Dapeng #1: Looking Around

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National Day holiday, seven days off work, something I have been looking forward to a lot. To make life easier, I decided to stay in Shenzhen, but go to Dapeng, which is pretty far east. This city just sprawls and sprawls. It would take me about two and a half hours to get there, plus I thought it would take longer due to the terrible holiday traffic. First it was the subway, which I thought would be the easiest part, but turned out to be the most annoying. Due to Covid (I know the rest of the world has got over it, but not China), Guangdong province (or maybe just Shenzhen) has a policy where you have to scan in places, but of course the system only works if you have a mainland ID number, normally the subway people know this and showing my healthcode is enough. But not today, maybe because it's the big holiday or maybe because cases are on the rise, I had to go and write my details down. Surely, they can track me from phone data... Anyway, the subway was quick and pretty empty. The bus stop was easy to find, only a couple of minutes walk from the subway exit. I think I only had to wait about 90 seconds for the bus to to turn up, result! There were quite a few people getting on and I was worried about space, but there were still a few spaces. I'm not sure if this bus, E11, allows standing as it goes down the motorway, and there was what I think was an announcement to buckle up just before we hit the highway, judging by all the clicks I heard after it. I had thought that the highway would be a complete nightmare and totally gridlocked. I was pleasantly surprised that although the traffic was slow moving, it was still always moving. There were a few glimpses of the coastline as we made our way to Dapeng.

I got off the bus at Dapeng centre, as I needed to change to a smaller, city bus to take me to the old town. The bus stop was a few minutes walk away, and if I'd run I would have made the bus that was just leaving, but I was in no hurry. I only had to wait about ten minutes for the next bus. The journey took about ten to fifteen minutes and I was a little surprised at how dead the streets were, there was a total lack of cars and people. I headed into the ancient city by a side entrance, which was closer to where I was staying, having to show my healthcode as I did so. My first impressions were not good. Ancient city? It just looked old and not in a good way. It looked more like a slightly deprived area rather than a quaint old town. I was thinking what have I let myself in for. The streets here were quite small and I missed a few turnings to my hotel, so I had to re-trace my steps and walked up what felt more like a cut than an actual street. However, when I walked through the gate, my surroundings changed and I was in the old town proper. I breathed a sigh of relief. Old, quaint stone buildings surrounded me. I had arrived a bit early, so I wandered around a couple of streets close by. I was surprised that it was rather quiet. It was boiling though and I was sweating a lot. I messaged my guesthouse to say I'd arrived early and they came to let me in. Totally got sweat all over the form I had to fill in, I hope they disposed of it rather than keeping it. The guesthouse was cute and there was a little courtyard in the centre. It reminded me a little of the place I'd stayed at in Pingyao a few years ago. I ended up seeking refuge under the air conditioning for an hour or so as the bed was so comfortable to lie on.

I had decided that I wanted to go to the beach area near my hotel and it was only about a ten minute walk away. I took a walk through the ancient city passing some cute buildings and shops. I had my camera with me but was too lazy to get it out of my bag. Today would just be a phone photo kind of day. I walked down the main street and out through the old stone gate. Before getting to the beach there was a small river to cross. The bridge across the river was gated and guarded. Of course, my healthcode wouldn't scan on the scanner and the guard asked me if I was a foreigner. I mean surely just looking at me should have told him the answer to that. I walked over the bridge and through a small alleyway and came out at the promenade by the beach. It's ages (years) since I have been to the coast so I was happy to be there. I didn't really know what to expect at the beach as I haven't been to a lot of them in China. It was busy, but not too busy. The street in front of the beach was lined with hotels, guesthouses and bars, restaurants and coffee shops. It would be a nice place to stay, but I'm still glad I chose the old town as I prefer that. Also lots of the guesthouses had bathtubs in the window, which I think in theory sounds really nice, lazing in the bath looking out the window to the beach and mountains opposite. However, in reality how do you get in and out of the bath without flashing the entire beach as none of the windows appeared to be tinted, mirrored or blacked out.

I headed down to the beach and took a walk along it. I enjoyed my walk and ended up going a lot further than I anticipated. The weather wasn't the greatest as it was overcast, cloudy and looked like it was going to rain. However, it did make the mountains (Qiniang Mountain) opposite looked pretty moody, which I liked. The first part of the beach I walked along was busy, but not too bad. Then I came to a bottleneck area, which was rammed. I think it was because this was the part with lots of water sports/activities. I didn't fancy picking my path through so I headed up through the mini town that was there to cater to the holiday makers. I soon came back to the beach and the further I walked along the quieter it got. There was one resort that looked abandoned. I always wonder about these abandoned looking places in China. I would have loved to have went in for a wander, especially as there was a gap in the fence to get into the resort. I didn't though as I was worried that the long grass might be filled with snakes, and I also spotted a security guard with a dog later on. There were a couple of hotels in this part of the beach, but it felt quite cut off, I don't think I would have liked to have stayed there. I came to what appeared to be the end of the beach. There was a small rocky section, that separated it from the next stretch of the coast. I climbed up the rocks and sat there reading for a while. The next stretch of beach was totally deserted and I wondered if it was closed off to the public. Once rested, I headed back, there were quite a few dead fish washed up on the beach and I did stand on one, eww! There was also quite a bit of rubbish. Not loads that it made the beach really unpleasant, but still noticeable.

As I cut back into the ancient city proper, I decided not to head straight back to my hotel but to have a little wander. I headed up the street and was going to head down one of the streets I'd wandered along earlier when I changed my mind and headed in the opposite direction. There were a few people around, it felt busier than earlier, but there still weren't too many people, which was nice. I passed some shops, cafes and an interesting looking building, which I am looking forward to getting a better look at tomorrow. I passed a small noodle place that looked good, but continued on. I came out at a kind of square, had a quick look about and then headed to the noodle place as I was rather hungry. I got a dish of reganmain (热干面), the classic Wuhanese dish of hot dry noodles. It was delicious, I don't know why I don't have it more often as I really enjoy it. On the way back to my guesthouse, I stopped to try some tea from a woman on the street. It was lovely, so I ended up buying some. It was rather expensive, but it's a holiday treat. Then it was time to relax.

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Comments

[RENanDREW]

Getaway
I love how you caught such a complicated sounding network of public transport; I really think that catching public transport gives you an insight into a place that you wouldn't otherwise get. Those noodles look good! :)

[Zephyr]

I am a public transport fan too for insights into daily life. Covid made things more difficult, now it's back to normal and simpler. I am contemplating a return trip, partly just for the noodles. :)