On Saturday we (Gary, Lei, Qi and myself) decided to go to Fengxian to check out the beach there. Fengxian is located about one hour south of Shanghai, the easiest way to get there is to take the A4 toll road (RMB 20), that runs almost to the village.
Fengxian itself turned out not to be too interesting. There is an artificial beach, but you cannot go into the water: it is so dirty that the government put a fence between the beach and the water! At low tide you can venture out over the sandy grounds by horse, but that’s about the only way to get close to the sea. The weather was nice, it was about 30 degrees but a strong wind (force 8) made the heat quite comfortable.
There is a small amusement park built in the middle of the sandy beach, but because of the strong wind not many people were using it. Luckily there was lots of fresh seafood available, and we had big lunch at one of the sea food places. Four different kinds of shell fish, small lobsters and octopus, vegetables, several beers for Gary and me, and Coca-Cola for the ladies. All together for only RMB 160. I just hoped they did not collect the shell fish right on the sandbanks at low tide (at least I did not get sick).
Afterwards we drove through the countryside to Shanghai’s new deep sea port, which is located about 20 kilometers into the sea (connected by a long bridge of course). But we were not allowed onto the bridge by a police guy, so decided to forget about it and drive back to Shanghai. On the way back the highway was almost empty, so I could test my car a bit. I managed to get up to about 180-190 km/h, and the car drove excellent at that speed. It could still go faster, but I felt it’s just too dangerous. It’s not unusual to suddenly encounter a bike rider on the highway or a farmer who decided to cross the road on foot, and that’s a situation you want to avoid at extremely high speeds.
I hope for you, Grace and Gary the fresh seafood wasn’t fished at the beach you visited. Anyway, for me it’s unbelievable a shore can get that poluted. You should import the Dutch haring. Big chance your friends love it!