Yintan (Silver Beach) was an area renowned as particularly beautiful when moonlight is reflected by the beach’s quartz sand. For me it was a place to consider how China was changing and to ponder the future for such ecologically sensitive areas. Here, people swim, float on air beds, ride jet skis or simply play on the sand with what at that time seemed enough space for everyone to enjoy the beach. But could the area’s environment and infrastructure cope with the explosive growth and consequences of tourism I had witnessed in other parts of the world? Only a short distance away was an almost timeless scene of the historic fishing town — yet at Silver Beach, hotels, cafes and restaurants seemed to be rapidly opening or going under construction. Today’s satellite maps show the area has come a long way since 1999, with considerable areas of parkland alongside resort developments.

I spent my remaining time enjoying and appreciating the quaintly dilapidated but totally fascinating Old Town of Beihai before reluctantly saying zaijian, heading back to Nanning and onwards to Guilin.

The author is senior blogger of China Daily website.