Bi Jia Shan is China's version of Mont St. Michel. An island, lying about a mile off the China coast at the north end of the Bohai Gulf, Bi Jia Shan joins the mainland twice each day at low tide, via a natural land bridge.

Bi Jia Shan means 'pen rest mountain' in Chinese, and when you look at the mountain island from the mainland, you can see that the natural dip between two peaks does make the island resemble a pen rest.

Bi Jia Shan is located about 20 miles southwest of the city of Jinzhou, next to the Jinzhou port, from where enormous amounts of petroleum products are shipped.

Mini-busses leave from Jinzhou for Bi Jia Shan every few minutes from the mini-bus lot located a block west of the Jinzhou train station. The fare is about 5 yuan per person one way (children free) and the trip takes about an hour to drive out to the coast. Ride to the end of the line, and then walk half a block to the park gate.

The entrance fee is 20 yuan per person (children free), and the park is open from about 6 am till 6 pm. This fee includes admission to the several sights on the island, as well as access to the land bridge.

The best time to visit Bi Jia Shan is just before low tide, when you can watch the water gradually go out and open up the natural causeway. The land bridge is only completely dry for about an hour or two during low tide. At other times, however, you can easily negotiate a boat ride to or from the island, for about 7 yuan per person.

During the summer, there is a small swimming beach on Bi Jia Shan, but it's not the best area to swim, because the beach surface is primarily made up of rocks, gravel, and shells.

After you reach the island, you can climb to the top, on a wide, paved path. There are several temples to visit, and on a clear day, the views from the island are impressive.

But the really fun thing to do is to walk slowly across the gradually expanding land bridge, along with the other tourists, shellfish hunters, and souvenir hunters.

Plan on getting your feet wet, and prepare accordingly. The surface of the land bridge is rocky and covered with sharp shells, so even during the heat of the summer, you'll probably want some sort of foot protection. But make sure your shoes are fastened securely to your feet. One of my students told me a very sad story of a trip she took to Bi Jia Shan when she was 10 years old. She was wearing plastic slippers, and while wading in the water, they were sucked off her feet and carried away with the outgoing tide. As she didn't have any other shoes with her, her father had to carry her around town, asking if anybody else had a pair of shoes they could lend or sell for her use.

There are a number of seafood restaurants in and around the park, offering fresh seafood. Many Chinese people love to go to the coast, just for the seafood.

Bi Jia Shan can be a very cold and windy place, and often foggy. These photos were taken during our first visit, during the third week in April. We definitely were glad to have our long johns and winter coats. Waterproof boots would have been a great help as well.