Huagao Island

Huagao Island

Also known as Dafu Island or Dafutou Mountain, Huagao Island is located on the eastern side of the mouth of the Sanmen Bay, about 14 kilometers southwest of Shipu Town, and close to Gaotang Island to the north. The scenic area covers a land area of 11.12 square kilometers, including 9.83 square kilometers of the main island of Huagao. It consists of four major parts: the island’s natural scenery, coastal erosion landforms, beaches, gravel beaches, and cultural attractions. The highest point, Zhiji Mountain, has an elevation of 308.5 meters, and the island is home to nearly a thousand residents under the jurisdiction of Gaotang Township. The island boasts numerous bays and spectacular landforms, and was once a gathering place for the anti-Qing general Zhang Cangshui. For a long time, due to inconvenient transportation, it has been rarely visited by tourists.

The island features lush mountains and enchanting scenery, with 36 bays and 108 caves—each bay offering unique views and each cave said to be inhabited by “immortals.” Its tourism resources are abundant, especially notable for the grand Buddha-like head of Dafotou Mountain, the magnificent stone forest landscape, the mysterious and profound caves, the Qingshui'ao gravel beach—the only island pebble wonder in Ningbo—and historical sites such as the anti-Qing military camp ruins of Zhang Cangshui, Xian 0 Terrace rock formations, sea winds and waves, and fresh seafood. It is praised as the “Fairyland on the Sea, the Isle of Immortals on Earth.”

Dominated by natural landscapes, Huagao Island is known as the “Fairyland on the Sea, the Isle of Immortals on Earth.” With steep cliffs and well-developed columnar jointing in the rocks, it is famed as a “stone forest.” The rock layers stand tall and proud or lean and recline, and especially the coastal erosion landform is a unique spectacle in the southeast: the majestic and splendid Wan Zhu Cliff and Linxian Islet, the magical caves, the grand Dafotou Mountain, the mysterious statue-like formation resembling a seated leader, the peculiar Xiaoda and Dadou Mountains, and the colorful pebble beach of Qingshui'ao all create an elegant and beautiful environment. Meanwhile, the ruins of Zhang Cangshui’s anti-Qing military camp add a sense of historical weight to the island.

During the transition from the Ming to the Qing dynasty, Huagao Island was one of the anti-Qing strongholds along the southeast coast and a gathering place for the famous national hero Zhang Huangyan. Zhang Huangyan, also known as Cangshui, was a native of Yin County (present-day Ningbo), Zhejiang. He persisted in resisting the Qing for 19 years before being executed in Hangzhou. On Huagao Island, where this legendary figure once stayed, there are still two historical sites: one is the rectangular barracks ruins about 200 meters from the top of Zhiji Mountain, covering an area of over 7,000 square meters; not far away on the mountain ridge lies a 1,300-square-meter square, believed to have been a training ground. The other barracks site is in GaoDu Ao, between Zhiji Mountain and the northern mountain, with about 30 housing foundations.

There are no monuments or tablets on the island, but visitors can easily spot weathered rocks riddled with holes that seem to bear pictographic inscriptions, engraved as eternal witnesses to that great upheaval. Of course, many more mysteries await exploration by travel enthusiasts.

Location of Attractions

Huagao Island, Xiangshan County, Zhejiang Province

Round-trip car ferry: 60 yuan