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Chongming Island

Geographical Location:

Located on the estuary of Yangtze River, Chongming Island is the third largest island in China. Being the largest alluvial island at the estuary of a river and the largest sand island in the world, Chongming Island is also acclaimed as “Door to Yangtze River, Yingzhou Island (a celestial mountain in fairy tales of ancient China) in the East China Sea”. Chongming Island has been in existence for more than 1300 years. Now, it covers an area of 1267 square kilometers (126700 hectares), with a population of 635 thousand. The whole island is flat in terms of terrain, with fertile soil, luxuriant forests and abundant resources. As a result, Chongming Island becomes a famous region where the cultivation of rice and the breeding of fish flourish. East of Chongming Island is the East China Sea, while in the south, Chongming Island faces Pudong new area, Baoshan District in Shanghai and Taicang City in Jiangsu Province across the river. Separated by water, Haimen City and Qidong City of Jiangsu Province are to the north of Chongming Island. Beside Chongming Island, there are another two islands, which are Hengsha Island and Changxing Island. The formation of Chongming Island is closely connected with the evolution of the estuary of Yangtze River.

Distance between Chongming Island and the center of Shanghai:

It is only one-hour drive from the center of Shanghai and Chongming Island thanks to Shanghai Yangtze River Tunnel.

How to Get There:

Tourists can go to Shanghai Science &Technology Museum/North Zhongshan Road first. Ships from Gong He Xin Road Wharf, Bao Yang Road Wharf, Wu Song Wharf and Shi Dong Kou Wharf all go to Nanmen Port of Chongming Island.

How to Go out of Chongming Island:

It only takes 20 minutes to get to Pudong through Shanghai Yangtze River Tunnel.

Chongming Museum

Location:

No. 696 on Ao Shan Road.

Distinctions:

Chongming Academy is one of the only existing academies in Shanghai. Chongming Academy today is also known as Chongming Museum. It is a city-level heritage conservation unit.

Brief Introduction:

Go out of Nanmen Port of Chongming Island, continue walking 200 to 300 meters, and people will see layers of ancient architectural complex. This is Chongming Academy. There are two decorated archways consisting of 2 stone pillars, seeming simple and solemn. There are eight characters on them, saying “De Pei Tian Di, Dao Guan Gu Jin” (meaning the morality is as high as heaven, the doctrines are the best in the past and now). In front of the gate, there are two maidenhair trees, both with a history of 350 years. They are so thick that three people have to get each other’s arms around to round the tree. Two big stone lions are guarding at the gate, dignified. The largest building in Chongming Academy is Da Cheng Dian (Hall of Great Achievement). Its role is like the Da Xiong Bao Dian (the Great Buddha’s Hall) in the temples. This is where Confucius is enshrined. East Wu (rooms at the sides of or facing the principal rooms) and West Wu are the dormitories of the 72 outstanding disciples. Today, Da Cheng Dian (Hall of Great Achievement) is temporarily used to be the exhibition room of ancient ships. East Wu is the exhibition room for photos and stories of some celebrities in Chongming, and some ancient wares were unearthed in Chongming. And West Wu today is Huang Pimo art gallery. Another two buildings behind Da Cheng Dian (Hall of Great Achievement) are exhibition halls of folk-customs in Chongming. Besides, there are architectures like palace walls measuring ten thousand ren (an ancient measure of length equal to seven or eight chi, about 2.33 meters to 2.67 meters) in length, Ling Xing Gate, Deng Yun Bridge, Jimen Gate, Ming Huan Temple, Chong Sheng Temple, Zun Jing Pacvilion and son on. These are all well-preserved architectures of Ming Dynasty in Shanghai. In front of the gate, there are five 18-meter tall maidenhair trees, all having a history of 377 years. They are in harmony with the 2 uniquely-designed wooden and stone memorial arches, making a strong sense of ancient elegance. Seeing this, tourists can have s better understanding of the vastness of the universe. There are three parts of the exhibition in the museum, including “Formation and Development of Chongming Island”, “Historic and Cultural Relics in the Museum” and “Natural Museum”. These three parts introduce the long history and rich cultural heritage of Chongming Island systematically. The most distinctive parts in Chongming Academy are the exhibition room of ancient ships and halls of folk-customs in Chongming.

How to Get There:

First, tourists can take Tourism Line 5, Tourism Line 51, Tourism Line 116, Tourism Line 522, Tourism Line 728, Tourism Line 848, Tourism Line 849, or Port Line to Wu Song Port. Or, they can take Tourism Line, Tourism Line 5, Tourism Line 51, Tourism Line 207, Tourism Line 508, Tourism Line 541, Tourism Line 728, Line Pengjiang, or Port Line to Bao Yang Road Port. And then, they can take a ship and go to Nanmen Port of Chongming Island.

Inquiry Phone Number: 021-59623827.

Ticket Price: 10 RMB.

Open Hour: 8：00 - 16：00 (Chongming Academy is not open on Monday).

Dongping National Forest Park

Location:

Dongping National Forest Park is in north central Chongming Island, 12 kilometers (about 7.46 miles) from Nanmen Port (county town).

Distinctions:

Dongping National Forest Park is the largest man-made forests on the plain in Eastern China. It is also the largest forest park in Shanghai. It is a national 4A-level tourist attraction and Agricultural Site in China.

Brief Introduction:

Dongping National Forest Park grew out of Dongping Tree Farm. Dongping Tree Farm came into being in 1959. After 30 year’s development, forests in Dongping National Forest Park grow luxuriantly, full of charms of nature. The main supporting service facilities in Dongping National Forest Park are crab-shaped multi-function meeting centre of unique design, Forest Bar, Forest Rehabilitation Centre, Forest Beach Bathing Place, Water Park, Beach Volleyball Ground, Camp Base for Teenagers, Horse Race Field, forest hammocks, facilities for barbecue picnic, gardens and orchards, forest villas, Forest Maze, windmills and other facilities for activities like forest sunbath, hunting, paintball shooting, forest grass skating, rock climbing and so on.

How to Get There:

Route 1: People can take Line Shen Chong at North District Bus Station or Line Nan Dong and Line Nan Jiang at Chongming South Gat Bus Station. And they will get to Dongping National Forest Park.
Route 2: After reaching Nanmen Port, people will see bus to Dongping National Forest Park. Those who plan to drive there can drive according to the guiding signs. It only takes about 20 minutes to get to Dongping National Forest Park.

Inquiry Phone Number: 021-59338266.

Ticket Fare: 40 RMB. Children under 1.4 meters tall can buy half-price ticket. By showing their credentials, elderly people aged above 70 can go into the park for free. Teams having more than 20 people can enjoy a twenty percent discount.

Open Hour: 8：00-16：30.

Dong Tan Migratory Bird Protection Area

Location:

Dong Tan Migratory Bird Protection Area is in the east of Chongming Island. It begins from Tuanjie Sand and Water Gate in the south and stretches to North Baxiao Port in the north. In the west, its boundary is the causeway which was built in 1968 and in the east it reaches 3000 meters out of Wu Song zero-height.

Features:

Dong Tan Migratory Bird Protection Area is a wildlife resources base at the estuary of Yangtze River. On August 9th, 2005, Dong Tan Birds’ Living Area of Chongming Island was listed as a national nature reserve by the State Council.

Brief Introduction:

Dong Tan Migratory Bird Protection Area covers an area of 30 thousand hectares. It is one of the few habitats of wild birds in the world. Now, it is in the declaration of world’s important wetlands. In Dong Tan, there are 116 kinds of birds. Especially, the number of little swans that live in Dong Tan through the winter reaches 3000 to 3500. Moreover, there are other more rare birds like anser albifrons, Butorides striatus, Platalea minor. Apart from theses, the number of the migratory birds resting in Dong Tan on their way of migration is up to 3 million. In the days of appreciating the birds, people can see large groups of birds flying over the sky, like huge clouds, magnificent.
The best time to appreciate birds in Dong Tan is in the morning because the sunrise over the East China Sea is another beautiful natural scenery on Chongming Island. Dong Tan on Chongming Island is the most east land in the East China Sea. In the morning, people can appreciated the beautiful sunrise and view all kinds of bird at the same time.

Tips:

After viewing the birds, people can go back to Chenjia Town, find a clean and homeliness restaurant and order a plate of steamed crab and some other seafood. Then they can satisfy themselves with delicious food. The largest crab market on Chongming Island lies in Chenjia Town; it is also the largest crab market in China. Most crabs in the markets of Shanghai come from Chenjia Town. There are more rare seafood in Chenjia Town than in other places, with lower prices.

How to Get There: People can take Tourism Line 5 to Bao Yang Port. Then, they can go to Baozhen Town by ship. After that, they can go to Dong Tan though Lin Baoqian. Ships from Wu Song Port can also go to Dong Tan, but there are only four ships going there every day. Ticket price for boats from Wu Song Port to Baozhen Town is 14 RMB per person. Ticket price for motorboat from Bao Yang Port to Baozhen Town is 30 RMB per person.

Self-driving Route:

central city of Chongming – Yi Xian elevated road – Tong Ji Road (Road A30) – Bao Yang Road – Bao Yang Road Port – Che Ke Du – Baozhen Town – South Baozhen Road – North Baozhen Road – Chen Hai Road – Bei Chen Road – Bai Chen Road.

Jinao Mountain

Location:

Jinao Mountain is located in Aoshan Village, Houjia Town, Qiaozhen in the county town of Chongming.

Distinctions:

Jinao Mountain is next to Shouan Temple which is one of the four ancient temples on Chongming Island.

Brief Introduction:

Shouan Temple is in the south of Jinao Mountain. First built in the second year of Chunyou (1241 A.D.), Shouan Temple is the ancient temple on Chongming Island that owns the longest history. In the past, Shouan Temple was once acclaimed that “There are green hills out of the green hills that circle the temple, and pavilions in the clear waters that are in the pavilion”. However, due to the wars, invasions of Japanese pirates (operating in Chinese coastal waters from the fourteenth to the sixteenth century), sacks etc., Shouan Temple no longer remained its old glory. The Shouan Temple existing now was rebuilt in 1983. There is an extremely clever antithetical couplet (a pair of scrolls containing a poetic couplet) by Zhao Puchu that reads “Ru Lai Wu Liang Shou, Jing Tu Wan Nian An” (如来无量寿，净土万年安; meaning Tathagata Buddha can live forever, keeping the Pure Land peaceful forever.). Apart from the grand main hall Da Xiong Bao Dian (the Great Buddha’s Hall), San Sheng Dian (Three Religion's Hall) and Tian Wang Dian (Hall of the Celestial Kings) have their unique charms as well. Besides, there are 16 statues of Buddha including statue of Sakyamuni made of camphor wood, colored gold sculptures of different gods, statue of the future Tathagata, present Tathagata and past Tathagata, statue of Manjushri, statue of Samantabhadra, and statue of Avalokitesvara. Among them, a huge jade statue of a reclining Buddha is the largest jade reclining Buddha in Shanghai. It weighs 13 tons, measuring 6 meters in length.

Keeping going along the west wall of Shouan Temple, people will reach the most famous scenic spot on Jinao Mountain: Zhen Hai Tower (Tower to Calm the Sea). It is said that Zhen Hai Tower was first built in the 19th year of Guangxu in Qing Dynasty (1893 A.D.). The money used in the construction came from the rich families in the local town. Zhen Hai Tower is on the high peak of Jinao Mountain which was built in the seventh year of Kangxi in Qing Dynasty (1668 A.D.). There once to be a Guan Yin Pavilion (Pavilion of Avalokitesvara). Later it changed ita name to Cang Ha Pavilion (the Sea Pavilion). During the reign of Emperor Qianlong in Qing Dynasty, this pavilion was one of the eight famous sights of Jinao Mountain. At that time it was called “Ao Feng Yuan Tiao” (meaning overlooking from Aofeng Peak). Zhen Hai Tower (Tower to Calm the Sea) was rebuilt in the year 1986. This is a nine-storey tower with wooden stairs. On each storey, 6 small statues of Bodhisattva are enshrined. People will find the room getting smaller when they continue going up. At last, the room is so small that it can only hold one person. Standing on the top of the tower, looking far into the distance, people will have a panoramic view of everything. In clear days, people can even see the sea beaches. That is why the sight “Ao Feng Yuan Tiao” (meaning overlooking from Aofeng Peak) gets its name. Sceneries on Jinao Mountain also have charms of the gardens of South China style. For example, even the original eight famous sights of Jinao Mountain no longer exist, sights like Qing Yuan Hall, Guan Yin Pavilion, Han Mo Forest, Zui Hua Water Pavilion, Jia Shan Pavilion, Black Bamboo Grove, De Yue Bridge, Shui Xiang Water Pavilion and Yue Garden are all exquisite, with clear water, twiggy woods and winding paths.

How to Get There:

Tourists can take Tourism Line 5 and get to Jinao Mountain.