浅水

浅水湾 (Qiǎnshuǐ Wān, Repulse Bay) on Hong Kong Island is one of the city's most famous beaches and high-end residential districts — Eileen Chang's 1943 novella 《倾城之恋》 (Love in a Fallen City) sets its key chapters there. So 浅水 in a Hong Kong context often points to that beach, not a generic shallow.

usage

Common antonym pair: 深水 (deep water) vs 浅水 (shallow water). The idiom 浅水难养大鱼 ('shallow water can't raise big fish') is used to mean a small environment can't nurture great talent.