Rubbish Bottles Turn Russian Beach Into Something Beautiful

The shores of Ussuri Bay have been covered with gleaming colors, and we know why. During the Soviet era, it has been a dumping ground for old bottles, and what was supposed to be trash turned into something beautiful and became a favorite tourist destination.

The place is known by Russians as Steklyashka, while others have called it 'Glass Beach,' because of the domination of shards. However, one can walk on it, because decades of water erosion has made the edges smooth and round.

Steklyashka used to have black volcanic sand, but one can seldom see that now as thousands of glass and porcelain swarmed the beach. When it snows, ice blanketed the beach with the glass popping out looking like blotches of painting in a white canvass.

The phenomenon is similar to California's glass beach, and it was also rooted to human pollution. Today, people will have to pay a small fee to enter Steklyashka.

Proceeds of the entrance go directly to the maintenance and tourists' education to keep the place clean. Years ago, people were denied entry, and according to Oddity Central, "Once considered a no-go zone, Steklyashka beach is now popular with both locals and tourists, and has been afforded special protection by authorities in the Primorsky Krai region."

Summer is when it is highly popular with travelers as they get to bathe in its clear waters and play among the glass. No word has been received yet if authorities will let you keep a glass or two.

People regularly will hail from Vladivostok, which will take about 30 minutes going to the glass beach, the nearest city to the location. Taking photos of this "natural kaleidoscope" enhanced by the sun's rays is highly encouraged.

Though Steklyashka has been around for years, it has been only now that it had gotten its popularity when The Siberian Times posted about the place. Perhaps Mother Nature really does know how to turn the tables around human pollution, and the glass beach is the perfect example for that.