Get to know Yinhai District
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Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.
- Administrative area
- District · 市辖区
- Part of
- Beihai
- Chinese name
- 银海区
- Local areas
- District guide
Area & population
- Area in the source
- 423.00 km²
- Population · 2020
- 315,196
Source: cited geographic source, as of the dates shown.
What to see
Beihai Silver Beach stretches about 24 km from east to west and is between 30 and 3,000 metres wide, built entirely of fine white quartz sand; the quartz is what makes the sand glint in sunshine. The district government sums it up with a five-part description: long flat beach, fine white sand, clean water, soft waves and no sharks. The stretch was formerly called Baihutou beach (白虎头海滩).
About 15 km south-east of urban Beihai and joined to Silver Beach, the Golden Bay mangrove area (金海湾红树林) holds more than 2,000 mu of mangrove growing on sand, with seven mangrove species; egrets are the most numerous birds. Its Golden Beach (金滩) takes its name from sand that is golden rather than white, and at low tide it is left with shellfish, crabs and sandworms.
Food and local products
Qiaogang town (侨港镇) is described by the district government as China's largest resettlement site for returned overseas Chinese from Vietnam, and it is known for Vietnamese food and the food of the Tanka (疍家) boat people. The local slogan runs "eat in Qiaogang, play at Silver Beach", and the town holds the Qiaogang Sea-Opening Festival (侨港开海节) each year. A second Tanka-themed settlement, Silver Beach Tanka Town (银滩疍家小镇), is Beihai's largest relocation area.
The district lists sandworm (沙虫), the peanut worm, among its specialities: a gut-like worm 5 to 10 cm long, eaten fresh or dried and then fried, stir-fried, stewed or cooked in soup.
History
The area belonged to Hepu County (合浦县) of Hepu Commandery from 111 BC. In the early Ming Hongwu reign a chain of eight coastal forts was built against Japanese pirates, and present-day Yinhai fell within the defence zones of three of them, Wudao (武刀寨), Longtan (龙潭寨) and Guli (古里寨). An Overseas Chinese fishery commune (华侨渔业公社) was set up in Yaping and Dianjian villages on 2 June 1978. Beihai's suburban district, formed in 1984, was abolished in December 1994 when Yinhai District was created.
Highlights
- Beihai Silver Beach 北海银滩: About 24 km of fine white quartz sand, 30 to 3,000 metres wide.
- Golden Bay Mangroves 金海湾红树林: More than 2,000 mu of sand-growing mangrove with seven species, joined to Silver Beach.
- Qiaogang town 侨港镇: Resettlement town for returned overseas Chinese from Vietnam, known for Vietnamese and Tanka food and its Sea-Opening Festival.
- Sandworm 沙虫: Peanut worm 5 to 10 cm long, eaten fresh or dried and fried, stewed or cooked in soup.
Sources for this guide
北海市银海区简介 - 银海简介 - 银海区人民政府 · Yinhai District People's Government, Beihai
银海区建置沿革 - 历史沿革 - 银海区人民政府 · Yinhai District People's Government, Beihai
金海湾红树林生态休闲度假旅游区 - 特色景点 - 银海区人民政府 · Yinhai District People's Government, Beihai
银滩公园 - 特色景点 - 银海区人民政府 · Yinhai District People's Government, Beihai
沙虫 - 地方特产 - 银海区人民政府 · Yinhai District People's Government, Beihai
Original English written from the listed sources and checked sentence by sentence against quoted extracts by a separate reviewer. Updated 2026-09-24.
Explore Yinhai District
Core places to explore, with English and Chinese names.
Places to explore around Yinhai District
Beihai Silver Beach at sunrise, Yinhai District · 北海银滩晨景，银海区 Source-recorded photograph date: Taken on 5 August 2010.Beihai Silver Beach北海银滩
Beihai Silver Beach is the sandy coastal visitor area south of Beihai's main urban centre.
Read the place guide →
Jinhaiwan Mangrove Forest · 金海湾红树林Jinhaiwan Mangrove Forest金海湾红树林
Jinhaiwan Hongshulin (金海湾红树林) is a coastal scenic area in Yinhai District, Beihai, adjoining Yintan (Silver Beach) and named for its mangroves.
Read the place guide →Plan your visit
Getting there
Yinhai District is about 4 km in a straight line from central Beihai. Search for 银海区 in a map app to find stations and your accommodation.
Where to stay →Build your route
Beihai Silver Beach and Jinhaiwan Mangrove Forest are both listed here. The linked place guides have entrance and visit details.
Continue with Beihai →More in Beihai
Sources & geographic information
Administrative names and parent areas: Official geographic directory · Reference date 2026-09-06.
Photo: Beihai Silver Beach · 史氏 · CC BY 3.0. Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.
Photo: Jinhaiwan Mangrove Forest · Source photographer · License not provided. EXIF orientation normalized; resized without changing aspect ratio; converted to WebP. No subject edits.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Pins mark approximate centres, not entrances or boundaries.