Dongshan Peninsula

Dongshan Peninsula (东山岛) is an island county at the southern tip of Fujian, connected to the mainland by a causeway. Its coastline has some of the best beach scenery in the province: sandy bays backed by granite outcrops, sea stacks, and arches in the characteristic red-orange rock that gives the area its Danxia landscape character. The Mazu Temple at Tongling has been a sailors' and fishermen's shrine for several centuries; the offshore views from the headland beside it are excellent.

The Liu'ao Peninsula at the southern end of Dongshan has the most concentrated coastal scenery: a series of headlands with rock formations, eroded sea caves, and a lighthouse at the tip with panoramic views. The nearby Gu Cheng (古城), an old walled settlement in Tongling Town, has preserved Ming-Qing era stone buildings and some of the best-maintained historic streetscape in southern Fujian. Dongshan is 150 kilometres from Zhangzhou and most easily accessed by bus from Zhangpu County or by driving.

things to do sight
A story
Dongshan's Wind Blowing Rock (风动石) is a 200-tonne granite boulder balanced so precisely on a small base that it visibly rocks in a strong wind but has never fallen. Japanese soldiers during the Second World War reportedly tried to topple it as a morale-breaking gesture; they tied cables to it and pulled with a gunboat. The rock refused to move.