Pingtan Island

Pingtan is the largest island in Fujian and the closest point in mainland China to Taiwan. Wind dominates it: the strait funnels gales that made the traditional houses low blocks of granite with stone-weighted tiled roofs, built in tight village clusters, and that now drive one of the country's larger wind farms. From around April to June the water sometimes fills with bioluminescent dinoflagellates, and breaking waves and disturbed water glow electric blue at night, a phenomenon called blue tears that draws large numbers of visitors, though it appears irregularly and cannot be predicted more than a day or two ahead.

Highlights

• The blue tears - bioluminescent water glowing where waves break, in spring.
• The stone villages - granite houses with weighted roofs against the wind.
• The wind-scoured coast - beaches, sea stacks and eroded rock.
• The wind farms - turbines exploiting the strait's constant gales.

When to go

April to June for the blue tears, which appear irregularly within that window and depend on water conditions; local social media reports are the practical guide. The rest of the year the island is a windy coastal destination. Typhoons affect summer.

Things to know

Blue tears are unpredictable and many visitors see nothing; commercial trips promise more than they can deliver. Wind on the island is relentless. Accommodation quality varies and prices rise sharply during blue tear reports.

Nearby

Fuzhou lies northwest on the mainland.

Key facts