Weizhou Island
The Largest And Youngest Volcanic Island In China, Off Beihai · Beihai, Guangxi
The largest and youngest volcanic island in China, a crescent of black lava cliffs and red soil in the Gulf of Tonkin, about an hour by fast ferry from Beihai in Guangxi. Eruptions built the island only tens of thousands of years ago, and the evidence is everywhere: the Rock Screen Ridge on the south coast is a wall of layered ash and lava dropping into the sea, sea caves and stacks line the shore, and the crater rim now shelters coral and clear water. Banana and papaya plantations cover the interior, and among them stand two surprising French Gothic churches of coral stone, built by missionaries in the nineteenth century, the larger at Shengtang still the centre of village life. Visitors come for snorkelling and diving over the coral, for sunsets at the Five Coloured Beach, for seafood barbecues in the fishing harbour, and for the slow pace of a place where electric carts and scooters are the main transport. Ferries can be cancelled for days in typhoon season, so schedules need slack.
Weizhou Island, Haicheng District, Beihai, Beihai, Guangxi, China
Island open year-round with scenic areas about 8:00-18:00; ferries run in daylight and are cancelled in rough weather, and peak-season visitor caps apply.