Wuzhizhou Island

Wuzhizhou Island

Geography
Administration
China
Province	Hainan

Wuzhizhou Island 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.

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" will contain 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]

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". News.xinhuanet.com. 2011-05-25. Retrieved 2012-04-24.

Coordinates: 18°18′41″N 109°45′43″E / 18.311521°N 109.761829°E