Beihai is ranked as one of the five most beautiful holiday resorts and is famous for its vast sea, long beach, islands, lakes, forests and hills. Many natural scenic spots and historical sites in Beihai are under the nation's protection such as Beibu Gulf Square, Xingdao Lake, Beihai Silver Beach, Beihai Submarine World, Dongpo Pavilion and Wenchang Pagoda. In addition the islands of Weizhou and Xieyang, located in the Beibu Gulf, are also most attractive and very popular.

Due to the many scenic spots in Beihai, three routes are recommended to enable tourists to enjoy the journey and not feel exhausted.

Route No.1: Beibu Gulf Square→ Beihai Silver Beach→ Beihai Submarine World

Beibu Gulf Square
Intro: Situated in the center of Beihai City, Beibu Gulf Square characterizes the whole city: Modern but retaining some traditional features. There is a symbolic sculpture called 'Nanzhuhun' (soul of the southern pearl) standing erect in the square. The white shell measures 15 meters (about 49 feet) high with a ball made of stainless steel like a pearl embedded in its center representing the Pearl City - Beihai. In addition, there are many traditional buildings around the square and sometimes some folk-custom activities are held there for all to enjoy.
Getting there: Take the bus No. 3, 9 or take the motorbike and pay the driver CNY 2-5.

Beihai Silver Beach
Intro: Located in the southern seashore of Beihai City, the Beihai Silver Beach is reputed to be a long beach of 24 km (about 15 miles) with soft white sand and gentle waves. It is a natural spot to bathe and has acquired a name as 'No.1 Beach under Heaven'.
Best Time to Visit: March ~ October
Getting there: Take bus No. 3 to arrive at the beach or take a taxi from Beibu Gulf Square in the city center. The taxi fare is about CNY15-20 and you can negotiate with the taxi driver.
Note: On the beach you can play beach volleyball, beach kart and, more interestingly, you can take a skiff into the sea and join in bungee jumping on the sea. Diving under the sea is another interesting activity and costs about CNY 150 per person.

Beihai Submarine World
Intro: Situated in the Beihai Seashore Park, Beihai Submarine World is a big comprehensive museum which exhibits the halobios. It has two districts: A district is the former Aquatic Products Museum which is considered as one of the earliest and largest aquatic products museum together with Qingdao. B district is the biggest submarine sightseeing in the southwestern area of China. There are thousands of coral reef fishes swimming in Submarine World with many coming from the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The most breathtaking performance is of the divers dancing with the shark. Additionally, some artificial things are put in the underwater such as the Ancient City of Incas, the porcelain of the ancient Silk Road on the seabed, and the sunken boats of the Second World War.
Admission fee: CNY 70
Getting there: Take bus No. 3, 9 or take the motorbike and pay the driver CNY 2- 5.

Route No.2: Wenchang Pagoda→ Dongpo Pavilion→ Xingdao Lake

Wenchang Pagoda
Intro: Wenchang Pagoda built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) can be found in the southern area of Hepu County in Beihai. It is regarded as one of the best pagodas in the southern part of Guangxi Province.
Admission fee: Free
Getting there: Take the motorbike at Hepu County Bus Station for a distance of 3 kilometers (about 1.8 miles).

Dongpo Pavilion
Intro: Dongpo Pavilion was built in memory of the great poet Su Dongpo in the Song Dynasty (960-1127). There is a Dongpo Well beside the pavilion and at the east side there is 'Dongpo Park'. The cultural background makes the Dongpo Pavilion a famous scenic spot in Hepu City.
Admission fee: Free
Getting there: Take the motorbike at Hepu County Bus Station and stop at Hepu Normal School in Beihai City.

Xingdao Lake
Intro: Located in the Hongchaojiang Reservoir 24km (about 15 miles) northwest of Hepu County, Xingdao Lake is famous for a total of 1026 big and small islands looking like many resplendent stars scattered in the blue lake, thus getting its name Xingdao (star island) Lake. The climate here is very comfortable and tourists can see the blue water wind around the green mountains and the scenery is charming. There is a place called 'Shuihu City' where the teleplay of the Chinese classical masterpiece-The Outlaws of the Marsh -is filmed.
Admission fee: Tour on the boat costs CNY 10; the east section costs CNY 10 and the west section costs CNY 8.
Getting there: Take the quick regular bus to Hepu County from Beihai Bus Station (fare is CNY 5) then take the motorbike to Hepu Cinema where there is a tour bus from Hepu Bus Station leaving once every 40 minutes between 7:00 - 16:40 for Xingdao Lake. At 17:40 the last bus returns to Hepu from Xingdao Lake and costs CNY 3. The bus returning to Beihai from Hepu Bus Station departs every 10 minutes between 6:30 - 21:00 with a fare of CNY 5.

Route No.3: Weizhou Island and Xieyang Island

Weizhou Island
Intro: Located in the sea area of the Beibu Gulf in the south part and 36 sea miles (about 41 miles) away from Beihai City, Weizhou Island is the biggest extinct volcanic island in China. The scenery on the island is charming and gentle; especially the unusual scenery of volcanic lava and the magnificent crater which is a very rare sight. The marine eroded physiognomy on the island makes many rare mountain ranges and dangerous shoals. When you dive underwater, many life-forms in the sea such as live coral, trumpet shell, jellyfish and starfish come into view giving an illusion of paradise. At the banks of the island you can pay a visit to the Catholic Church or the Sam Po Temple and feel the different culture atmosphere of each. When the weather is fine, you can see the sunrise or sunset on Weizhou Island.
Admission fee: CNY50 (including all the scenic spots on the island)
Getting there: By sea from Beihai to Weizhou Island.
Best time to visit: April ~ November
Tips: By sea is the only way to access Weizhou Island, and it is suggested a round-trip ticket is purchased. When you are on the ship, put on the life jacket which is usually supplied under the seat and pay special attention to the safety instructions. Before your departure, you have to check the weather.

Xieyang Island
Intro: Xieyang Island is a small isle of no more than 2 square kilometers (about 0.8 square miles) located 9 sea miles (about 10 miles) away from Weizhou Island. Standing on Weizhou Island you can see the panorama of the sun slanting & shining on Xieyang (slanting sun) Island which gave it its name - Xieyang Island. On this island you can see the marvelous spectacle of marine eroded and accumulated physiognomy. There is abundant vegetation on Xieyang Island mainly consisting of Masson Pine and Taiwan Acacia. The islanders both on Weizhou Island and Xieyang Island are very honest and they live a simple life. There is no vegetable market on the island, thus each family lives on the fish. If there are fish left, they will put them in the sea water from the bank with no worry of them being stolen.
Admission fee: Free
Getting there: After reaching Weizhou Island by ship, you can then take the yacht or fishing boat.
Best time to visit: April ~ November