Beidahe by own steam ? (1 Viewer)

[albatross02]

Hello together,

is it possible bird watching in Beidahe ( China ) by own steam ?

I think car driving is not recommended and maybe not allowed because the difficult letters.

Is it possible bird watching with public transport ?
How is about local guiding tours ?

I have about 3 weeks time.

Are any other recommended bird areas near Beijing ?


Thank You very much.



best regards
Dieter

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Terry Townshend's site should have plenty of info for Beijing:
https://birdingbeijing.com/

I went to Beidaihe a few years ago and, although I went with an experienced guide (Jesper Hornskov) I think it should be very easy to do on your own. You really don't have to travel far. Almost everything we saw was within 1 or 2 km of the hotel. Sometimes you might want to take a taxi. The only danger then is getting ripped off by the driver (one tried with us, but reckoned without Jesper's fearsome grasp of Mandarin and local regulations!).

 

[James Lowther]

You can definitely bird beidaihe on your own as Andrew says. There’s an old thread that I started on the topic. But if you can get a local travel agent to help you with travel accommodation and permits etc will make life easier. Traditional contact for birders was Jean wang at least up until 2013. Not sure now.
James

 

[Larry Sweetland]

You can definitely bird beidaihe on your own as Andrew says. There’s an old thread that I started on the topic. But if you can get a local travel agent to help you with travel accommodation and permits etc will make life easier. Traditional contact for birders was Jean wang at least up until 2013. Not sure now.
James

Thoroughly recommend Jean Wang, she's great for sorting out things. We mostly explored on pushbikes, which you can hire easily enough.

In Beijing it's worth going to the Summer Palace, where there's some lakes, and the botanical gardens (Chinese Nuthatch etc). Easy and cheap on the metro.

 

[albatross02]

All together, thank You for the information.

Where is recommend to stay in Beidahe, which area are watching points ?
South of them seems very interesting areas too.
Is permit needed to visit some areas ?

I found
http://i61.tinypic.com/156fi8i.jpg

http://travelsfinders.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/beidaihe-map_18.jpg

http://web.ncf.ca/eb317/China/Geotag Sep 26 annotated.jpg

http://web.ncf.ca/eb317/China/Geotag Sep 27 annotated.jpg

How is possible to contact Jean Wang ?




Best regards
Dieter

 

[James Lowther]

my information is 4 years out of date but...

my trip detailed here:-

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=270729

e-mail for Jean Wang is bsots 'AT' 263 ‘DOT’ net

you need a permit to visit the wetland centre but none of the other sites i visited

the Beidaihe international club hotel is very convenient for the wetland centre and the sandflats, but rather distant from the friendship hotel and lighthouse point

cheers,

James

 

[Jeff Hopkins]

I stayed at the Jinshan hotel for a couple nights, but was unimpressed (lousy food, no hot water), so I switched to the International Club. Much better place. They even spoke a little English and arranged my train ticket back to Beijing for me. Full disclosure: I speak some mandarin, and that helps a lot.

Taxis are cheap. Get the destinations of the birding sites written out and you're good to go. The tourist maps in town when I was there (2012) have all the bus routes on them. The bus for Qinhuangdao stops in front of the International Club. You need to change buses in Qinhuangdao for Shanhaiguan.

 

[albatross02]

Hello Jeff and James,

very helpful advices.
Normally I check accomodation evalution at booking.
In Asia somethimes Agoda is better.



Best regards
Dieter

 

[Jens Thalund]

Hello Dieter,

a friend and I spent 3 months in Beidaihe back in 1994 (March-June), and did all birding around the place by bicycle, but I'm not sure about the state of the birding sites now.

During May trips were arranged to visit Happy Island and Lao Ling, and we were able to tag along, but there were plenty of birds around Beidaihe to keep us busy - especially in May/June.

See report here.

Cheers

Jens

 

[albatross02]

Hallo Jens,

thank You very much.
Excellent report !


Best regards
Dieter