[Photo by Lei Junjie]

Stretching 4.7 kilometers long and flanked by the water, Trunk Bay of Pingtan is reputed as the“No.1 alluvial sandbank in Asia”.

Due to passing undercurrent from the Taiwan Straits, sand from the sea bed was lifted. Over time, a magical landform that splits the sea into two was born. Looking down from above, the entire beach looks like an elephant trunk, that’s how it got the name “Trunk Bay”. If you come to the tail of the sandbankon multiple trips, you will see some differences. Minor changes take place with tides, waves and winds. Thus every time you come here, the tail will look different. But it remains largely intact.

Standing at the end of the beach, you can watch the tide slowly close in and flood the beach. Don’t worry, the tide will not drown you. Do watch out for soft sand at the tail and be careful not to sink in.

To have fun at Trunk Bay, you should keep an eye on the tide. Otherwise the tidal difference will make you think you are in the wrong place. When the beach shrinks at high tide, the entire beach gets narrow and thin. At receding tide, it’s just the other way around. The beach expands on both sides, reaching as wide as 50 meters.

The best spot to have fun is at the center of the beach. The piece of sand at the center slowly rises as the tide falls. A straight, narrow beach will be formed. You can tread through the shallow water. Walking along this part of the beach and watching the rippling waves on both sides grow further apart give an illusion of the sea being split apart.