Shores of the Middle Kingdom: China’s New Beach Culture

China’s beaches are filling up—but not in the way Western visitors might expect. Once reserved for elites, coastal leisure has become a mass phenomenon, with millions traveling to the shore for photos, fresh air, and a taste of escape, even as many avoid swimming and carefully guard pale skin. In this episode, we explore how these seaside rituals reveal deeper tensions in modern China, where new freedoms of consumption sit alongside constant surveillance, and relaxation unfolds against a backdrop of economic uncertainty and lingering state control. The beach, it turns out, is more than a holiday destination: it’s a stage where prosperity, anxiety, and the social contract quietly play out in the open air.economist.com/christmas-specials/2023/12/20/millions-of-chinese-are-venturing-to-the-beach-for-the-first-time