Baishawan Beach (New Taipei) 白沙灣 (新北市)

Baishawan is one of the nicest beaches in northern Taiwan. The sand is white, the water shallow (and warm in the summer), and it is relatively well kept and clean. Due to its proximity to Taipei, it sees lots of visitors especially from foreigners. Swimming, sunbathing, surfing, and kite surfing are all popular activities at this beach.

Background:
Baishawan (literally White Sand Bay) was formed roughly 800,000 years ago by volcanoes spewing lava into the ocean creating Fuigui Cape. Later coral grew near the shoreline, which makes up for most of the white sand seen on the beach today. The white sandy beach extends about one kilometer along the coast. Now it is one of the most popular destinations on the north coast of Taiwan. Because of its proximity to Taipei, there are sure to be many visitors, and because Taipei has the highest concentration of foreigners, be prepared to see a lot of other foreigners as well.

How to Get There:
By Bus: Take Keelung bus from either Danshui MRT station or Keelung TRA station.
You can also take the yellow and white North Coast Shuttle Bus to Baishawan station.
By Car: Drive on provincial highway 2 out of Danshui to the northeast, or out of Keelung to the northwest. The beach area is near Sanzhi District 三芝區. 

Price: Free

​Parking: Free. There is a parking lot in front of the main entrance. If this is full, you can park along the road next to it.

Showers: 
Cold Shower: 20 NT
Hot Shower: 40 NT
Foot Wash: 10 NT
If the main showers next to the visitors center are closed, there are other paid showers to the north and south, but without hot water.

Hours:
May, June, and October 9AM - 5PM
July, August, and September 9AM - 6PM

Map: Please see below:

​Our Journey:

We have been to Baishawan probably 10 or more times, each time driving there by car or scooter. Parking has never been a problem, even on busy weekends. 

Down the hill from the parking lot, you will find the visitors center. 
"Linshanbi is a cape located next to Baishawan (White Sand Bay) to the wet of Fuguei Cape, which si the northernmost point of Taiwan. It rises about 30 meters above the sea. Kike Fufuei Cape, Linshanbi has an abundance of andesite, evidence of volcanic eruption in the distant past. A circular rock formation at the northerne edge of the cape look natural, but is actually a fish trap built by fisherman in early times. Fish and shrimp that enter the trap at high tide are captured in the trap when the tidal waters recede, leaving a wide variety of marine life for viewing fish, shrimp, crabs, snails, chitons, anemones. This is a veritable classroom for teaching children to know sea life."

On this day in October the weather wasn't great, but someone was enjoying their time kite surfing!

Check out our drone footage of the beach above!

Another photo of the kite surfer.

Areal view of the beach.

Lots of people enjoying the beach, even in not so great weather! 
The downside to this beach is the lifeguards. There is a designated swimming area, but if you go out of it, or the weather is bad, some guy on a quad will be blowing his whistle at you immediately. 
I think this is because most Taiwanese people can't swim. The average foreigner on the other hand...

Here are some photos of another trip with some better weather. The sunsets here never fail to impress.

The sand isn't pure white but it is lighter than most sand in Taiwan.

Enjoying the beach scenery at dusk.

Panorama of the beach.

Further down the beach there are less people, and less lifeguards.

On the southwestern side of the beach is another swimming area with basically no lifeguards watching. Also there are way less people. In my opinion, this is a way better spot to enjoy the beach.

Next to this secret spot on the beach is a trail that I assume circles around Lishanbi Cape.

There is a fake chapel like structure here that you can take photos with. You may notice similar church structures around Taiwan; apparently Taiwanese people think it is a romantic place to take a photo? Like for giving off a wedding type feel? 

Some more fake backdrops for photos.

On the southwest there is a paid parking lot and an abandoned building that was once a main bus terminal for Aloha Bus. Now it is being renovated into a restaurant. Now it is being renovated into a beach cafe?

The old bus station, including bus schedules and time tables.

Another place to shower and get some snacks on the southwestern side of the beach, next to the paid parking lot.

If you go a little further down the beach, you will run across the semi-abandoned Harbor City complex 海灣城市.

There are lots of abandoned buildings along the northeast coast, but this one is particularly obvious. For more information about this place, check out this blog by Alexander Synaptic.

Just a kilmoter or two away up the coast from Baishawan, apst Fugui Cape is another popular tourist destination, Laomei Green Reef 老梅綠石槽. If you catch the reef at a super low tide, the rocks will be covered in green.

Obviously I didn't catch low tide. These rocks were formed from the same volcanic activty that formed Baishawan. For more information about this place, check out this blog by Josh Ellis.

Laomei Green Reef with Fugui cape, the northernmost point in Taiwan, in the distance.

More fake chapels!

Walking away from Laomei Green Reef, there is an exhibition of some traditional fishing boats.

A sign explaining traditional fishing techniques. 

Some more ancient and useless relics.

An old house squeezed between local people and art. A lot of the people in this town rely on the tourist industry (hostels and restaurants) for a living.

Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for more of our adventures in Taiwan.

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