Changdao Islands 长岛列岛

About Changdao Islands

The islands sit where the Yellow Sea meets the Bohai Sea, seven kilometres north of Penglai and forty-two kilometres south of Lüshun. Ten of the 151 islands are inhabited. Their combined land area is 59 square kilometres against 3,541 square kilometres of sea, with 187.8 kilometres of coastline and forest cover of 60 percent. Changdao was long Shandong's only island county; the provincial government approved a Changdao Marine Ecological Civilization Comprehensive Pilot Zone in June 2018, and in June 2020 the State Council abolished both Penglai city and Changdao county to form Penglai District, since when Changdao has operated as a provincial-level functional zone within it. The islands carry overlapping designations as a national nature reserve, a national scenic area, a national forest park, a national marine park and a national 4A scenic area.

The official overview counts 217 kinds of shellfish, algae and fish and names the islands as the original stock area for sea cucumber, wrinkled abalone, comb scallop and sea urchin. More than 320 species of migratory bird and over 1.2 million individual birds are recorded passing through in a year, and close to 400 Pacific spotted seals rest there annually under a provincial seal reserve. Human traces run deep: the Beizhuang prehistoric site is more than 6,500 years old and has been called an eastern counterpart to Banpo. The Mazu Xianying Palace on Miaodao, built in 1122 in the Northern Song, is described as the most influential official Mazu temple in northern China and is paired with the Meizhou temple in Fujian as the northern and southern ancestral halls. Marine erosion, marine deposition and volcanic formations dated to roughly 1.9 billion years make Changdao China's only island-type national geopark.

What to look for

• The Mazu Xianying Palace on Miaodao, founded in 1122 under the Northern Song
• The Beizhuang prehistoric site, dated to more than 6,500 years ago
• Sea-eroded cliffs, marine deposits and volcanic rock that underpin the islands' national geopark status
• Migratory birds, of which more than 320 species are recorded passing through each year
• Pacific spotted seals, with close to 400 recorded resting annually in waters covered by a provincial reserve

Location & getting there

Getting to Changdao Islands

Confirm ferry arrangements where needed, weather and any local restrictions on water access. A beach listing does not establish that swimming is permitted.

• Search for 长岛列岛 with 烟台市 and 蓬莱区.