Shengsi Islands (shèng sì liè dǎo 嵊泗列岛) are located at the mouth of the Yangtze River (cháng jiāng 长江), where is east of Hangzhou Bay (háng zhōu wān 杭州湾). The islands are geographically part of Zhoushan Archipelago (zhōu shān qún dǎo 舟山群岛), and comprise 404 islands, which are like pearls, shinning in the blue waves. They are regarded as the fairy land in the sea.

The vast sea, the fancy rocks, gorgeous reef, golden beach, deep and serene caves, and the arduous cliffs make the islands glamorous, attracting tourists from home and abroad. The Jihu Beach (jī hú shā tān 基湖沙滩) and the Changtu Beach (cháng tú shā tān 长涂沙滩) are more than 2000 meters long, which are regarded as the No. 1 bathing place of the Yangtze River Delta (cháng jiāng sān jiǎo zhōu 长江三角洲).

Besides the natural scenery, the islands are rich in cultural relics, such as the Dabei Mountain (dà bēi shān 大悲山). The mountain is located at the east part of the island. In the Tang Dynasty (táng cháo 唐朝), the mountain was called Sijiao Island (sì jiāo dǎo 泗礁岛). In late Jin Dynasty (jìn cháo 晋朝), there was a monk constructed Zifu Temple (zī fú yuàn 资福院) in the mountain. Then in the Qing Dynasty, there was constructed Lingyin Temple (líng yīn sì 灵音寺). It attracts lots of monks and Buddhists to come here. The top of the Dabei Mountain is a best place for tourists to have bird’s eye view of the beach.

At the east side of the islands, there are quantities of inscriptions on precipices, which were carved during Ming and Qing dynasties (míng qīng shí qī 明清时期). The most magnificent one is “倚剑"(yǐ jiàn), the characters of which are more than 4 meters wide.

What’s more, the Huaniao Lighthouse (huā niǎo dēng tǎ 花鸟灯塔) is the largest in the Far East. The islands have subtropical climate, with yearly average temperature of 15.8 °C. The area is also notable as touristic destination and fishery area that attracts more than 100,000 fishermen every winter. At night, the lights in the boats and the songs sung by the fisheries make the islands more charming.

Shengsi Islands
Location: Caiyuan Town (cài yuán zhèn 菜园镇), Shengsi County (shèng sì xiàn 嵊泗县), Zhoushan City (zhōu shān shì 舟山市)
Admission fee: RMB 140
Opening hours: 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Transportation: there are ships in Shanghai (shàng hǎi上海) and Ningbo (níng bō 宁波) can take you to the islands, and you also can take bus at Wenzhou (wēn zhōu 温州) and Hangzhou (háng zhōu 杭州) bus station.