MàanSäan Archipelago / 萬山群島
Traditional Chinese 萬山羣島 or 萬山群島
Simplified Chinese 万山群岛
Literal meaning Ten Thousand Islands Archipelago[1]
[show]Transcriptions
Ladrones Islands and Lema Islands (bottom part of the map) on a 1878 German map
The Wanshan Archipelago (which means Myriad Islands Archipelago), sometimes referred to as the Ladrones Islands (Thieves Islands), is a 104-island archipelago that is part of Zhuhai Municipality in Guangdong Province in the People's Republic of China. Most of its islands are in the Wanshan Marine Development Experimental Zone[2].
Contents
[hide]
1 Geography
1.1 List of islands
2 Population
3 Economy
4 Tourist Sites
5 Transportation
6 See also
7 References
7.1 Notes
7.2 Sources
[edit] Geography
The islands are situated in the South China Sea, to the south of the opening of the Pearl River estuary and Hong Kong.
Wanshan Islands also include some islands in Hong Kong and Macau, such as Hong Kong Island and Lantau Island in Hong Kong, Taipa-Coloane Island in Macau.[citation needed]
The archipelago, as featured on modern maps,[3] includes several groups of islands. On the older European maps, the western group, located south of the Pearl River estuary and Hong Kong's island of Lantao, and including. among others, the Greater Wanshan Island (Da Wanshan Dao), Guishan Dao, Zhizhou Liedao (蜘洲列岛) group, Wai Dangling Dao, Sanmen Liedao (三门列岛) group and Aizhou Liedao (隘洲列岛) groups, was known as the Ladrones Islands (i.e., Thieves Islands, in Spanish or Portuguese). The eastern chain of islands, located south of Hong Kong, was known in the west as Lema Islands; these days, the western half of this chain is known as Pengjia Liedao (蓬佳列岛), while the eastern is Dangan Liedao (担杆列岛).
The largest island, Dangan (担杆), features mountainous terrain similar to Hong Kong.
[edit] List of islands
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
Islands of the archipelgo include:
Dangan Liedao (the eastern group of Wanshan archipelago, and the eastern half of the former Lema Islands chain) - 13.2 square kilometres in area and the largest of the islands; 200 permanent residents
Dangan Dao
Erzhou Dao
Zhiwan Dao
Xidan Dao (细担岛)
Pengjia Liedao (蓬佳列岛) (the southern group of Wanshan archipelago, and the western half of the former Lema Islands chain)
Beijian Dao (北尖岛)
Miaowan Dao - 1.46 kilometres in area with a small population of fishermen. Lighthouse on the island was built by the British in 1884
Shan Zhou (杉洲)
Wanzhou Dao (湾洲岛)
Ping Zhou
Southwestern group, apparently without a general name
Dawanshan Dao
Xiaowanshan Dao
Baili Dao (白沥岛)
Dong'ao Dao - 4.62 square kilometres in area with population of 500
Heng Zhou (横洲)
Zhu zhou (竹洲)
Gui zhou (贵洲)
Dalie Dao
Huangmao (黄茅岛)
Shek Kwu Chau (left), an island of Hong Kong and Wai Lingding Dao (right), part of the "Central group" of Wanshan Archipelago.
Central group, apparently without a general name; located south of Lantau
Wai Lingding Dao - 3.7 square kilometres in area and a tourist attraction with natural sites and temples
Sanmen Liedao (三门列岛)
Sanmen Dao (三门岛)
Yuangang Dao (圆岗岛)
Zhuwantou Dao
Henggang Dao
Aizhou Liedao (隘洲列岛)
Ai Zhou (隘洲)
Ai Zhou Zi (隘洲仔, i.e. "baby Aizhou")
Norhwestern group, apparently without a general name; located between Lantau and Macau
Zhizhou Liedao
Dazhi Dao
Xiaozhi Dao
Guishan - formerly PLA base from the 1950s
Zhongxin Zhou
Niutou Dao (牛头岛)
Chitou Dao (赤滩岛)
Sanjiao Dao
Qing Zhou
Sanjiao Zhou
Daliu Dao (大碌岛)
Datou Dao
Other geographically important points of interest:
Lema Channel is a major waterway in the archipelgo.
Dahengqin Dao is an island off Macau and not part of this archipelgo.
Erzhou, rising to 437.7m above sea level, is the highest point in the archipelago
[edit] Population
There is a small local population. mostly in small fishing villages:
Dan'gan
Dan'ganwei
Nacun
[edit] Economy
The archipelago's economy is mainly fisheries (crystal prawn, peeler crab). There is a growing tourism industry with a focus on history (Blundbuss Tower is a major attraction on Dong'ao Island), beaches, and the natural beauty of the islands. About 350,000 tourists visit the islands annually.
There is also potential for petroleum extraction in the waters off the islands.
[edit] Tourist Sites
A-Ma Temple on Wanshan
Floating Cobbles Bay - Wanshan
Son-Soliciting Springs - Dong'ao
Wen Tianxiang Park - Guishan
Monument to the Martyrs of Guishan Warship - Guishan
Xiafeng Bay - Miaowan
Dan'gan Village - Dan'gan
[edit] Transportation
Ferry service from Zhuhai to Guishan, Wai Lingding, Dan'gan, Dong'ao and Wanshan
Fast/Slow Ferry service to Guishan, Wai Lingding, Xiangzhou
Sightseeing Ferryboats from Zhuhai
[edit] See also
Wanshan Archipelago Campaign
[edit] References
[edit] Notes
^ 山(Shan) literally means hills and mountains. Before the emerging of Modern China, 山 also refers to islands.
^
http://www.zhuhai.gov.cn/english/Survey ... _14741.htm^ Xingzhu Ditu Chubanse (2007), p. 30 (Zhuhai)
[edit] Sources
Aerial image of the islands (Google map)
Wanshan Qundao
Enjoying sunlight and sea in Zhuhai Islands
The Atlas of Guangdong (广东省), published by 星珠地图出版社 (Xingzhu Ditu Chubanshe), 2007. ISBN 978-7-80212-086-0.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wanshan_Archipelago