沙扒 Shābā is a small coastal town at the western end of 阳西县 Yángxī xiàn, and it is the beach the people of 阳江 Yángjiāng go to when they want to swim. The town sits at the back of 月亮湾 Yuèliàng wān, Moon Bay, a long crescent of pale sand that curves away to a headland, and beside it the smaller curve of 沙扒湾 Shābā wān, both of them shallow and calm enough for families. A resort here is a few steps from the sand: rooms and low buildings set behind the sea-pine, the seafood restaurants of the town along the front, and the boats that land the day’s catch a short walk away.
The resorts of 沙扒 are built for the beach and keep it simple. A typical one is a low block or a row of villas behind the pine belt, with a pool, a restaurant and a path out to the sand. The sea-facing rooms look over the water and the crescent, and the best of them open onto a terrace where you can dry a towel and watch the light change. The scale is modest – this is a small-town coast, not a big-city resort strip – and the atmosphere is families, swimmers, and the smell of charcoal and grilled shellfish in the evening.
What the town is known for, beyond the swimming, is what comes off the boats. 沙扒 is a working fishing harbour, and the 海鲜 hǎi xiān, the seafood, is landed and sold within sight of the beach: 生蚝 shēng háo, oysters, 花蟹 huā xiè, crabs, 濑尿虾 lài niào xiā, mantis shrimp, and the small silver fish the restaurants fry whole. The harbour market in the morning is worth the walk, and the shore-side restaurants will cook what you point at. Between the bay and the headland there is a coast path with a view back over the whole crescent, best walked in the late afternoon.
The bay is the reason to come and the reason to stay the night rather than day-trip: early in the morning, before the coaches arrive, the sand is empty and the water is glassy, and in the evening, after they leave, the crescent is quiet again and the lights come on along the front. The water is shallow a long way out, so children and weak swimmers are safe, and the curve of the bay means there is usually a calm end and a breezier one. Stay two nights, swim at both ends of the day, and eat the town’s seafood in between.
What the Rooms Are Like
Expect a room of twenty to thirty-five square metres, a firm bed, air conditioning, a clean en-suite bathroom with a shower, and often a balcony or terrace. The sea-facing rooms are the ones to book and cost more in the high season; the pine-view rooms are cheaper and cooler. There is usually a pool, a restaurant and reliable Wi-Fi, and a lift in the larger blocks. Bring sun cream and a hat, because the sand and the water reflect the light all day.
Practicalities
Price. A double at a 沙扒 beach resort runs ¥250 to ¥600 a night in the shoulder season, and considerably more in July and August and over the October week, when the whole coast is full. Sea-facing rooms and villas cost more, and the summer weekends should be booked ahead.
Address. The resorts are behind the beach at 沙扒 in 阳西县, on the 月亮湾 and 沙扒湾 coast at the western end of the county, reached by road from 阳江 city in about an hour and a half. 阳西县 is on the high-speed line at 阳西站 Yángxī zhàn.
Rooms. Ask for a sea-facing room and confirm the balcony, and check whether the rate includes breakfast, because the town’s own cafes are good and cheap. In high summer ask about air conditioning in the room and about the pool hours, which run late when it is hot. If you want the harbour-side seafood at its best, ask the desk which restaurants take the morning boats.
Getting there. From 阳西站 Yángxī zhàn on the high-speed line, a taxi to 沙扒 takes about forty minutes; from 阳江 city the drive is about an hour and a half. A car is useful here because the bay and the town are spread out, and the resorts have parking.
Where to stay: the beach resorts behind the sand at 沙扒 in 阳西县, reached by road from 阳江 city or by taxi from 阳西站. Book a sea-facing room, swim at both ends of the day, and eat the harbour’s seafood in the evening.
flowcloud would say that a small fishing town which happens to sit behind one of the best crescents of sand on the coast, and which has built nothing more elaborate than rooms, a pool and a line of seafood restaurants, has remembered that a beach holiday needs almost nothing added to it.