Taohua Island (táo huā dǎo 桃花岛) is one of the islands of Zhoushan Archipelago (zhōu shān qún dǎo 舟山群岛). It is located in the lotus ocean of East China Sea, sharing a marine channel with Mount Putuo (pǔ tuó shān 普陀山). Taohua Island is mentioned many times in the famous Novels of Jin Yong, such as The Legend of the Condor Heros (shè diāo yīng xióng zhuàn 射雕英雄传), therefore gaining its popularity.

Taohua Island covers an area of 31 square kilometers and is rich in natural and human landscapes resources. The island composes 6 scenic zones, totally 12 sights and more than 60 scenic spots. Among them, the most famous ones are the Shediao Movie/TV Base (shè diāo yǐng shì jī dì 射雕影视基地), the only island movie/TV base in China, Anqi Peak (ān qī fēng 安期峰), the highest peak among all the islands of Zhoushan Archipelago, Taohua Port (táo huā gǎng 桃花港), the deepest port in Zhoushan, Dafo Rock (dà fó yán 大佛岩), the biggest rock in the coastal region of southeast China, and the Baique Temple (bái què sì 白雀寺), one-thousand-year-old temple where Guanyin (guān yīn 观音) practiced Buddhism.

Tawan Golden Sand Beach (tǎ wān jīn shā 塔湾金沙) is 1370 meters long, more than 400 meters wide, which is crowned as the largest beach among all the islands of Zhoushan Archipelago. The golden sand beach is the ideal place for the sand bath, sunbath and rambling. In summer and autumn, when the sun is rising, it gives lights to the sea, the beach and the sky, which seems like that they are a whole, and the sum is rising from the golden sand beach.

Dafo Rock, located on the top of the Sanhua Peak (sàn huā fēng 散花峰), northwest of the island, is regarded as the symbol of Taohua Island. With an altitude of 287 meters, the rock is 70 meters high. There are two narrow paths leading to the top of the rock, where there is a depression of 150 square meters, which can hold nearly 100 people. When the sun is sinking in the west, the Dofo Rock and the Sanhua Peak overlaps with each other and looks like a Buddha lying on his back. And people called it “Dafo with Sunset”(dà fó xī zhào 大佛夕照)

Taohua Port is a half-ring shaped scenic zone, starting from the Maoshan Dock (máo shān mǎ tóu 茅山码头) at the southwest of the island and ending at the Wushizi (wū shí zǐ 乌石子) at the southeast, with a total length of more than 10000 meters. Getting on the boat and cruising on the sea is nothing less than that on the Li River (lí jiāng 漓江). On the way of the cruise, there are continuous sceneries presenting in front of your eyes, such as the Mopan Peak (mò pán fēng 磨盘峰), Shuikeng Stone Groups (shuǐ kēng shí qún 水坑石群), Xianren Bridge (xiān rén qiáo 仙人桥) and the Underground Labyrinth (dì xià mí gōng 地下迷宫).

Besides the scenic spots mentioned above, there are Anqi Alchemy Cave (ān qī liàn dān dòng 安期炼丹洞), Shenyan Temple (shèng yán sì 圣岩寺), Bieyoudongtian Cave (bié yǒu dòng tiān 别有洞天), and Bell Pavilion (zhōng tíng 钟亭).

Taohua Island
Location: southeast of the Zhoushan Archipelago, Zhejiang Province
Admission fee: RMB 140 for all the scenic zones
                       RMB 50 for Dafo Rock Scenic Zone
                       RMB 45 for Taohua Valley Scenic Zone
                       RMB 45 for Anqi Peak Scenic Zone
Opening hours: 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Transportation:
1. you can take buses in the Ningbo North Bus Station (níng bō běi zhàn 宁波北站) to get to Taohua Island directly, RMB 34/p
2. you can take ships in Ningbo, Shenjiamen (shěn jiā mén 沈家门), Dinghai (dìng hǎi 定海), Mount Putuo (pǔ tuó shān 普陀山) and Zhujiajian (zhū jiā jiān 朱家尖)

Purchasing Online