(Photo: Shenzhen Daily)
If you are looking for a seaside resort that offers more than coastline and beach views, Weizhou Island, to the southeast of the city of Beihai in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is perhaps the place you should visit.
Formed by volcanic rock and lava, Weizhou is China’s largest and youngest volcanic island, famous not only for its sea, sun and sand, but also living coral and its distinctive volcanic bay views.
Stretching six kilometers from north to south and five kilometers from east to west, the island presents two different types of views in the southern and northern parts.
The southern part of the island features examples of volcanic topography. These include walls and terraces formed by rocks, molten and compressed in a volcanic eruption, grotesque and colorful sights of marine-eroded caverns, hills, pillars and terraces, creating an ocean fairyland.
Dominated by flatter and more open morphology, the northern part is lower with sandbars, beaches and rocks. On the seabed can be found coral in many colors. All these have won Weizhou the name of Penglai Fairy Island of the South China Sea.
As well as the beaches, here are a few places you shouldn’t miss on the island.
Volcano Park
The park is at the western-most point of the island, located on Eyu Mountain. It is as high as a 12-story building and offers a panoramic view while the bottom of the mountain is volcanic terrain. The top of the mountain was formed during the last volcanic eruption 7,000 years ago.
It is difficult to walk over the surface with rocks and holes everywhere. Colorful coral is scattered around in shades of green, blue, brown, purple, yellow and white. Since the site is far from the volcanic area, few people know about it.
Sesame Beach (Zhimatan)
The amazing thing about Sesame Beach is that the beach is not made of sand, but the remains of a lava flow.
When the volcano erupted thousands of years ago, lava pods burst out and crashed onto the beach and forming the land as it is today.
The best time to go to Sesame Beach is early morning to see the sunrise. Rocks in brown, yellow, black and blue dot the beach.
Catholic church
Weizhou Island is a natural volcanic island, and the humanities are rarely its focal point, but the Catholic church is worth a visit. The church is magnificent with its wooden black board, desks and chairs in a hall on the second floor. It was built for children to study before the island became a tourist destination.
The church was built in 1870 by French missionaries who went to Weizhou Island in 1860. The architecture is typically baroque, and most of the islanders are devout Christians.
Big and Small Penglai Island
Two arches of East and West exist in the south of the island, like crabs lying in the water. With an area of 1.9 square kilometers, Xieyang Island is 4.5 kilometers from Weizhou Island. It is where spectacular views of the setting sun can be seen, hence the name Xieyang Island. More than 40 scenic spots on the two islands are found mainly along the coast.
Diving
With colorful coral, Weizhou is a haven for divers. Diving services are available on the island, with prices ranging from 100 to 400 yuan. The best time to dive is from 3 to 4 p.m.
