Changdao Islands or Temple Islands are a chain of islands in the Bohai Sea, north of Penglai, Shandong Province, China. Administratively they form Changdoa County as part of Yantai Prefecture. They are known for their sandy beaches and picturesque limestone cliffs.^[1] The total land area is only 56 km, but the coastline is 146 km. Penglai City (蓬莱市 Pinyin Pénglái), a subsection of Yantai City, Shandong Province, China. ... Shandong (Simplified Chinese: 山东; Traditional Chinese: 山東; pinyin: Shāndōng; Wade-Giles: Shan-tung) is a coastal province of eastern Peoples Republic of China. ... Yantai (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ) is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Shandong province, Peoples Republic of China. ...

Demographics

Ten of the islands are occupied, and there are twenty-two uninhabited islands, some little more than sand spits. There is one large town, Touji Town population 8,495, seven smaller towns with forty villages, with a total population of 52,000.

Economy

The major occupation is marine farming, producing products such as sea cucumbers, abalone, sea urchins, bivalves, kelp, scallops, and even fish. Tourism is also important; many of the villages sport resort hotels.

Transportation

The islands are regularly served by a ferry from Penglai. There is a small military airport on the largest island, Changdao Island.

Tourism

Both Changdao National Forest Park and Changdao National Nature Reserve are located on the islands, which are on a cross-Bohai Sea flyway.

The islands are called the temple islands because of the large number of temples that were built there. Xianying Palace is a temple that was built during the Northern Song Dynasty, starting in 1122. It was originally a Taoist temple to the sea-goddess Matsu, but became Buddhist later. At the present time the local government has restored the temple to its Ming Dynasty appearance, although many additions had been made during the Qing. For other uses of the words tao and dao, see Dao (disambiguation). ... Clothed statues of Matsu Matsu (Chinese: 媽祖;; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Ma-tsu; literally Mother-Ancestor; POJ: Má-chó·), mortal name Lin Moniang (林默娘), is the Taoist goddess of the Sea who protects fishermen and sailors. ... A replica of an ancient statue found among the ruins of a temple at Sarnath Buddhism is a philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, a prince of the Shakyas, whose lifetime is traditionally given as 566 to 486 BCE. It had subsequently been accepted by... For other uses, see Ming. ... The Qing Dynasty (Chinese: ; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Ching chao; Manchu: daicing gurun; Mongolian: Манж Чин), occasionally known as the Manchu Dynasty, was the ruling Chinese Dynasties. ...

Notes

External links

• Official Changdao County website in English
• Changdao wesite from Yantai IDB development corporation in Chinese