can find a lot of big trees and little hideaways to explore.

Facilities in the Park

Restrooms, playgrounds, and parking facilities are found along the path at irregular intervals, and while food and beverages are available from local communities, it may be a few miles between them.

Tongzhou Grand Canal Forest Park 通州大运河森林公园
Daily until 11 pm. Free entry. Songliang Road Nanduan, Tongzhou District. 通州区宋梁路南段 (6156 9200)

Photos: Wendy Xu