it swallows the breakwater
because here comes the bore
on the dyke the sun burns merciless
others sell drinks or dumplings
fresh bamboo shoots!!
start your engines
time to go home
and suddenly it is high tide on the river
the breakwater is now completely submerged
soon the police will clear this area
the Haining Tidal Bore
A tidal bore is formed when the incoming tide is funneled in an narrow and shallow inlet like a bay or river delta.
 
The world's highest tidal bore occurs in the mouth of the Qiantang River near Hangzhou and can reach heights of well over 9 meters.
 
Every year around the 18th day of the 8th month of the Chinese lunar year hundreds of thousands spectators flock to the dykes of Haining county  to see and hear this spectacular phenomenon. 
The bore is unpredictable and can even kill people. Footage of a bore gone wild gives an impression of its brute force.
 
People have been watching the bore for at least 2000 years and it became very popular in the Tang dynasty.
The oldest timetables of the event date from the 11th century. 
 
On a sunny day in September 2003 we joined the crowd along the Qiantang and watched the bore come and go.
 
NB: I shot the pictures with an early Casio digital camera that unfortunately shows major vignetting and colorshift..
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we arrive early but are not the first
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it is a slow walk back
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a police car makes sure nobody comes near
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