A net separates the beach of official sanatoriums and the public beaches in Beidaihe. [Photo by Wang Jing / China Daily]

Behind the mystery

"The heavily fortified area which starts from the roadblock point to the left of the beach and south toward the foot of Lianfeng Mountain is the spot where top State leaders stay. Public access to most of these areas is denied," said Sun Zhisheng, director of the Qinhuangdao Historical and Cultural Research Society and cultural consultant for Beidaihe district.

"There are many restricted zones in Beidaihe in summer and many roads can only be accessed with permits," he said.

Sun said visitors may find Beidaihe daunting with its high level of security, but those who spend a few days familiarizing themselves with the area will find it similar to the general layout of the country's five top-level government bodies - the Central Committee of the CPC, the State Council, the National People's Congress, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and the Central Military Commission.

"The government assigned special areas for them, with the CPC Central Committee on the west and the State Council on the east," he said.

Many retired leaders choose to stay in their old villas when they visit Beidaihe, he said.

As more officials retire, more buildings have been built in recent years.

The area has become increasingly crowded and some walls and fences of the older buildings need to make way for construction work, Sun said.

Beach boundaries

Because the resort area straddles two villages, villagers on bicycles and electric bikes are allowed to travel through roads, which are off limits to other motor vehicles. Uniformed and plainclothes police are stationed about 30 meters apart and on the lawns facing the ocean to keep watch.

Traffic police also impose a speed limit of 15 kilometers per hour in the area throughout the year. A wire fence separates the West Beach for leaders from stretches of the Middle Beach that the public can use.

Members of the public who managed to check out the beach reserved for top officials said the facilities and quality of sand do not seem to differ from what the public can enjoy.

Wang Yanqiu, who runs a business selling swimsuits, said she has managed to catch a glimpse of "several top leaders" in the past few years.

"So many top leaders visit Beidaihe every year, especially in July and August. It's quite a common sight for locals like us," she said, adding that the VIPs usually keep a low profile during their stay.

Still, security staff regularly remind the locals not to divulge too much information about the leaders.

Taxi driver Li Song has been plying Beidaihe's streets for six years. He said the roads were often closed for long periods of time in the early years to make way for the visiting leaders. The closures would be quite disruptive for the locals.

"The condition has improved greatly in recent years," Li said.

"Compared with long convoys of black sedans accompanied by police, the motorcades these days are composed of only four or five cars. Many of the roads remain open but distances between official vehicles and ordinary ones are maintained."

Still, there are times when traffic is temporarily disrupted, he said.

"You'd have to follow the police orders, whether it's to turn right or left."

Contact the writer at hena@chinadaily.com.cn

Han Junhong contributed to this story.