Dalian's Xinghai Square
It is the largest city square in the world.
Xinghai Square is actually an oval located on the shore of Xinghai Bay.
Xinghai Square and the Xinghai Park are near each other on Dalian’s south side.
When I was in Dalian, I stayed at the Cocca Hotel Suites. It is located just two blocks north of the Xinghai Square and is walking distance to the subway.
It has nice large units with a full kitchen and bath. What’s more, it was cheaper than renting an Airbnb unit.
It covers a total area of 270 acres making it the largest city square in the world. Its name literally means "the Sea of Stars".
The sculptures of 1000 footprints and an opened book (the white concrete structure in the middle) facing the sea commemorates the city’s past struggles.
Facing south, you can see the Xinghai Bay Bridge.
Around the square are high-end apartments, restaurants, banks, expensive car dealers and an amusement park.
The Castle Hotel dominates the skyline to the west. The Dalian Modern History Museum and the Dalian Shell Museum are also nearby.
The Xinghai Central Business District which houses the Dalian Xinghai Convention & Exhibitions Center, the Dalian World Expo Center and the headquarters of Dalian Commodity Exchange, is on the north side of the square.
People love to feed the seagulls.
There is a small but very nice carnival to one side of the plaza. This two-storey merry-go-round allows you to have one ride on the ground floor and then you can climb up and ride a horse on the top floor.
These bicycle riders never give up. They ride in the day time
Then they ride all night.
I always love to watch the sunset when I am beside a lake or ocean.
The Xinghai Bay Cross Sea bridge is well lite up at night. It is a massive double-deck bridge that is over nine kilometres long.
China loves to put on a great show at night.
I walked past these buildings as I headed to my hotel room. However, I stopped when music and moving lights caught my attention. I went to see what was happening.
In 2017, Xinghai Square opened its new musical fountain at the northwest side of the square. The streams of water dance to western and Chinese classical music.
It is the largest musical fountain in Northeast of China.
The Xinghai Square musical fountain is the third musical fountain in Dalian, the other two are in Donggang and Renmin Square.