A Paradise—Dong'ao Island

Dong'ao Island is located in the mouth of the Pearl River, in an area called Lingding Sea. It is 30km offshore, to the southeast of Zhuhai, with an area of 4.66 sq. m.

Zhuhai features a number of islands, Wai-lingding Island, Jiuzhou Island, Hebao Island and Dong'ao Island, and the last is said to be the most beautiful.

There are commuter boats to and from Dong'ao Island at Beiti Pier in the Xiangzhou District. The air-con fast boat takes only forty-five minutes to reach the island, and the spacious cabin makes the trip a pleasant one.

By Ferry

Ferryboat is necessary for going to various islands scattering in the offing east of Zhuhai. At present, Xiangzhou Beidi Port is the most important and busy passenger port. You can easily get there by the public bus No.11 or No.56. Or take a taxi which costs around 20RMB from Bar Street.It has fast and slow ferryboats from the mainland of Zhuhai to those lovely islands in Wanshan Archipelago, including Guishan Island, Wailingding Island, Dangan Island, Dong'ao Island, and Wanshan Island.Generally,the trip takes around 45 mins.

Fast Ferryboats
1. Xiangzhou Beidi Port<--> Guishan Island <--> Wailingding Island
This line operates three times every day. The boat departs from Xiangzhou at 8:20, 14:30, and 16:30, arrives at Guishan at 9:35, 15:15, and 17:20, and then gets to Wailingding at 9:55, 16:00, and 18:00. The return boat from Wailingding departs at 8:00, 10:10, and 16:20, reaches Guishan at 8:45, 10:55, and 16:55, and goes back to Xiangzhou at 9:30, 11:40, and 17:45. A one way journey usually takes one and a half hours and costs CNY 67.5 per person. The ticket price is CNY 51 per person for the Xiangzhou - Guishan section while CNY 44 per person for the Guishan - Wailingding section.

2. Xiangzhou Beidi Port <-->Dong'ao Island<-->Wanshan Island
This line operates only once every day. The boat leaves Xiangzhou at 9:45, reaches Dong'ao at 10:45, and then arrives at Wanshan at 11:10. The return boat departs from Wanshan at 13:20, reaches Dong'ao at 13:40, and gets to Xiangzhou at 14:35. A single trip takes about one hour and 20 minutes and costs CNY 63.5 per person. The charge is CNY 50 per person for the Xiangzhou - Dong'ao section while CNY 31 per person for the Dong'ao - Wanshan section.

Slow Ferryboats
1. Xiangzhou Beidi Port <-->Dong'ao Island<-->Wanshan Island
This liner starts from Xiangzhou at 8:50 on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday, reaches Dong'ao at 11:00, and gets to Wanshan at 11:40. The return voyage is only made on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday. The boat departs from Wanshan at 8:15, reaches Dong'ao at 9:00, and arrives at Xiangzhou at 9:00. A single trip takes nearly three hours and costs CNY 42 per person. The ticket price is CNY 32 per person for the Xiangzhou - Dong'ao section while CNY 20 per person for the Dong'ao - Wanshan section.

2. Xiangzhou Beidi Port <-->Wailingding Island<-->Dangan Island
This line operates three times a week. The departure from Xiangzhou is at 8:40 every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday. Reaching Wailingding at 11:50, the boat then heads for Dangan and arrives there at 13:50. The return boat leaves Dangan at 6:15 every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday, gets to Wailingding at 8:15, and then goes back to Xiangzhou at 11:15. A one way journey takes approximately five hours and charges CNY 75 per person. And just CNY 50 per person is needed for the Xiangzhou - Wailingding section or the Wailingding - Dangan section.

Note: A permit is needed when you tour Zhuhai. Don't forget to bring it with you for it will be checked at hotels and during your trip to the islands.

Sightseeing Ferryboats
There are three ports in Zhuhai offering cruises on the Pearl River estuary in the surrounding area of Macao.

The sightseeing ferryboat departs from Jiuzhou Port five times a day at 9:10, 10:15, 11:40, 14:00, and 15:15. The cruise lasts for one hour and 35 minutes. Buses Nos.3, 4, 12, 23, 25, 26 and 99 can bring you to the Jiuzhou Port. Or you can take the No.11 or No.56 buses to get to the Xiangzhou Beidi Port, which has sightseeing ferryboats departing at 9:30, 12:00, and 14:30. The cruise offered here usually lasts for about two hours. In addition, Waizai Haojiang Travel Agency Port, which can be reached by the buses Nos.5, 14, or 30, offers such cruises. From 9:00 to 16:30, there are many boats departing at unfixed intervals. The cruise only takes 40 minutes. Varying in the journey time, however, the average cost of such cruises is around CNY 35 per person.

Xiangzhou Beidi Port also offers sightseeing ferryboats shuttling between the port and Dong'ao Island. The boat departs at 9:00 every Saturday and Sunday. The whole journey takes about two hours and costs CNY 148 per person for a group price, including the fee for lunch and transportation on the island.

Mosy of high-season time,the seats are almost fully occupied. The passengers includ some middle-aged and old people in tour groups, as well as people going fishing with their tackles and bait. Shortly after setting off you will see Macau in the distance.

At the pier, fishing boats lined up the shore. Fishermen wore bamboo stripe hats. After the boat anchored, you will need to take a minibus for 5-10RMB, the bus drives uphill. On both sides of the path there are residential houses. Locals also ran businesses like stores and seafood restaurant. In some of the houses people sold pork and vegetables.

The old minibus rocked so hard it seemed to fall apart any minute as all the business are ran by the locals in the small island, few people are already swimming in the sea, giving no notice of the hot sun. Colorful parasols are planted on the beach. Yes, these are the common scenes that you will see on the island.Some people were playing football on the shoal, while others were searching for buried treasures along the beach.

For further information of the travel agency, here I recommend one where I always purchase on: Daozhilv Travel Agency,located just behind JUSCO.

Website:http://www.zhuhaihaidaoyou.com/

Tel.:(0756)2111033(8lines)

P.S
The stunning yet quiet seaview is not the most exciting scene on this island, the freshly caught seafoods with unbeatable prices should be the ultimate purpose for the seafood-lovers, but don't forget to bargin with the local restaurants!