[2025 Haiyan Attraction] Travel Guide for Haiyan Windmill (Updated Feb)

No need to go to Sanya, you can watch the sea near Hangzhou! It takes only 1 hour to drive from the city center. Here's a guide to watching the sea in the hidden town of Haiyan. 🏠 City: Haiyan 🚘 Transportation: Self-driving is recommended. 👉 Sea-watching route: ✅ Guanhai Garden - Seawall Greenway - Chaoyin Pavilion - Haiyan Windmill 👉 Guanhai Garden: ✅ The most beautiful sunrise in Yu Hua's novel is here. The stone embankment in the garden is one of the three major civil engineering projects in ancient times. You can play with sand when the tide is low and catch crabs when the tide is out. There is also a sculpture of Huang Guangsheng here. 👉 Seawall Greenway: ✅ A greenway built along the coast, where you can take a leisurely stroll, listen to the sound of the waves, and feel the sea breeze. 👉 Chaoyin Pavilion: ✅ It takes 15 minutes to walk from Guanhai Garden to Chaoyin Pavilion. The building is ancient and elegant, and it is also a good place to watch the sea. There are also some seats here where you can take a break. 👉 Haiyan Windmill: ✅ The neat white windmills stand by the sea, as if they have entered the comic scene of "Five Centimeters per Second", and they are photographed every second. ⌚️ Sea-watching time: ✅ It's better to go at sunrise or sunset for a better view. 📷 Photo locations: ✅ Fish scale embankment sculpture wall; ✅ Distant view of the seawall bridge; ✅ Sea view; ✅ Haiyan Windmill, etc.

🚔Self-driving Tour ✅️Shanghai👉Jiaxing Haiyan, 1.5 hours ✅️Mountains, water, culture, and food. Come to Shengli Restaurant for a plate of fried pork liver and two liang of yellow wine (the yellow wine should be warmed up) ✅️No crowds in the off-season ✅️Itinerary: Shanghai🔜Shendang Old Street and Shendang Granary🔜Shendang Soy Sauce Brewing🔜Haining Shenxian Lake🔜Jiaxing Haiyan Fengyi Village🔜Guanhai Garden🔜Haiyan Windmill 1️⃣Shendang Old Street is not commercial at all. The old street is not big, so you can walk around and take photos. Feel the history of the old street and visit Shengli Restaurant. 2️⃣Shendang Granary was an old granary and is now a popular creative park with a bookstore, coffee shop, text wall, and a mini children's play area. 3⃣Shendang Brewing was a soy sauce factory and is now open to visitors. The soy sauce jars, wine cellars, and white soy sauce creative ice cream are very impressive. 4️⃣Shenxian Lake is a mine site park. The lake is blue and there are flowers and plants by the lake. It's like a real-life Zelda! 5⃣Fengyi Village has tea gardens and mountains to climb. You can overlook the village, mine pit, moon lake, and air-raid shelter from the top of the mountain. There are also cute and artistic graffiti on the ground. 6⃣Guanhai Garden, sunrise in Haiyan, Haiyan sunrise is here! 7⃣Haiyan windmill + sea + lawn, very spectacular👍 ✅️Shengli Restaurant, a restaurant made famous by the book "Chronicle of a Blood Merchant" ✅️Shendang Old Street, the big word "Shendang" is here ✅️Sunny Day, a shop with Yu Hua's signature and a latte made with local yellow wine ✅️Local snacks, shumai (very thin skin), stinky tofu

| Shendang Town Day Trip. A Shendang Town route that doesn't double back. Suitable for self-driving travelers. 🚗 Shanghai 🔜 Shendang Ancient Town (1 hour 40 minutes by car) 🅿️ Ancient Town Parking Lot The ancient town is simple, with only two streets and two cafes worth visiting. Shengli Restaurant - Mingde Cafe - Xuanhu Tang Cafe The soy sauce latte is smooth and delicious. Ancient Town 🔜 Haiyan Shendang Brewing Company 🅿️ Parking lot at the entrance Registration is required to enter the park. Soy sauce ice cream 🍦 CNY 18 each Yellow wine and white soy sauce are must-buys. The yellow wine is sweeter than Gu Long. White soy sauce is actually light soy sauce, which is very fragrant when mixed with rice. We bought six bottles of yellow wine and two bottles of soy sauce at a good price. Brewing Company 🔜 Shendang Granary 🅿️ Free parking lot at the entrance Suitable for taking photos. The best time to enter is after 3:00 pm. The bookstore is also a good place to take photos, but unfortunately, no one reads there anymore. Shendang Granary 🔜 Haiyan Windmill 🅿️ Park along Leyuan Road The coastal pedestrian path and windmill are great for taking photos in good weather. Finally, wait for the sunset and watch the sunset over the mudflats.

📍Sunrise and sunset 📍Address: Haiyan Windmill - Haiyan Seaside Park (anywhere along the coast) 📍Parking tips: Try to arrive early. You can park on the side of the road or in a designated parking space. Viewing times: 📍Sunrise: 4-5am 📍Sunset: 6-7pm ✴️Tips: 1⃣️The sea is not blue. If you're looking for a blue sea, you may be disappointed. 2⃣️The tide rises and falls slowly and not by much. It's not as noticeable as in Haining Yanguan. 3⃣️There are stalls at Haiyan Windmill in the evening selling food, drinks, and other small items.

Haiyan is indeed a very niche place. I chose Haiyan because the name is interesting, and combined with Yu Hua's buff, I thought of going for a stroll. Although it is in Zhejiang, it is a very niche name that I have never heard of. It is more suitable for people from surrounding cities who have nowhere else to go, but it is not necessary to travel from far away. Take the train to Jiaxing South Station, and then it takes about an hour by car to get to Haiyan. Windmill: After putting down my things, I took a taxi to see the windmill. It is a bit off the beaten path, but it is convenient to take a taxi there. Coming back was a bit difficult, so I paid extra to take a taxi back. It is worth visiting on a sunny day, and you can see the Ferris wheel when you turn your head. Although it was raining, it didn't feel like a waste. Geometry Bookstore: Smaller than expected, some of the floor stickers were worn out, but it is still worth a visit. Seasea: A shop for morning coffee and evening drinks. The location at the entrance is by the river, and it was very pleasant to sit on the chair and listen to the rain for a long time. I really like this shop. Haiyan Museum: Honestly, the sculpture at the entrance is the most beautiful part of the entire museum. I happened to see someone rehearsing Haiyan Opera, which was quite interesting. Haiyan Qiyuan: Just a few steps from the museum. It took a while to find the entrance. It is not a large scenic spot and not worth the ticket price. Shendang Granary: Both the bookstore and the coffee shop are worth a visit. Brewery: Went there to buy soy sauce ice cream, but later found out that it is sold everywhere in the ancient town. There is nothing much to see at the brewery itself. Shendang Ancient Town: Very, very small. Victory Hotel is right at the entrance, and I had dinner there. I sat in the corridor outside by the river, which was very pleasant. The clock shop has moved and is a bit far, so I suggest going there first before heading to Victory Hotel. The exterior of Xuanhutang Cafe is great for photos, but the drinks and desserts are not recommended, very average. The pastry shop was not making pastries the day I went, so I didn't get to buy any, which was a bit disappointing. I think it is a small county town very suitable for visiting on a sunny winter day.