Wuzhizhou Island

Wuzhizhou Island (Chinese: 蜈支洲岛; pinyin: Wúzhīzhōu dǎo) is located off the coast of Hainan Province, China. This 1.48 square kilometre island is situated within Haitang Bay, approximately 30 kilometres northeast of Sanya, between Nanwan Monkey Island to the north, and Yalong Bay to the south.

Wuzhizhou Island
Native name:
蜈支洲岛
Wuzhizhou Island viewed from Haitang Bay
Administration
China
ProvinceHainan

History

The Taoist priest Wu Huacun of the Qing Dynasty built a house on the island after arriving in search of a place to create the "elixir of life".[1]

Geography

The island is 1.48 square kilometres with 5.7 kilometres of coastline, and has an irregular butterfly shape.

Flora and fauna

Over 2,700 plant varieties occur on the island, including exotic flowers and trees such as Alsophila spinulosa and Dracaena draco, thought to be the oldest plant species in the world.

The waters surrounding the island contain numerous species such as sea cucumbers, urchins, and tropical fish.

Tropical sea ranch

In May 2011, a construction project began to create a marine ecology area. The "sea ranch" planned 18,000 cubic meters of artificial reefs over an area of approximately 66.6 hectares. This aquaculture project is funded by a private investment of about 3 million USD.[2]

As of September 2020, there is now a National Marine Ranch Demonstration Zone and 6 of the planned marine ranches are under construction with additional funding in alignment with the overall plan for the construction of Hainan Free Trade Port,[3] more ranches will follow to promote tourism as well as the recovery of the marine ecology.

The following named ranches are under construction:[4]

  • Haikou East Coast Marine Ranch
  • Lingaotou Yangwan Marine Ranch
  • Wenchang Fengjiawan Marine Ranch
  • Danzhou Eman Marine Ranch
  • Wanning Chauzi Island Marine Ranch
  • Sanya Yazhou Bay Ocean Ranch

References
  1. Gwinnell, Philip; Han, Bin (December 2010). Hainan, China's Emerging Jewel - The Definitive Guide. Nanfang Publishing House (南方出版社）. ISBN 978-7-5501-0016-9. p249
  2. "China's first tropical sea ranch begins construction". Xinhua. 2011-05-25. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
  3. "中共中央 国务院印发海南自由贸易港建设总体方案_中央有关文件_中国政府网". www.gov.cn. Retrieved 2020-09-08.
  4. "我省建成1个国家级海洋牧场示范区 -新华网海南频道". www.hq.xinhuanet.com. Retrieved 2020-09-08.


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