Shangchuan Island

Shangchuan Island, Guangdong's largest island, lies about ninety kilometres south of Taicheng and is accessible by ferry from the coastal town of Xinchuan. The island has beaches — particularly Fangdao Beach on the southern coast, with calm water and reasonable sand — and a slower pace than any mainland alternative in the region. The Catholic pilgrimage connection, centred on a chapel marking the spot where Francis Xavier died in 1552, gives the island a slightly unusual identity for a Chinese beach destination.

The ferry crossing takes about 40 minutes and runs several times daily. The island has basic accommodation and seafood restaurants near the main jetty. Development is light compared to Hainan or the Zhuhai archipelago, which is the point: Shangchuan is a place to escape rather than a place to be entertained. The beaches are best in October and November, when the typhoon season has passed and the summer crowds have thinned.

things to do sight swimming
A story
Francis Xavier, who had spent years converting tens of thousands of people across India, Japan, and Southeast Asia, reached Shangchuan Island in 1552 while trying to obtain permission to enter mainland China. He waited there for months while envoys sought an audience that never came, and died on the island in December 1552 without ever crossing to the mainland he had come to evangelise. His body was eventually returned to Goa, where it is still venerated in the Basilica of Bom Jesus.

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