Shengsi Islands

The Shengsi archipelago scatters some four hundred islands across the sea off the Yangtze mouth, of which a couple of dozen are inhabited, and its economy is fishing and aquaculture: mussel rafts cover whole bays in grids of floats, and the fleets work out of small harbours packed with wooden boats. Sijiao is the main island with the ferry port and most accommodation, Gouqi has the mussel farms and a lighthouse, and Huaniao holds a lighthouse built by the British in 1870. Beaches are sandy and the water clearer than the mainland coast, though not tropical. Seafood is the reason many visitors come, eaten straight off the boats.

What you actually see

• The mussel rafts - grids of floats covering the bays at Gouqi.
• The fishing harbours - wooden fleets and the working ports.
• The beaches - sandy bays on Sijiao and neighbouring islands.
• The lighthouses - including the 1870 British-built tower on Huaniao.

When to go

May to October for warm weather and calm seas; typhoon season from July to September brings cancellations. Ferries are weather-dependent year-round and services thin outside summer. Weekends fill accommodation.

Honest expectations

Ferry journeys are several hours and cancelled frequently in wind. Accommodation on the smaller islands is basic guesthouse rooms. Water clarity is moderate, affected by Yangtze sediment. Inter-island transport is limited.

Nearby

Houtouwan's abandoned village is on Shengshan island; Zhoushan lies south.