Pingtan Island 平潭岛

About Pingtan Island

Beigang’s grey stone houses climb above the coast beneath Junshan, with tiled roofs and small lanes facing the sea. Tannan Bay offers a different landscape: a broad pale beach backed by coastal vegetation.

These places occupy different parts of a large island. Choose a village and a stretch of coast for a focused visit; an island-wide circuit needs road transport between its separate bays.

In 1731 (the ninth year of the Qing Yongzheng era), a county lieutenant's office was established on the island, and later county government offices were based there, making it the county's political, economic, cultural and educational centre. The island came under Communist administration in September 1949. The Pingtan Strait Bridge (平潭海峡大桥) to the mainland, 4,976 metres long including a 3,510-metre bridge section with a 17-metre-wide deck, was completed on 30 November 2010 and opened to traffic on 25 December 2010.

The island is about 29 kilometres from north to south and 19 kilometres from east to west, with a coastline of 408 kilometres and a sea area of 6,064 square kilometres; it is known as the 'county of a thousand reefs' (千礁岛县). It is separated from Fuqing on the mainland by the Haitan Strait, and lies about 140 kilometres from Hsinchu in Taiwan, the narrowest point of the Taiwan Strait. A seasonal 'blue tears' phenomenon, a glow produced by blooms of the plankton Vargula hilgendorfii in turbulent water, occurs mainly between April and August.

Haitan is Fuzhou's only national key scenic area, the Haitan National Key Scenic Area (海坛国家重点风景名胜区), covering 71 square kilometres. In 2001 the site was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List under 'Haitan Scenic Spots,' in the mixed cultural and natural category.

What to look for

• Beigang’s granite houses, tiled roofs and hillside village lanes.
• Tannan Bay’s broad sandy shoreline and coastal outlook.

The surrounding area

The provincial capital offers historic residences and a specific broth-and-snack food culture.

Location & getting there

Getting to Pingtan Island

Pingtan Station on the Fuzhou–Pingtan railway is on the main island. Arrange a road transfer from the station to Beigang village or your chosen bay; the railway stop is not beside either attraction.