Haiku Shilan: The Mistakes First-Timers Actually Make

#firsttimermistakes The biggest mistake happens before you even arrive: mixing up which “海枯石烂” you’re navigating to. There are two similarly named spots in the Beihai area — the one inside Guantou Ridge and a separate rock formation with the same name down at Nanwan village further south. Punch the wrong one into your map app and you’ll end up somewhere else entirely with no easy way to course-correct. Double-check you’re heading to Guantou Ridge specifically before you set off. The second mistake is showing up expecting a beach. First-timers hear “coastal scenic spot” and picture sand — what’s actually here is a stretch of weathered granite reef, pitted with honeycomb-like erosion patterns and jagged rock formations, with the famous “turtle carrying a heart-shaped stone” sculpture as the centerpiece. It’s dramatic and photogenic, but if you came for swimming or lounging on sand, you’ll be disappointed; this is a rock-and-view spot, not a beach day. Timing trips people up too. This is fundamentally a sunset location — the payoff is watching the light hit the reef and the ocean from the elevated vantage point, and going at midday under harsh sun misses the whole point of why people photograph it. Locals treat it as a late-afternoon stop specifically, arriving with enough buffer to catch golden hour rather than rushing through at noon on the way to somewhere else. Parking and access catch people off guard as well. Depending on which entry point you use around Guantou Ridge, there can be small parking fees at private lots near the beach access roads — often cash-only, collected informally rather than through a proper ticket booth. It’s not expensive, just unexpected if you’re not carrying small bills. Finally, don’t treat it as a standalone destination worth a special trip from the city center — it’s about 8 kilometers out, and most locals only bother because they’re already at Guantou Ridge for the hike or the sunset. Bundle it with the rest of the ridge rather than making a dedicated round trip just for the rock formation, and you’ll get a lot more out of the visit than someone who shows up, snaps a photo, and turns around.