Dongshan Island Ring Road
A coastal road around Dongshan Island, the second-largest island in Fujian. It links Maluan Bay, Jinluan Bay, the Sea View at Sufeng Mountain, the windmill road at Wujiao Bay and Nanmen Bay.
Dongshan Island lies at the southern tip of Zhangzhou in Fujian, at the southwestern mouth of the Taiwan Strait. It is the second-largest island in Fujian, connected to the mainland by the Bachimen Sea Bridge. The island ring road runs along the southeastern coast and links many bays and fishing villages. It is a popular loop in southern Fujian for self-drives, cycling and e-bike trips.
From the county town of Xipu, the route goes east to the Tongling Ancient Town and Nanmen Bay, with the Guandi Temple and the Wind-Moving Stone, past Dongmen Islet on the opposite shore. It then runs south along the coast to the long sandy beaches of Maluan Bay and Jinluan Bay. The Sufeng Mountain stretch has “green hills on one side, sea on the other,” and is the best-known coastal view on the route. Further west are the windmill road at Wujiao Bay and Aojiao Fishing Village, which look best at sunset. At the southwest of the island, the Fishbone Sandbar appears at low tide and has become a popular spot for aerial photography in recent years.
A loop of the island takes half a day to a full day. Seafood on the island is cheap and fresh. Some sections of the ring road are rural roads, and public holidays bring many tourists and e-bikes, so give way carefully. Windmill sections are windy, so pull over to the side when stopping to take photos. When a typhoon arrives, seaside roads may close. It can be combined with the Zhangzhou Old Town, Huoshan Island and Chaoshan as a Fujian–Guangdong coastal self-drive.