Mazhang District 麻章区

History

In 1899 France demanded a lease at Guangzhouwan (广州湾) that took in Naozhou Island and Donghai Island (东海岛), and the lease treaty was signed that November. Suixi (遂溪) raised militia under Feng Shaocong (冯绍琮) of Changbu village (长布村) in Mazhang, and its Mazhang battalion fought the French near Dongju village (东菊村), now south-east of Chikan, in what the district chronicle calls the Battle of Dongju (东菊之战). The same year the French began building the Naozhou Lighthouse (硇洲灯塔), a stone tower 19.2 metres high that took three and a half years to finish. The district was formed from Zhanjiang's suburban district, which was renamed Mazhang on 10 October 1994, with its seat moving from Xiashan (霞山) to Mazhang.

What to see

Huguangyan (湖光岩), in Huguang town (湖光镇), is a maar lake formed by a steam-driven volcanic explosion roughly 140,000 to 200,000 years ago. The lake covers about 2.23 square kilometres and reaches 23 metres deep, and it is part of the Leiqiong UNESCO Global Geopark (雷琼世界地质公园); the scenic area is a national 4A site.

Naozhou Island, a 53-square-kilometre island built by undersea eruptions, is described as China's largest volcanic island. Its lighthouse is a national key protected site. Nayanshi Beach (那宴石海滩) on the south-east coast has columnar-jointed basalt and black volcanic gravel, and the Jinqian Tianhou Temple (津前天后宫) dates from 1506. Local legend says the last Southern Song emperors fled here from the Yuan armies, and the Song Emperor Well (宋皇井) is tied to the same story.

On the mainland, the Baige Fort site (白鸽寨遗址) in Tongming village (通明村), Taiping town (太平镇), the Qing-era Guangji Bridge (广济桥) at Xinpo village (新坡村), and the Song tomb of Peng Qingzhai (彭清斋) and his wife are Guangdong protected sites.

Getting oriented

Mazhang is Zhanjiang's south-western gateway and a transport hub on the route to Hainan. Zhanjiang West station (湛江西站) serves the Guangdong–Hainan and Shenzhen–Zhanjiang railways, and the Shenyang–Haikou and Lanzhou–Haikou expressways and National Highway 325 cross the district. Zhanjiang Ocean University (湛江海洋大学) was founded with its main campus in Huguang town, east of Huguangyan.

Highlights

• Huguangyan 湖光岩: Maar lake about 140,000–200,000 years old, part of the Leiqiong UNESCO Global Geopark.
• Naozhou Lighthouse 硇洲灯塔: French-built stone lighthouse begun in 1899, 19.2 metres high; national key protected site.
• Nayanshi Beach 那宴石海滩: Naozhou Island beach with columnar basalt and black volcanic gravel.
• Jinqian Tianhou Temple 津前天后宫: Temple to the sea goddess on Naozhou Island, founded in 1506.