Things to do in Zhoushan
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Zhoushan
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Cold, windy and quiet, with superb hairtail, the most cancellable outer island boats and a Spring Festival pilgrimage peak.
Gentle, often misty shoulder season, with the Guanyin birthday festival in the second lunar month.
Island season opens around the May Day peak, the fishing moratorium starts and blue tears become possible on Dongji.
Warm, pre typhoon and lush, with Houtouwan's green cover near its best and the last calm before peak heat.
Peak heat, crowds and prices, sand sculpture and mussel season, inside typhoon season, so build in a spare day.
The best month on balance: heat breaks, fishing opens mid month, the sea stays warm and crowds thin.
A National Day crush in the first week, then a superb late shoulder of crab, clear air and empty beaches.
Nanhai Guanyin Cultural Festival month, with cooler water, fine light and the start of the quiet season.
What's on
- Guanyin Birthday on Putuoshan 19th day of the 2nd lunar month
The first of three great Guanyin observances. The island fills, so pilgrims should come and sightseers should expect capacity days.
- Guanyin Enlightenment Day on Putuoshan 19th day of the 6th lunar month
The second Guanyin observance, movable against the solar calendar and a peak pilgrimage period.
- Guanyin Renunciation Day on Putuoshan 19th day of the 9th lunar month
The third Guanyin observance, usually falling in October or November by the solar calendar.
- Zhoushan International Sand Sculpture Festival July to October in most years
Monumental sand sculptures at Nansha on Zhujiajian, lit at night in festival season and a family reason to come.
- Opening of Fishing Season, Shenjiamen Mid September
The fleet returns as the summer moratorium lifts, and Shenjiamen celebrates the start of the great seafood season.
- Putuoshan Nanhai Guanyin Cultural Festival November
The organised cultural festival of Putuoshan's Guanyin devotion, in cooler, quieter island conditions.
Best things to do in Zhoushan
Puji Temple
Putuoshan's principal temple, best at dawn before day trip crowds fill the courtyards around the Yuantong Hall.
Fayu Temple
The quieter, wooded second great temple on Putuoshan, paired with a barefoot walk on Thousand Steps Beach beside it.
Huiji Temple
The summit temple on Foding Mountain, reached by a thousand pilgrim steps or the cable car, with island views on clear days.
Nanhai Guanyin
The 33 metre Guanyin above the sea at Putuoshan's southern end, approached along the pilgrim way by the Purple Bamboo Forest.
Nansha Beach
Zhujiajian's managed resort beach and home of the International Sand Sculpture Festival, best early or late in the day.
Shenjiamen Fishing Port
One of China's great working fishing ports, best walked at dusk when the fleet, lights and night stalls come alive.
Miaozihu Island
Dongji's inhabited main island, with its harbour, Dongji Pavilion, post office and fishermen's mural paintings.
Houtouwan
The ivy covered abandoned fishing village on Shengshan, now a ticketed viewpoint best in green season on a weekday.
Where to stay in Zhoushan
Shenjiamen and Donggang
first trip, ferries and seafood
The densest hotels, Banshengdong wharf and Bingang Road stalls, with Donggang's newer chain hotels just north.
Putuoshan
temple centred trips and dawn access
Sleeping on the island gives you the temples at dawn and dusk, at island prices and with early, quiet evenings.
Zhujiajian
beaches, families and flights
Resort strip by Nansha beach, ten minutes from Wugongzhi wharf and the airport, with hotel and beach evenings.
Dongji
sunrise and slow island stays
Guesthouses only on Miaozihu and Dongfushan, booked with the ferry and never on a tight schedule.
Shengsi
Shanghai based island trips
Guesthouses on Sijiao, Gouqi and Shengshan, priced for Shanghai weekend demand in season.
Think twice about
- Wugongzhi Wharf and Zhoushan Airport area
An isolated transport zone with almost no evening life or dining. Use it for ferries and flights, sleep in Shenjiamen or Zhujiajian.
- Dinghai far west
Fine to visit, but it puts the longest cross island transfer between you and every ferry and beach, every day of the trip.
- Dongfushan Island as a tight schedule base
Limited boats are cancelled by wind, fog and typhoons and can strand you for more than a day. Stay only with a buffer day.
- Gouqi Island as a tight schedule base
The same stranding risk as Dongji, at the end of a long ferry chain from Shanghai. Never the night before a flight or train.
Best restaurants in Zhoushan
Shenjiamen Seafood Night Food Stall
The essential Zhoushan dinner: the day's catch on ice along Bingang Road, weighed in front of you and wok cooked to order.
Gao Jia Zhuang Seafood
Shenjiamen's grand seafood hall in supermarket format, the celebration dinner choice for yellow croaker and crab.
Puji Temple Vegetarian Meal
A simple temple vegetarian set meal near Puji, cooking for monks first and unlike any other meal on the islands.
Yuanzhi Yuanwei
The fuller, bookable version of Putuoshan vegetarian eating, built on mushrooms, mountain vegetables and tofu in many textures.
Seafood Noodles
Zhoushan's best cheap meal: noodles in rich broth topped to order with croaker, shrimp, squid and clams from the counter.
Xiaoxixi Seafood Food Stall
A named, locally used seafood stall in Shenjiamen serving the standard Zhoushan repertoire at stall prices.
Dongji Guesthouse Seafood Dinner
Dinner at your Dongji guesthouse: fish caught hours earlier, sea urchin egg and seafood fried rice on a harbour terrace.
Dawang Village Seafood
Garlic steamed mussels in Gouqi's beach village, the cheapest great seafood meal on the islands in mussel season.
Outdoor things to do in Zhoushan
Dongfushan Island
The easternmost inhabited Dongji island, where you sleep overnight to walk in the dark to China's first sunrise over the sea.
Daqingshan National Park
A coastal headland loop road above Zhujiajian's five beaches, with clifftop viewpoints best in late afternoon light.
Wushitang
A beach of polished black pebbles near Guanyin Fajie, where each receding wave drags the stones with a rolling roar.
Sea Fishing Charter
A charter boat day on Zhoushan's fishing grounds, priced by the boat and best split between a group, weather permitting.
Sailing and Yacht Charter
A skippered half day on the water from Donggang or Zhujiajian, the closest Zhoushan comes to a luxury outdoors product.
Liujingtan
A cliff walkway on Shengsi's main island facing east into the sunrise, wilder and more oceanic than Dongji.
Gouqi Island Rainbow Road
Cycling the coast road across Gouqi and Shengshan past mussel rafts, harbours and Dawang beach village.
Best hotels in Zhoushan
Hilton Zhoushan
The main island's modern full service splurge in Donggang, with sea views and the strongest review base in the district.
Pullman Zhoushan Seaside
An oceanfront luxury hotel in Shenjiamen, handy for the night seafood market and the Banshengdong ferry wharf.
Crowne Plaza Zhoushan Seaview by IHG
An international brand sea view hotel by Guanyin Fajie and Wushitang, a step below Westin and Hilton pricing.
GreenTree Inn
The reliable budget chain tier in Shenjiamen, plain and clean, chosen on recent reviews near the wharves.
Putuo Mountain Villa
Putuoshan's established island hotel near Puji Temple, with a pier shuttle and walkable access to the great temples.
The Westin Zhujiajian Resort, Zhoushan
The prefecture's genuine beach resort by Nansha and Dongsha, with pools, spa and the best family facilities in Zhoushan.
Zhoulv Nanyuan Maritime Silk Road Hotel
A large resort style hotel in the Nansha area whose hot springs make it the autumn and winter beach district pick.
Is Zhoushan expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | CN¥400 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | CN¥850 a person |
| Splurge | CN¥2,200 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Miaozihu Island: weeks ahead
- Houtouwan: a few days ahead
- Guanyin Fajie: a few days ahead
- Dongfushan Island: weeks ahead
- Sea Fishing Charter: a few days ahead
- Sailing and Yacht Charter: a few days ahead
- Liujingtan: a few days ahead
- Gouqi Island Rainbow Road: a few days ahead
- Putuoshan entry is reserved ahead in peak periods through its official pass, one to three days at minimum.
- Dongji and Shengsi ferry tickets sell out on weekends and holidays, so buy as far ahead as the official channel allows.
- Island guesthouses go first in season, and Westin, Hilton and Pullman floor prices vanish on summer weekends and golden weeks.
Is Zhoushan safe?
- Outer island boats are cancelled by wind, fog and typhoons, sometimes for days. Never sleep there before an unmissable departure.
- Swim only in managed, lifeguarded areas such as Nansha. Wushitang and Liujingtan are for walking, not swimming.
- The Foding Mountain stair in summer midday heat is a real exertion risk, so use the cable car.
- Police 110 and ambulance 120, and your island host is in practice the fastest problem solver.
Zhoushan travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Seafood sold without a written price per jin, a watched weighing and an agreed cooking fee. Refuse it and choose stalls with price boards.
- Taxi driver recommended seafood restaurants, which local guides explicitly warn against in Shenjiamen.
- Oversized incense bundles sold under pressure around Putuoshan entry and temples.
- Any Dongji package guaranteeing blue tears, and Nansha beach at summer midday.
Getting around Zhoushan: public transport and more
- Main island and Zhujiajian are bridge linked, so taxis and buses serve Shenjiamen, Donggang, Dinghai, Wugongzhi wharf and the airport.
- Wugongzhi to Putuoshan ferry takes about 10 to 20 minutes and runs frequently through the day, about CNY 30 standard.
- Dongji boats run about two hours from Shenjiamen Banshengdong wharf and are few per day, so book them before the guesthouse.
- Shengsi is most practical from Shanghai by bus and boat combination ticket via Shenjiawan terminal.
- There is no railway station in Zhoushan, and Putuoshan itself is walked and shuttle buses only.
Who Zhoushan suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Zhoushan your trip
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