Dawa District 大洼区

Setting and landscape

The district government describes Dawa as one of the world's most complete wetland ecosystems, shared with more than 260 rare bird species including the red-crowned crane (丹顶鹤) and Saunders's gull (黑嘴鸥). Oil and gas reserves are large: Dawa is a main production area of the Liaohe Oilfield (辽河油田), and it also has underground hot-spring water. Its Panjin rice and Panjin river crab are known far beyond the district.

History

In the Qing dynasty the area belonged to Haicheng County (海城县). Dawa became a county under Yingkou (营口) on 9 November 1975, passed to the new city of Panjin in 1984, was named a coastal open county in 1988, and became a district of Panjin in 2016. The Tianzhuangtai site of the First Sino-Japanese War (甲午战争田庄台遗址) is listed as a national key protected site.

What to see

The Red Beach National Scenic Corridor (红海滩国家风景廊道) runs along the coastal highway in Zhaoquanhe town (赵圈河镇). The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs notes that the beach turns a light red in early April, deepens through the summer and shifts from red to purple in October, and gives May to October as the best months. Close by, at Jieguanting (接官厅) in the Liao River delta, the Red Beach Wetland Science Museum (红海滩湿地科学馆) presents Red Beach through the four seasons. Zhaoquanhe was chosen in the first national batch of characteristic towns.

At Erjiegou (二界沟) on the Liao River estuary lived the 'Guyuyan' (古渔雁, 'ancient fishing geese'): fishermen from central and eastern Hebei who, lacking boats for deep-sea fishing, migrated like birds along the shore to fish the mudflats. Their folk tales were placed on the first national intangible-heritage list in 2006; local cultural authorities have recorded close to a thousand stories and more than a thousand fishing songs. At the Erjiegou Guyuyan Culture Village (二界沟古渔雁文化村) visitors can pick river crabs and try sieving small shrimp. The district government also lists the Heifengguan old town (黑风关古镇) and the Zhiqing headquarters (知青总部) among its 3A-or-higher scenic areas.

Highlights

• Red Beach National Scenic Corridor 红海滩国家风景廊道: Coastal wetland in Zhaoquanhe town that turns red from April and purple in October.
• Red Beach Wetland Science Museum 红海滩湿地科学馆: Wetland museum at Jieguanting in the Liao River delta.
• Guyuyan folk tales 古渔雁民间故事: Stories of migrant estuary fishermen at Erjiegou; national intangible heritage since 2006.
• Tianzhuangtai site 甲午战争田庄台遗址: Site of the First Sino-Japanese War; national key protected site.