Naozhou Island

Naozhou Island (硇洲岛) is an island in the South China Sea, located near the city of Zhanjiang, in Guangdong Province of China.

Understand
Naozhou Island is a fairly small rocky island (10 km long by 6 km across). It is located near the southeastern tip of the larger Donghai Island, from which it is separated by a 3.5-km-wide straight (the Naozhou Channel, 硇州水道). It is 79 km north of Hainan's northernmost point.

Naozhou is a bit like a miniature version of Hainan, with just one of everything: one town, one ferry line, one scenic beach, one historic lighthouse, and one sea turtle sanctuary. You can visit its main sights in just a day (although visiting it on a day trip from Zhanjiang may be rather arduous), or bring a bicycle and spend a few days exploring it out of the way corners.

During 1899-1945, Naozhou Island was part of the French leased territory Guangzhouwan (whose "capital" was in today's downtown Zhanjiang). French maps and documents referred to the island as Nao-Tchéo or Nau-Chau. The French had a lighthouse constructed near the island's highest point, helping ships find their way to Zhanjiang's harbor. The lighthouse, a historic site now, is still the island's main landmark.

Administratively, the island is organized as Naozhou Town (硇洲镇) within Mazhang District of Zhanjiang City. The town sits on the island's west coast; it has a ferry terminal for ferries to the nearby Donghai Island (which, in its turn, is connected to the mainland by a bridge), a busy market district, and a few hotels.

The island's rocky coast is lined with fishing villages. Many of them have aquaculture ponds as well, raising primarily shrimp.

The interior of the island is mostly agricultural. Bananas are a very common crop here. A bit more exotic are the plantations of the Hylocereus cactus, cultivated for its tasty fruit, known as the dragon fruit (火龙果). If you enjoy tending to a cactus in your living room at home, you may enjoy seeing large cactus fields of Naozhou, with its exotic-looking fruit and flowers. (This contributor is not aware of the exacting blooming and fruiting seasons, but at the end of November you can see plenty of fruit and some very last flowers. So the cactus probably blooms in fall, and the fruit are harvested in winter). Orchards of the green jujube (青枣), a green plum-like fruit popular in China, can be seen in Naozhou as well.

Get in
To get to Naozhou, you need to first take a bus from Zhanjiang or Leizhou to the Dongnan Harbor (东南港) at the southeastern corner of Donghai Island. From Dongnan Harbor, fairly frequent (at least hourly) service operates to Naozhou Town.

Get around
The public transport on the island is limited to three-wheeled mini-taxis, which take you from Naozhou town to anywhere in the island for ¥20 (as of 2018).

If you have brought a bicycle, riding on the island roads is fairly pleasant.

Buy
The island has one main shopping area, occupying several blocks in Naozhou Town around the local.

Eat
Check out local fruits. Bananas and dragon fruit (火龙果) are abundantly produced in the island; local green jujubes (青枣) and passion fruit (百香果) are available in the market as well.

The streets in the main shopping area of Naozhou Town (around the market) is full of breakfast places; there are some restaurants open through the day, but as markets and shop start closing around 18:00, so are the eateries.

Sleep
There are a few hotels (from ¥100) in Naozhou Town, and some AirBNB properties throughout the island.

Go next

 * Donghai Island