Site of Xu Fu’s Eastward Voyage

Site of Xu Fu’s Eastward Voyage

The Site of Xu Fu’s Eastward Voyage is a cultural tourism attraction.

Over 2,000 years ago, Emperor Qin Shi Huang established the first unified feudal dynasty in China's history. Once, as he gazed at the surging sea, his heart swelled with emotion. Reflecting on the hard-won unification and uncertain future, he conceived the idea of seeking the elixir of immortality, which gave rise to the story of Xu Fu’s eastward voyage.

Xu Fu, also known as Xu Shi, was a renowned fangshi (an ancient term for someone claiming knowledge of alchemical or immortality arts), who possessed considerable scientific knowledge and extensive seafaring experience. By imperial decree, Xu Fu led thousands of young boys and girls along with various craftsmen, carrying seeds of the five grains, to cross the sea in search of the elixir for Emperor Qin Shi Huang. Naturally, the elixir was never found, and Xu Fu never returned.

However, how Xu Fu made his eastward voyage and where he sailed remain an intriguing mystery in ancient Chinese maritime history.

Where did Xu Fu end up? Historians believe that Xu Fu’s fleet sailed steadily eastward and eventually reached Japan, where they settled and established a new homeland. They introduced advanced agricultural techniques to the local people, making significant contributions to Japan’s development. The Japanese hold Xu Fu in deep reverence, and to this day, Japan still preserves the Tomb of Xu Fu and the Shrine of Xu Fu.

Which route did Xu Fu take on his eastward voyage? Historians have varying opinions. Professor Luo Qixiang, a renowned expert on the study of Xu Fu, pointed out that there were two possible routes for Xu Fu’s voyage to Japan: the northern route, which involved sailing eastward along the western coast of the Korean Peninsula from the Shandong coastline, passing through Jeju Island to near Kyushu in Japan, known as the "coastal route"; and the southern route, which started from Dapeng Mountain in Cixi, Ningbo, sailing east out of Hangzhou Bay, passing through Daishan, traversing the Zhoushan Archipelago, and joining the Kuroshio Warm Current to reach Kyushu in Japan, known as the "drifting route."

Nowadays, more and more scholars affirm the "drifting route."

From a geographical perspective, the "drifting route" was the most suitable choice. During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, there were five major ports, and Gouzhang was one of them. Dapeng Mountain was the site of the ancient Gouzhang, which had excellent port conditions and skilled shipbuilding and navigation communities. Daishan faces Cixi’s Dapeng Mountain across the sea, and Dapeng Mountain was a necessary stop en route from Daishan. Most of the early fishermen on Daishan Island came from there.

From the perspective of climate and sea currents, the "drifting route" was the most convenient. The Zhoushan Archipelago lies within the monsoon zone, with prevailing southerly winds in summer and autumn, and northerly winds in winter and spring. From May to August each year, the sea currents off the eastern Zhejiang coast flow toward the north or northeast, while from September to April of the following year, they shift to a north-to-south direction. The monsoons, sea currents, and the skilled shipbuilders and navigators among the Yue people created favorable conditions that likely led Xu Fu to choose this route. Later missions such as Japanese envoys to the Tang Dynasty, as well as Jianzhen’s six attempts to sail to Japan, mostly followed this route.

Archaeological findings also show that Japan’s rice cultivation culture shares intrinsic roots with China’s Yangtze River Basin (including the Dapeng Mountain and Daishan areas). Japan is abundant in rice, and the ecology of its rice is extremely similar to that of the rice unearthed from the Hemudu Cultural Site in Yuyao, as well as to rice found in Ma'ao, just five nautical miles across the sea from Daishan. This suggests that rice cultivation techniques from southern China most likely spread to Japan via Zhoushan.

Additionally, numerous historical relics and certain local products from Cixi’s Dapeng Mountain and Daishan also support this route. For example, “Qin Du Port” in Cixi’s Dapeng Mountain and “Hai Tian Yi Lan Ting” (Sea and Sky View Pavilion) at Dongshajiao in Daishan are the only remaining historical sites of Xu Fu’s eastward voyage in China. Many plants in Daishan can also be found in Japan, such as the eurya japonica, which the Japanese hold during shrine ceremonies and which is also abundantly produced on Daishan Island and the main island of Zhoushan. Today, Zhoushan processes and exports large quantities of eurya japonica to Japan annually.

Xu Fu was a great navigator in China. Over 2,000 years ago, he was able to lead a massive fleet of several thousand people on a grand voyage across the sea to Japan—an extraordinary feat in the history of world navigation. It demonstrates that China’s shipbuilding and navigation technologies had already reached a remarkably high level at that time.

Location of the Attraction

Sanbei Town, Cixi City, Zhejiang Province

Ticket Price

50 RMB