Qinhuangdao, literally Qin Emperor's Island, was named after an emperor of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC)

Set on the coast some 280 km east of Beijing， the seaside holiday resort of Beidaihe is famous not only as a tourist center and as a good place to recuperate after illness， but also as one of the best places in the world to see migratory birds.   

China"s Yanshan Mountain Range winds its way thousands of miles from the west to the eastern seaboard. It sends a number of waterways like the Henghe， Daihe， Yanghe and Luanhe rivers down to the Bohai Sea at Beidaihe. They create a vast area of wetlands， mud-banks， and lagoons with rich feeding and good places for birds to rest. Here migratory routes come together like great seasonal rivers of birds linking northeast Asia with south China， Indo-China， Australia and even far off east Africa.

Back in the 1940s Danish scientist， Axel Hemmingsen， published a report saying that he had seen large numbers of cranes at Beidaihe，. With the help of an official from the Beidaihe tourism authority， Dr Williams visited Shijiutuo Island in nearby Laoting County. What he discovered there was far beyond his expectations and he found many new kinds of birds. Since then， Since the first two parties of Chinese bird enthusiasts visited Beidaihe in 1999， more and more domestic visitors have joined bird watching groups going there on vacation.

Meanwhile the birds are regular visitors here too. Flocks of gulls are easily spotted. What might not be so easy is to be able to distinguish among the bewildering variety in the skies over Beidaihe. Many different birds pass through here as the seasons come and go and every year still sees fresh species spotted. It is a magnificent sight to see the occasional flock of large cranes pass by or to watch the birds of prey， however the larger birds have been decreasing in number.

The period spanning the last ten days of April through the last ten days of May is the best season for bird watching. This is when you can see the greatest number and variety of birds in Beidaihe.

Then the period from the last ten days of August through September is the time for the medium and small wading birds to pass through.

October brings another peak season as many birds pass through the area， going south for the winter.

As the colder weather comes in with the first ten days of November， flocks of cranes will be making their way south. They will come north again the following March.

For swimming and wading birds， Daihe， Yanghe and Dapu rivers should not disappoint.

· Visit Jiaoshan Mountain to enjoy watching birds of prey and songbirds.

· Shijiutuo Island in nearby Laoting County is well worth an extended visit of a few days duration.

During the course of a typical 12-day visit， you might expect to see 200 different kinds of birds.