Get to know Shengsi County
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- Administrative area
- County · 县
- Part of
- Zhoushan
- Chinese name
- 嵊泗县
- Local areas
- County guide
Area & population
- Population · 2018
- 75,221
Source: cited geographic source, as of the dates shown.
Setting and landscape
The land adds up to only 86 square kilometres, scattered over what China News Service counts as 630 islands. Fifteen are permanently inhabited, and the towns sit on Sijiao, which holds the county seat, on Shengshan and on Dayangshan (大洋山). Sijiao and Shengshan are 34 kilometres apart. Black pine (黑松), planted on bare hills from 1936 under the district head Cheng Tiyun (程梯云), now makes up more than 90 percent of the woodland.
History
From 1690 most of the islands belonged to Chongming County (崇明县) in Jiangsu, and the name Shengsi first appears in an official document in 1934, when Chongming set up its fifth district here. The Japanese navy occupied the islands on the eve of the Battle of Shanghai in August 1937. From October 1948 the Nationalist navy ran them directly. On 27 January 1949 the steamer Taiping (太平轮) sank after a collision southeast of Baijie Island (白节山), with 932 deaths, and in May 1949 the Jiangsu governor Ding Zhipan (丁治磐) and other officials took refuge on Gouqi (枸杞岛).
The People's Liberation Army took the islands in July 1950. In June 1953 the county passed from Jiangsu to Zhejiang's Zhoushan prefecture. From 1 January 1961 Shanghai, which wanted the islands as a base for sea fishing, ran them; they returned to Zhejiang in 1962.
What to see
China News Service describes the Shengsi Islands (嵊泗列岛) as China's only national scenic area of the island-chain type. Huaniao Island (花鸟岛) is known for its century-old lighthouse, which Chinese Wikipedia says the British built in 1870, and for its glowing seas. Since 2018 its stone houses have been painted white and its gravel paths paved, from 2020 it has been developed as an "art island" with an international art festival, and it is a national 4A tourist area. Shengshan and Gouqi Island have a "marine ranch" (海上牧场), the cliffs of Dongya (东崖绝壁) and the empty village of Houtouwan (后头湾无人村).
Highlights
- Huaniao Island 花鸟岛: Island with a lighthouse built by the British in 1870; a national 4A tourist area.
- Houtouwan 后头湾无人村: Empty village on the Shengshan-Gouqi islands.
- Dongya cliffs 东崖绝壁: Cliffs on the Shengshan-Gouqi islands.
- Sijiao Island 泗礁: Main island and county seat, 34 km from Shengshan.
Sources for this guide
嵊泗县 - 维基百科，自由的百科全书 · Chinese Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
2026嵊泗爱屿天涯文旅快闪活动在杭州启幕-中国新闻网-浙江新闻 · China News Service, Zhejiang
在东海小岛邂逅“诗和远方” · Zhejiang Daily (Zhejiang Online)
Original English written from the listed sources and checked sentence by sentence against quoted extracts by a separate reviewer. Updated 2026-09-25.
Explore Shengsi County
Core places to explore, with English and Chinese names.
Places to explore around Shengsi County
Gouqi and Shengshan Islands · 枸杞岛与嵊山岛Gouqi and Shengshan Islands枸杞岛与嵊山岛
Gouqi and Shengshan are neighbouring fishing islands in Shengsi County, linked by Sanjiaojiang Bridge and distinguished by Gouqi's mussel farms and Shengshan's harbour and eastern sea cliffs.
Read the place guide →
Sijiao Island (泗礁岛), Shengsi County. Photograph: "嵊泗的天文台，看着岛屿 - panoramio".Sijiao Island泗礁岛
Main island and county seat of the Shengsi Islands in northern Zhoushan, with Jihu Beach, Dabei Mountain and a coast road through fishing villages.
Read the place guide →
Huaniao Island (花鸟岛), Shengsi County. Photograph: "North Saddle Island Light".Huaniao Island花鸟岛
Huaniao Island in Shengsi County combines a lighthouse first built in 1870 with a village landscape reshaped by the island's later transition from fishing towards tourism.
Read the place guide →Plan your visit
Getting there
Shengsi County is about 85 km in a straight line from central Zhoushan. Search for 嵊泗县 in a map app to find stations and your accommodation.
Where to stay →Build your route
Gouqi and Shengshan Islands and Sijiao Island are both listed here. The linked place guides have entrance and visit details.
Continue with Zhoushan →More in Zhoushan
Sources & geographic information
Administrative names and parent areas: Official geographic directory · Reference date 2026-09-06.
Some facts checked against 嵊泗县 — Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photo: Gouqi and Shengshan Islands · Source photographer · License not provided. EXIF orientation normalized; resized without changing aspect ratio; converted to WebP. No subject edits.
Photo: Sijiao Island · inte the husky · CC BY 3.0. Full frame retained; EXIF orientation normalized, proportionally resized to at most 800 pixels and converted to WebP. No generated pixels or subject changes. Cards may crop the display.
Photo: Huaniao Island · Fayhoo · CC BY-SA 3.0. Full frame retained; EXIF orientation normalized, proportionally resized to at most 800 pixels and converted to WebP. No generated pixels or subject changes. Cards may crop the display.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Pins mark approximate centres, not entrances or boundaries.