Japan might be the closest place to Beijing to see the ocean.

While you are clearly splitting hairs, I agree that Beidaihe is no "Malibu" (not a big deal for most Chinese because fear of water is common in these parts).

That having been said, both my cousin and myself (swimmers) really enjoyed the beach near Laoshan during the beer festival several years back... very nice place, even by global standards. And, that beach did not require any additional "sand" during our visit.

TB is correct. Friend has never gone to the ocean.
Bohai sea, yellow sea, east china sea...well that's a marginal sea.
So to go to the pacific ocean would be quite a distance.

Also there's no surf in Bohai sea. You can have a beach in Kansas.

Bla Bla, she never saw the sea before so that will not be a big deal.

You must all be joking. Yellow Sea is part of Pacific Ocean. And what difference does it make? It is a vast body of sea water, and not a lake.

I have no truck with the OP, but in my life and line of work, words do tend to have a precise meaning, as I know when I get it wrong myself! The OP initially stated that their friend wanted to see 'the ocean'. I just wanted to note that the sea being mentioned wasn't 'ocean'.

I think there is a small technical difference between sea and ocean, from a geological perspective, so much so, that the 'Caspian Sea', the world's largest inland body of water, is actually, technically an ocean. Who knows, maybe OP's friend was a geologist and it mattered?

Anyway, OP has clarified the position -- their friend wants to see a large body of non-inland water, presumably with waves and tide (although even freshwater lakes can have those) and a whiff of 'sea air'. I hope the recommended area fulfils the necessary tick-boxes.

To be fair, I did headline my post as 'pedant alert', since I suspected there was a substantial probability that 'sea' and 'ocean' were being used inter-changeably.

tb

This discussion is so useless. If u really want to know it, first she told me she never saw the sea. Because there is just a small difference to the word for lake in german I asked her if she mean the ocean, and she confirm that. So folks, are you happy now?

Caspian sea is a salt lake.

You've clearly yet to develop an appreciation for the humor in this forum; without it, half us wouldn't bother showing up.

@rkkwan: Those of us who grew up near oceans understand the difference between oceans and seas, but I agree that this discussion is rather academic.

yes..but it is also an ocean, from a geological principle, and that is despite it being less salty than the world ocean. I have to admit surprise when I first discovered this. Of course, not being a geologist, I've no idea what level of credence to give the source.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean

Given the degree of roll eyes the OP is putting out, I fear this rather OT discussion might drive him to distraction...

tb

Indeed. I assumed at first though that the OP had a well developed sense of humor when I saw this

but to be fair, if you actually said "to the beach" to a taxi driver, it's quite likely the reply would be "which one?" ....

Seriously though, as much as I enjoy a stroll on a beach in mid-winter taking in the salty air, I recommend that you combine this one-day beach-by-the-large-body-of-water experience with a trip also to the end of the Great Wall (Shanhaiguan / Laolongtou).

Yes it's a bit (!) tacky, but you can access the beach easily from there as well (even take a boat out into the large-body-of-water rather than just looking at it) and see something else at the same time. Moreover at this time of year I doubt if there is going to be much going on around the "regular" beach areas, though I could be wrong about that.

Is "sea" a synonym for "ocean"?

answer: Depends what the meaning of "is" is.

Could be a option, but I told her today where I want to go with her and she think it will be to cold for Beidaihe. So maybe this time just Tianjin and next time the beach.

I highly doubt that the edits that introduced Caspian sea into that entry came from an expert. It doesn't have a single citation.

Any wikipedia statement with no or suspicious citations should be discarded.

Agreed, and I did state the caveat. However, I think I have read somewhere that the shelf/crust the Caspian on is not typical land crust, but I can't remember where.

At any rate, this rather OT discussion to an OT statement may be giving the OP indigestion.

tb