Changdao · Shandong
Changdao is Shandong's only island county — 32 islands in the Bohai Strait, a ¥150 three-day land pass, gull colonies you watch from the boat and spotted seals on the reefs.
The short version
The place itself
Changdao is not one island but 32, strung across the Bohai Strait between the Shandong and Liaodong peninsulas, and it is the only island county in Shandong. Only the two largest, South and North Changshan, are joined — by a causeway — so everything else means a boat, and that is the whole character of the place. More than half the land is forest, and the islands sit on the main bird migration route of eastern Asia: some 200 species and around a million birds pass through, which is why they are a national nature reserve.
The one trip everybody takes is the boat out to Waniao Island. You cannot land — the island is uninhabited and protected — so the boat drifts in under the cliffs while tens of thousands of gulls wheel around it, and everybody throws bread. May is the month, when the birds are sitting on eggs and the noise is at its worst. Bring the hard crusts; they throw better.
The geology is the other reason to come. At Linhai Park a stair of 369 steps drops to the water at the point where the Yellow Sea and the Bohai Sea meet and refuse to mix — a visible line, deep blue on one side, pale yellow on the other, dividing a fishing ground from a shellfish farm. At Jiuzhangya the cliffs stand almost vertical out of the sea, with a 12-metre Guanyin at the gate and a stair down to the base. At Yueya Bay the beach is made entirely of polished pebbles, and walking them barefoot is the point.
It is slow here, and that is the argument. In July the average temperature is 22.8°C and it falls to 18°C at night, so you will want a jacket in summer. The bus system is built for commuters, not visitors, so you charter a car or borrow a bike from your host family. Stay with a fishing household, eat what came off the boat that morning, and go to bed early enough to be up for the sunrise.
Pins are plotted from real latitude and longitude on a 5° graticule. This is a schematic orientation diagram, not a political map — no boundaries are drawn.
The signature sight of the north island: a wall of rock standing nearly vertical out of the water, cut with caves, stacks and reefs, and named for its height. A 12-metre Guanyin stands at the park gate and a stair drops from the viewing platform to the base, where the scale of the thing finally lands. Eleven kilometres from the ferry terminal.
A crescent at the northern end of North Changshan whose beach is made entirely of smooth, coloured pebbles — polished by the sea into something like beads. The park has laid a walkway of them, and walking it barefoot is the whole pleasure. The best-known of the island's sights, and the one you will actually remember.
A thousand mu of pine on the southern headland, then a stair of 369 steps down to the water where the Yellow Sea and the Bohai Sea collide. The line between them is visible, bent rather than straight, blue on one side and yellow on the other, and it does not move. This is also one of the island's two famous sunset spots.
Boat-only, no landing. Tens of thousands of gulls nest on this uninhabited stack, and the boat drifts in close enough that the birds follow you — take bread, and take the hard crusts. May is the season, when they are incubating and at their noisiest. The ticket is ¥185 and the trip is the reason most people come to Changdao at all.
Every year the seals leave the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea around November, come down through the Sea of Japan and the northern Yellow Sea, and arrive at Changdao in March to rest, mate and pup. They haul out on the reefs at Haibao, ten minutes by boat from the harbour, and pile onto each other in the sun. Watch from the boat and keep your distance.
Built in 1122, the first Mazu temple in northern China, and still working: the islands hold a Mazu festival with processions, opera and a birthday ceremony for the goddess. The sea route that calls here (¥60 or ¥90 including the temple) also passes the aquaculture rafts, which is worth seeing for the scale of it alone.
There is no way onto Changdao except through Yantai and Penglai. Fly to Yantai Penglai International (YNT) or take the train to Yantai, then a coach to Penglai — about ¥28 from Yantai's main station, every 15 minutes, just over an hour — and a short taxi to Penglai port. The crossing is 7 nautical miles and takes about 40 minutes, or 25 on a fast boat, for around ¥23 a head, with departures roughly every 40 to 50 minutes between 06:00 and 17:00. Fog cancels sailings, so check before you travel.
On the islands, forget the bus: it runs at shift-change times and tour operators take it in summer. Instead charter a car — around ¥120 for a circuit of six of the main sights, which works out at about ¥20–30 a head depending on the vehicle — or borrow a bicycle from your host family, which is slower but better, because you stop where you like. For the outer islands, chartering a speedboat for up to ten people runs about ¥500 return and covers Miaodao, Longzhao Mountain, Baota Reef, Gaoshan and Waniao in one go.
| Month | Weather | Crowds | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4°C / -4°C · dry, cold | Quiet | Avoid |
| February | 6°C / -1°C · dry, cold | Very busy | Avoid |
| March | 14°C / 5°C · dry, cold | Moderate | Good |
| April | 21°C / 12°C · clear and mild | Moderate | Best |
| May | 27°C / 18°C · clear and mild | Busy | Best |
| June | 31°C / 23°C · hot, humid | Moderate | OK |
| July | 32°C / 25°C · hot, humid | Busy | OK |
| August | 30°C / 24°C · hot, humid | Busy | OK |
| September | 26°C / 19°C · clear and mild | Moderate | Best |
| October | 20°C / 12°C · clear and mild | Very busy | Best |
| November | 12°C / 4°C · dry, cold | Quiet | Good |
| December | 5°C / -2°C · dry, cold | Quiet | Good |
Two days and one night is the minimum and two nights is better. Day one takes the north line — Jiuzhangya, Ou Chi Bay, the Immortal Bridge, Yueya Bay, the seal enclosure and Wangfu Reef — and ends at Linhai Park for the sunset. Day two is the boat out to Waniao Island and the sea route past Miaodao. A third day is for doing nothing: fishing off the rocks, a bike loop, and an early night so you can get up for the sunrise at Yueya Bay.
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Through Penglai. Reach Yantai by air or rail, take a coach to Penglai for about ¥28, taxi to the port, then the ferry — roughly 40 minutes, or 25 on a fast boat, about ¥23 a head, with sailings every 40 to 50 minutes from 06:00 to 17:00. In fog the boats stop, so leave a margin if you have a flight to catch.
For a foot passenger, no — turn up, buy a ticket, board. For a car it is different: the roll-on ferry charges ¥140 each way, sails only when full, and can be cancelled by weather, which is a good reason to leave the car in Penglai. Book your island guesthouse ahead instead, especially in July and August.
If you have two days, buy the ¥100 north or south line pass rather than the ¥150 three-day one — the north line has the better sights (Jiuzhangya, Yueya Bay, Wangfu Reef) and the south has Linhai Park and the sea-meeting line. Sights are not sold individually, so you must choose a pass. The sea trips are separate and worth adding: ¥60 for the Mazu route, ¥185 for the gull island.
Seafood, and haggle for it. The islands are a major producer of abalone, scallops and kelp, and the fixed-price habit at the seafront stalls is to start high — a plate of braised yellow croaker settles at about ¥15 once you have argued, and the garlic fish and scallops come down further. Eat it fresh, and take some garlic or a nip of spirits alongside. Also try the seaweed buns and mackerel dumplings.
You can day-trip it from Penglai and plenty of people do, since island beds and meals cost more than the mainland. But you lose the two things that are actually good here — the sunset at Linhai and the sunrise at Yueya Bay — and you rush the boat trips. Stay one night. Two is better.
A jacket, even in summer: July averages 22.8°C and nights drop to 18°C. Sandals or walking shoes rather than heels, because the island is hilly and the paths are steep. Sunscreen, a hat and sunglasses. Fishing tackle if you want to fish off the rocks, binoculars if you are serious about the sunrise, and seasickness tablets if you are at all doubtful — boats are how you see anything here.
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