Dr. Mark Nan Tu

Shangchuan_island

Overview: Shangchuan Island (上川岛) is an island on the southern coast of China, southwest of Taishan （台山）, Guangdong Province (广东省). Its name is originated from São João – Saint John in Portuguese. Shangchuan Island was one of the first bases established by the Portuguese off the China coast, during the 16th century. They abandoned this base after the Chinese government gave consent for a permanent and official Portuguese trade base at Macau in 1557.

The Spanish (Navarre) Jesuit Catholic missionary St. Francis Xavier died there on December 2, 1552, on his way to Guangzhou, having died without ever reaching the mainland.

Located 14 km from the mainland, it has a sister island Xiachuan Island (下川岛）.

Shangchuan Island is 157 square kilometers with local population about 16,320. It has 12 beautiful and wonderful beaches. Jinsha beach (金沙滩）, Feisha beach （飞沙滩）, and Yinsha beach （银沙滩）are the most popular vacation sites with relaxing scenery such as palm trees, calm beaches, sea front hostels, and local fishermen’s market.

In the daytime, you can enjoy different kinds of aquatic sports such as swimming, water-skiing, aquatic motorcycle, fishing and so on. Diving is possible, though not officially approved (dive on your own risk) You can play soccer and volleyball or even ride a horse.

At night, you won’t feel bored. You can play with fireworks on the beach (no restrictions). You can hold a bonfire party with your friends on the beach, and you can also rent a tent to sleep on the beach and look at the stars. You can also drink in the beach front bars.

You may want to look around Shangchuang Island for more special scenic sites: Lechuan Big Buddha (乐川大佛）, Shati Fishing Port （渔人码头）, Shalouwan Primitive secondary Forest, Qipan Mount, and Red Tree Forest and Bamboo Cedar Forest.

Shangchuan (上川) and Xiachuan (下川) Islands are great vacation resorts. They are called the Hawaii of the east.

Shangchuan island Location

Tips:
1: Come during the off season.
The peak season starts in May and lasts through October. Most visitors come here to enjoy the beaches. You can swim in the open sea during these five months. I recommend that you visit the island during the off season between Novembers to April as the relaxed atmosphere returns after the busy season. You can enjoy a quite walk through mile long beaches and hotels and food are reasonably priced. I found myself as the lone person walking on the beach during my trip to Xiachuan Island in Dec. 2007.
2: Check the weather before boarding the speed boat.
Since the island is only accessable by speed boat from Shanzhu Port (山咀港) in Taishan (台山), Guangdong province, make sure that you check the weather ahead of time . During the summer season, you may be stucked on the island for days waiting for your ride home which is stopped by high wind.
3: There are public buses that connects from the port to Feisha beach （飞沙滩）. But you need to hire private transportations (mini bus, car or a motocycle) to get to scenic spots around the island (locals provide motocycle rides for a fee).

How to get there:
A weekend getaway starts from the early Saturday morning arriving at Shanzhu Port (山咀港) (you may wish to stay in Taishan 台山 on Friday night) and take the speed boat to the island and ends on Sunday afternoon returing to Shanzhu Port (山咀港).
Shangchuan Island is connected to Shanzhu Port (山咀港) by speed boat. The schedule is:
山咀港→上川岛 上川岛→山咀港
Shanzhu -> Shangchuan -> Shanzhu
08：30 08：00
09：30 09：00
10：30 10：00
11：30 11：00
12：30 12：00
13：30 13：00
14：30 14：00
15：30 15：00
16：30 16：00
17：30 17：00
18：30 18：00
The speed boat ride is about 30 minutes.
After you get off the speed boat, you can take a local mini bus (5RMB) from the sea port to Jingsha Beach (金沙滩) where most of the hotels are. There is additional entrance fee for the beach: 30RMB/person.

By car: follow the West Coast Express Way (西部沿海高速）, exit on Shangchuan/xiachuan and follow route 365 to Shanzhu Port (山咀港）. You can leave your car on the port’s parking lot overnight.
By bus: Taishan bus station (台山总站） is connected to Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Zhuhai with multiple buses every day. From Taishan bus station, you can transfer to a local bus that goes to Shanzhu Port (山咀港）. It is about 1 hour ride from Taishan bus station to Shanzhu Port. In total, please plan for 5-6 hours on the road from Guangzhou (or Shenzhen) to the Xiachuan island if you go by bus.

Food and lodging:
The beach-view double rooms in the hostels cost around 100RMB/night (2 star standard) during off season and may go up as much as 250-350RMB during holidays in the peak season such as May 1st holiday. During off peak season, there is no need to book ahead. Go there, check out the rooms and negotiate the best possible price for any sea view rooms. I found myself to be the only guest in the 100 + room hotel during my Dec. 2007 visit to the Xiachuan island and April 2011 visit to Shangchuan island.
If you go during the peak season (May to Oct.) please make sure you call and make a reservation for rooms. http://www.chuandao.cn/order/.川岛镇下川王府洲旅游区(529266) Tel: 电话：0750-5678281 13630499092. My friends had to camp on the beach during their May 2011 visit to Xiachuan Island as all the hotels are over booked. All the local hotels are about the same (2-3 stars) (American style Motel 8 or similar). Nothing fancy but clean and reasonably confortable. If you call, make sure that you ask for the location of the hotel and insist that you only stay if the hotel is right in front of the beach.

Eating: There are many local sea food restaurants to choose from. Some of them located on the port and others in jinshan tan (金沙滩) where all the hotels are located. They are priced similar to those in Shenzhen or Guangzhou. There is no western style restaurants on the island. Chinese food (mostly sea food) is the only option.

Swim, surfing, cannoning, kayaking, fishing or any water sports
Swim on your own risk, there is no life guard on duty. Surfing, cannoning and kayaking are not developed and you shall share your experience as you may be the first person to try them around the island. Fishing is possible by renting a local boat and go off the island. I think it is possible to cannon from Shanzhu Port (山咀港）to either xiachuan (下川) or Shangchuan (上川) Island in calm water.

For more geo-tagged pictures (photos with exact location on the map), please visit my guide and pictures at:
http://www.everytrail.com/guide/sightseeing-trip-to-shangchuan-island-hawaii-of-the-east-
11年4月 广东 台山 上川岛 Guangdong, Shangchuan Island