China is not well known for beautiful beaches...or is it? Shenzhen, a major city in the Pearl River Delta, has a decent collection of good quality beaches. Among these, Dameisha is one of the largest, is free of charge to enter and also the nearest from the city center! In addition to sand and sea, it also offers water sports activities like jet ski, snorkeling and parasailing, albeit in a very...theme park style...as I should explain later.
Getting there
Dameisha is located about 18km to the East of Shenzhen city center, near the OCT East Resort. You can either take a taxi, which will cost about 70-100 RMB, or take a public bus (公交). The easiest way is to take bus 384 from Huangbeiling (黄贝岭, Line 2/5) Metro Station and alight at hai bin yu chang (海滨浴场) station, about 1 hour away. The bus fare from the metro station is 4 RMB. Once you alight, the beach is just across the road.
Dameisha Beach
Dameisha beach is actually part of a larger tourist cluster called Seaside Resort. There is also a large theme park resort called
OCT East Resort, several luxury beachfront hotels and a more exclusive beach called Xiaomeisha, which charges 30 RMB per entry.
Now, the "theme park style" begins: To enter Dameisha Beach, you must first get a free admission ticket (first time I heard of that). If you are a Chinese national, you can use one of the automated ticketing machines. If not, head over to their reservation counter to obtain a ticket. This is performed as a means of crowd control. There is also a security check at the entrance.
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| Entrance gate and security check |
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| Automated ticket collection. You need a Chinese ID to collect ticket from these machines, so foreigners need to approach the manned counter. |
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| ...and I thought Sentosa's beach rules were strict. |
The beach itself is huge. It is almost 2 kilometers from one end to another and the width of the beach can exceed 200m at some places. In addition, because I went on a rainy day, there were comparatively few people even though it was a Sunday. Because the beach is controlled like a theme park, there are also many facilities like toilets, lockers, sand washing areas and, of course, souvenir shops.
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| Look how tiny the people are! |
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| There are many shoe racks all along the beach. |
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| This pavilion near the Eastern entrance is the largest shelter. So you guess what happens when the rain started to get heavy... |
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| I heard these bins were added to reduce the amount of littering. Judging from the reviews on tripadvisor, I am not sure if they are doing their job. |
The souvenir shops sell mainly beach necessities like floats, swimsuits, towels and sunblock. You can also rent floats if you don't want to bring back any oversized baggage. The prices are considered reasonable for international tourists but not so for locals.
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| This is the smallest of the 4 locker facilities at Dameisha beach! |
There is actually a designated swimming area. There are 2 lifeguards on duty, 1 on the beach and 1 on a jet ski around the swimming area. However, I found the swimming area markings too confusing as there are so many different lines! Also, the waves are quite strong (comparable to the wave pool at Adventure Cove Waterpark) so I think you should only consider going into the water if you are a strong swimmer.
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| Lightning alert alarm |
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| Need more proof that it is raining? Even the lifeguard is carrying an umbrella! |
Jet Ski
Okay, finally I reach the point of this post. To talk about my experience riding a jet ski for the first time. As mentioned previously, Dameisha actually has several water sports activities, including snorkeling, boat rentals and parasailing. Registration and payment for the activities are located a at small booth to the right side of the entrance nearest to the bus stop. It is the only water sports operator at the beach so I guess it is directly operated by the beach management.
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| Registration and payment for all water sports activities are carried out here. |
Jet ski ride costs 150 RMB (SGD30) for 1 person 10 minutes, so its a good way to experience it for the first time. If you want 2 people go together it will cost 200RMB for the same duration. You will be accompanied by an instructor. There is NO option to rent for longer durations.
Now, this is where the "theme park experience" continues. The staff will insist that you surrender ALL your electronic devices for their safekeeping, so you cannot take photos on board (yes, they want to see you check your pockets). Then, you will be charged 40RMB to print a 4R sized photo of your experience, or 100RMB if you want to download your photo collection in soft copy... Your belongings will then be safekept at the dock so no need to pay for locker.
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| Wow! There is a dock! I thought most water sports operators will simply...you know...launch from the beach |
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| this is the only photo I managed to get at the dock before my phone was...safekept. |
The jet skis themselves are the old model Yamaha VX Waverunners (not the new one you find on their website now). They come with Yamaha's most basic engine and reach a top speed of 70-80kph. However, given the strong waves at Dameisha, you wont reach the top speed for long before being thrusted into the air and lose speed. The instructor will control the jet ski until you reach a more open area then allow you to start driving.
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| Other boats and jet skis parked on the beach. Not sure if they are available for rental (peak days, maybe?) or by other (private, maybe? operators) |
Now, this is a theme park blog, so it is only natural for me to do is to compare jet ski with roller coaster. Basically, the ride felt so short that it was over before I even got used to the controls. To fully appreciate the thrills that a jet ski has to offer, you need to practice. However, it is expensive to practice for any motorised activity. As a first timer, I actually found the controls awkward compared to ATVs or Go Karts, mostly because there was no steering after releasing throttle.
Basically, a jet ski has the potential to match the thrill level of a mid sized roller coaster, but only if you have the skill to operate it to its full potential. However, anyone who has the skill is mostly likely quite numb to the thrills anyway...so...ROLLER COASTERS ALL THE WAY! Maybe this is also why most mass market tourist attractions prefer experience based activities like roller coasters, banana boats rather than skill based activities like rock climbing, jet skiing.
Other matters
As I was leaving the beach, I saw several buses deliver tourists here. Basically, the tour buses usually come in the afternoon so the beach will be less crowded in the morning.
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| Haha! I beat the crowds once again. |
Then, I went to a food stall opposite the road for lunch. The food is quite cheap for tourist standards. I paid 15RMB for a bowl of noodles and 10RMB for a plate of Chinese meat dumplings. The department stalls there also sell snacks, swimsuits, towels and other beach related accessories.
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| The building which the shops are located is actually part of a hotel. |
The verdict
Dameisha beach is an interesting attraction. As a beach, it has comprehensive amenities such as lockers, toilets and shelter, though I am not sure if its enough for peak days. Also, the water sports activities are well organised and comparatively safer than water sports operated by unlicensed operators (like in Thailand), though they are quite expensive. Some international tourists complain that the beach is dirty on peak days but I went on a rainy day when it is less crowded so it is hard to say.
Nonetheless, I think this is just good as a short drop-by attraction if you happen to visit Knights Valley theme park. I think it lacks the activities to really become an attraction unto itself, at least for an international tourists. As for the jet ski, I think I may prefer the guided tour style rather than this short aimless riding style.
- Sand quality: ☆☆☆☆
- Water Cleanliness: ☆☆☆
- Toilet and storage facilities: ☆☆☆☆
- Water Sports: ☆☆☆
- Food & Beverage, retail: ☆☆☆
- Overall: ☆☆☆
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