Take You on a Trip: Have You Been to This Summer Resort on the Bohai Bay? Attached with Dalian Food and Fun Guide

Preface

Summer is here again, and with the unbearable heat, escaping the heat has become everyone's top concern. China has a vast territory, spanning a large distance between the north and south. In summer, choosing a place to escape the heat for travel is naturally a choice for many. In April 2020, a beautiful coastal city at the junction of the Yellow Sea and the Bohai Sea came into everyone's sight because it was selected for the "2020 China Summer Resort City List". That city is Dalian.

I believe many people yearn for the sea, just like the famous line from Haizi's poem: "Facing the sea, with spring blossoms." And Dalian is exactly such a city located on the Bohai Bay of China. The beauty of the sea and sky blending together—perhaps you can only truly know it when you go there. Dalian is a beautiful coastal city. Living in a city where you can't see the sea all year round, I always long for the ocean. Arriving in Dalian, we couldn't wait to rush into the embrace of the sea.

This trip to Dalian was mainly for vacation, leisure, and eating seafood, so we planned our itinerary around scenic spots with convenient transportation in the city center: one is Xinghai Square, and the other is Sun Asia Ocean World.

For accommodation, we chose the Yitel Premium Hotel (Dalian Xi'an Road Branch), which is very close to Xinghai Square. This area is also one of the top business districts in Dalian, with many malls for shopping and eating, and it's very close to the airport—about fifteen to twenty minutes to get there. The stay was very comfortable. The bedding was neither too soft nor too hard, suitable for people with neck and spine issues to rest. The room had a capsule coffee machine, and every morning I woke up and made a cup of capsule coffee, feeling full of energy. The water pressure in the bathroom was strong, and after working out in the hotel gym at night, it was so comfortable to return to the room and take a hot shower.

During the special period, when booking the hotel, I selected the "Safe Hotel" label on the BTG Homeinns mobile app. From the front desk to the lobby, public areas, and rooms, disinfection supplies were fully available, and free epidemic prevention supplies were also provided. It was really thoughtful.

On the mobile app homepage, there was also the "BTG Homeinns Takes You on a Trip" activity page, which matched popular summer city travel guides and discounted hotel information. This summer, a free summer journey starts from the hotel.

We took a flight to Dalian, and the hotel was very close to the airport, making it convenient. Once in Dalian, we used public transportation or taxis the whole time. Basically, the areas we moved around in were not far, so it was very relaxed.

Xinghai Square is located in Shahekou District, Dalian City, Liaoning Province. It is an open-air square in the southwestern part of Dalian, a major construction project commemorating Hong Kong's return to China, and one of Dalian's landmarks. Apart from the paved areas, the rest of Xinghai Square is covered with lawns, on which a large number of hedges are planted, trimmed into traditional Chinese-style floral patterns. It is also a great place to cool off. After dinner, coming to the square to enjoy the sea breeze is incredibly pleasant.

There are many sculptures on Xinghai Square, mainly including the Centennial City Sculpture, bronze figure sculptures, and modern sports sculptures. Among them, the bronze footprints lying in the center of the square catch everyone's attention. This row of footprint reliefs is 80 meters long, and they contain footprints of people born from 1899 to 1999. Among them, one block has a large and a small footprint—the small one is from a grandmother with bound feet born in 1899, and the large one is from a baby born in 1999, which is very commemorative.

Xinghai Square is a landmark of Dalian and also the largest city square in Asia. The entire square is elliptical, with an area larger than two Tiananmen Squares. The central avenue runs through the center of the square. You can enjoy the musical fountain, various sculptures, the sea view, the cross-sea bridge, and even feed seagulls. Strolling on the square or standing by the shore looking out at the sea, appreciating the gorgeous coastal city scenery—this is Dalian, this is the place where we want to watch the sunrise and sunset together.

Before we knew it, we had walked from the square to the seaside. Looking into the distance, a steel giant lies across the sea—it is the Xinghai Bay Bridge, a landmark of Dalian. The bridge is a cross-sea channel connecting Shahekou District and Xigang District in Dalian. The bridge crosses the southern waters of Xinghai Bay Square. Since the main bridge is about 1 kilometer away from Xinghai Square and runs parallel to the coastline, this spot has become a must-photograph location for everyone who comes to Xinghai Square.

The sea is still so blue, only the sky about to merge into the sea quietly embraces that tranquility and comfort. In that unattainable blend of sea and sky, a moment of blue quietly appears. That blue seems to surpass brilliance, leaving only silence and its present glory!

Food is the first necessity of the people. Arriving in Dalian, it is natural to experience the authentic local flavors. Northeasterners love eating barbecue, and that cannot be missed. In a coastal city, seafood barbecue has become a must-try cuisine when visiting Dalian. So we chose a popular seafood barbecue restaurant in Dalian.

Dalian's nightlife starts with skewers. This restaurant might be the most Michelin-level barbecue I've ever eaten, and also the most original seafood grill. Various fresh seafood skewers delivered straight in

A combination of wasabi, oysters, jellyfish skin, and steamed bun slices—it's more exciting to swallow in one mouthful

Only the Bohai Bay has these sea shrimp

Shellfish shaped like butterflies

Curry crab specially learned from Thailand—so flavorful

Sour, spicy, and refreshing big shrimp

A unique combination of clams and steamed bun slices—a novel way to eat

Of course, the essential grilled meat is also indispensable

Dalian Sun Asia Ocean World

Dalian Sun Asia Ocean World is a long-established tourist attraction in Dalian. It is located west of Xinghai Square, within Xinghai Park, in the core tourism belt of Dalian city. It includes four major venues: Sun Asia Ocean World, Sun Asia Polar World, Sun Asia Deep Sea Legend, and Sun Asia Coral World. This is a huge blue world in close contact with the sea, super suitable for bringing kids to play.

Sun Asia Ocean World

This venue is like a huge simulated underwater world, mainly displaying marine life. The famous China's first 118-meter underwater tunnel is located in this venue.

Upon entering the venue, the first thing that shocks you is the Shark Dance Zone. In a huge glass tank of seawater, sharks of various sizes swim inside. Looking at their fangs, it feels like a warning for humans to stay away.

Listening to the guide's explanation, the red ball in the glass tank is for the keepers to feed the sharks. After all, sharks are very fierce marine creatures, and protecting human safety is extremely important.

Sun Asia Coral World

Next to the exhibition hall is Coral World. This venue is mainly for display. As the name suggests, corals are the theme here. Corals are also the theme of the entire ocean world. They are beautiful and also functional.

In Sun Asia Coral World, over a hundred species and more than a thousand coral reef biological groups from around the world are gathered. Sun Asia also uses live coral maintenance technology, and through various modern technological expression methods, it vividly recreates the coral ecosystem in the ocean.

Sun Asia Polar World

Seeing the word "polar," you instantly understand that this is an Arctic and Antarctic biological exhibition hall. Moreover, two of Sun Asia's three major shows, "The Legend of the Beluga" and "Kung Fu Walrus," are performed in this venue. I can't help but introduce these two performances first.

"The Legend of the Beluga"

Arriving at the beluga performance venue, it was already packed. Coming to Sun Asia to watch the beluga performance is a must. Two large beluga whales and two performers create beautiful scenes underwater. Sometimes the beluga turns into a knight, sometimes it dances a waltz with a beautiful woman underwater, forming a romantic big heart... With full underwater performance, difficult movements, and creativity, as I watched, I even felt tears in my eyes—perfect harmony and understanding between humans and nature. I felt sorry for their hard work and admired their dedication. Whether human or animal, harmony is truly precious!

"Kung Fu Walrus"

Seeing this title, you know it's obviously a comedy show. Sure enough, the cute sea lion came on stage first with humorous performances, combined with the host's jokes, the scene was hilarious beyond control. When the main actor, the walrus, appeared, everyone laughed heartily. Judging by its appearance, the walrus has a big body, small head, and chubby flesh. Sitting there, it had several "swim rings" hanging around its waist. This walrus is also a great actor—Oscar-level. It acts coy, jokes, and is adorable, not missing a thing, and its true skills are impressive. Finally, when audience members went on stage, it would only accept kisses, not hugs—ha ha, so cute!

In the polar hall, polar creatures are naturally indispensable. The polar bear paced back and forth in its room without stopping. The several Arctic foxes next to it were also funny and cute, with naturally high good looks. Their white fur looked very smooth. A few little cuties lazily drooped their heads and slept, while only one lively one kept turning the running wheel, occasionally sticking out its tongue to cool down—it was the exercise champion.

On the other side is the Antarctic Penguin Island. Wow, the penguin babies here are so cute! Emperor penguins and gentoo penguins from Antarctica gather together, forming a penguin family here. Sun Asia has created an original amphibious living environment for these Antarctic gentlemen, truly worthy of being a national Antarctic penguin breeding base.

Sun Asia Deep Sea Legend

This is mainly a high-tech multimedia experience center with the theme of deep-sea adventure. It uses the latest multimedia technology combined with sound, light, electricity simulation, and mechanical linkage to create a thrilling deep-sea adventure journey.

After experiencing all the fantastic, beautiful, touching, and fun experiences in the ocean world, it was already sunset. In front of us were the yacht marina, the cross-sea bridge standing proudly over the sea in the distance, and seagulls flying over the sea. Several children raised food in their hands to feed the seagulls. I stood aside watching all this, listening to the gentle sound of the sea waves, feeling the fresh and cool sea breeze. Everything was moist, beautiful, delicate, and also ever-changing. Did you see all this?

Address: No. 608-6-8 Zhongshan Road, Shahekou District, Dalian City

Ticket: Sun Asia four-venue combo ticket (Ocean World + Polar World + Coral World + Deep Sea Legend) 190 RMB/person

Show Times: The performance times of the three major shows vary with the season. You can check the Sun Asia official website for details.