Houmen: East Guangdong's Premier Seafood Market Detour

March 14, 2026

Houmen: East Guangdong's Premier Seafood Market Detour

Shanwei stopover to Shenzhen's new zone: Egrets, Salted Chicken, and Seaview Dining in a Fishing Village.

We departed from Shanwei in haste, making an impromptu decision to head to Houmen, a journey of about 40 minutes. The primary focus of this trip was the Houmen Comprehensive Market. Houmen originally belonged to Haifeng County, Shanwei City, but has now been designated as Houmen Subdistrict and incorporated into the Shenshan Special Cooperation Zone, managed by Shenzhen.

After exiting the Shenhai Expressway and following a coastal national highway, we arrived in Houmen. As soon as we parked our car by the seaside road, a white egret strolling on the beach immediately caught our attention. Not far away, a few more egrets perched on the fishing boats out at sea.

Walking along the coastal road towards the market, a bicycle parked on the roadside piqued my interest, particularly the sky-blue child seat with distinctive local features mounted on the handlebars.

Entering the market, the distinct aroma of various dried seafood, such as dried fish and different kinds of dried shrimp, immediately permeated the air.

At a siu mei (roast meat) stall, we discovered a local specialty—Houmen Salted Chicken. The golden-yellow chicken skin, glistening with juice and salt, looked incredibly tempting.

As it was approaching lunchtime, we decided to find a restaurant for a meal before continuing to explore the market. On our way to look for a restaurant, we happened to spot egrets foraging for food and managed to capture the moment they preyed.

Ultimately, we chose the Seaview Restaurant located behind the market. Houmen seafood enjoys the reputation of being the "Premier Fresh Seafood of Guangdong" in the eastern Guangdong region, and this restaurant specializes in just that. We ordered lightly seasoned conch, cuttlefish cake, oysters, a specialty dish of cashew nuts with dried fish, and a small fish and vegetable soup.

From the private room on the second floor of the restaurant, we could enjoy the fishing village's seascape: fishing boats shuttled back and forth in the harbor, and in the distance along the coast, three or five anglers cast their lines, enjoying the pleasure of sea fishing.