Situated just a four hour high-speed train ride from Beijing is the prefecture-level city of Panjin. Positioned on the northern coast of Liaodong Bay of the Bohai Gulf and on the route to Shenyang, Panjin is home to the wildlife haven named Red Beach. Numerous rare species of bird can be spotted in this area, living among the reed beds that front the shoreline. Its mud flats are also major bird feeding areas and a special type of red seaweed is found here that gives the area a deep red color, hence the name ‘Red Beach’.
The beach makes up part of the larger Shuangtaihekou State Natural Reserve, a marshland that serves as natural habitat to 321 species of animals that is also one of the few breeding grounds for endangered birds such as the red-crowned crane and Saunders’ gull. These helped to give Panjin its nickname – ‘Home of the Cranes’.
