Wanshan Archipelago

The Wanshan Archipelago, formerly known as the Ladrones Islands, is a 104-island archipelago that is a part of Xiangzhou District in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, China.

Administration
Most of the islands of the archipelago are in the Wanshan Marine Development Experimental Zone which consist of three towns: Guishan Town, Dangan Town  and Wanshan Town.

Before Chu-Hai County was created in 1953, the islands were part of Po-On County.

Geography
The islands are situated in the South China Sea, to the south of the opening of the Pearl River estuary and Hong Kong.

The archipelago includes several groups of islands. The western group, located south of the Pearl River estuary and Lantau Island, was formerly known to Europeans as the Ladrones, from the Spanish for "thieves". It comprises Greater Wanshan, Guishan, and Wai Dangling Islands and the Zhizhou, Sanmen, and Aizhou groups. The eastern group, located south of Hong Kong Island, was known as the Lema Islands. Today, they are known as the Jiapeng Liedao and Dangan Liedao, respectively.

The largest island, Dangan, features mountainous terrain similar to Hong Kong.

List of islands
Islands of the archipelago include:

Dangan Liedao, the eastern group of Wanshan archipelago, and the eastern half of the former Lema Islands chain
 * Dangan Dao, 13.2 km2 in area and the largest of the islands; 200 permanent residents mainly along Zhangmu Bay and Hengkeng.
 * Erzhou Dao, 8.15 km2
 * Zhiwan Dao, 4.5 km2
 * Xidan Dao, 0.85 km2

Jiapeng Liedao, the southern group of Wanshan archipelago, and the western half of the former Lema Islands chain
 * Eyan Shi Dao (, O-yen Shih). A 39 m high islet about 1 mi north of Beijian Dao.
 * Beijian Dao, 3.17 km2. Two peaks rising almost perpendicularly to a height of 300 m on the southwestern end of the island, are known as Asses' Ears.
 * Miaowan Dao, 1.46 km2 in area. 240 m high. It has a small population of fishermen.
 * Shan Zhou, 0.16 km2
 * Wanzhou Dao
 * Huangmao Zhou
 * Ping Zhou, 0.144 km2

Southwestern group:
 * Wenwei Zhou (, also Gap Rock in English), 0.022 km2. The small island is in the form of two hillocks, about 80 to 100 ft high, and the island derives its English name from the gap between them. The Gap Rock Lighthouse on the island was built to serve as a navigation aid to vessels sailing to Hong Kong. It was built by a Hong Kong contractor and partly funded by the Imperial Qing Government for both construction and maintenance costs. Besides the lighthouse it had separate European and  living quarters, telegraph and storage rooms. It came into operation in 1892 under Hong Kong control (island still under Chinese sovereignty) staffed by British lighthouse keeper and  assistants. The lighthouse lenses and windows were damaged by typhoons in 1893 and 1905, the keepers eventually abandoned the site, civil war in China left it in ruins by the 1930s and 1940s. Taken over in  by the Communists in Beijing, lighthouse was restored in 1986 with solar panels and fully automated.
 * Dawanshan Dao, 8.07 km2. The seat of Wanshan Town of Zhuhai is located on the island
 * Xiaowanshan Dao, 4.35 km2.
 * Baili Dao, 7.94 km2
 * Dong'ao Dao, 4.62 km2 in area with population of 500. Club Med opened a holiday resort on the island in 2014.
 * Heng Zhou, 0.54 km2
 * Zhu Zhou, 1.66 km2
 * Gui Zhou, 0.32 km2
 * Dalie Dao, 0.36 km2
 * Huangmao Dao, 1.08 km2

Central group, located south of Lantau:
 * Wai Lingding Dao, 3.7 km2 in area and a tourist attraction with natural sites (Dangandao Provincial Nature Reserve) and temples. The seat of Dangan Town of Zhuhai is located on the island
 * Sanmen Liedao
 * Hei Zhou
 * Henggang Dao, 0.74 km2
 * Sanmen Dao, 0.98 km2
 * Sanmen Zhou
 * Yuangang Dao, 0.016 km2
 * Zhuwantou Dao, 0.33 km2
 * Aizhou Liedao
 * Ai Zhou, 1.2 km2
 * Ai Zhou Zi, 0.6 km2

Northwestern group, located between Lantau and Macau:
 * Zhizhou Liedao
 * Dazhi Zhou, 1.67 km2
 * Xiaozhi Zhou, 1.2 km2
 * Guishan Dao - formerly PLA base from the 1950s. The seat of Guishan Town  of Zhuhai is located on the island
 * Niutou Dao, 1.1 km2. Connected by a road to Guishan Dao
 * Zhongxin Zhou, 0.6 km2
 * Chitou Dao, 0.17 km2
 * Sanjiaoshan Dao, 0.82 km2
 * Qing Zhou
 * Sanjiao Zhou
 * Jishiling Pai
 * Dalu Dao
 * Datou Zhou

Other geographical elements
Other geographically important points of interest:


 * Lema Channel is a major waterway in the archipelago.
 * Dahengqin Dao is an island off Macau and not part of this archipelago.
 * Erzhou, rising to 437.7 m above sea level, is the highest point in the archipelago

Population
There is a small local population, mostly in small fishing villages:


 * Dangan
 * Danganwei
 * Nacun

Economy
The archipelago's economy is mainly fisheries (crystal prawn, peeler crab). There is a growing tourism industry with a focus on history, beaches, and the natural beauty of the islands. About 350,000 tourists visit the islands annually. Club Med opened a holiday resort on Dong'ao in 2014.

There is also potential for petroleum extraction in the waters off the islands.

Tourist sites
Tourist sites of Wanshan Archipelago include:
 * Dong'ao: Blundbuss Tower; Son-Soliciting Springs
 * Dangan: Dangan Village
 * Guishan: Monument to the Martyrs of Guishan Warship; Wen Tianxiang Park
 * Miaowan: Xiafeng Bay, a coral beach adjacent to the fishing village.
 * Wanshan: A-Ma Temple; Floating Cobbles Bay

Transport

 * Ferry service from Zhuhai to Guishan, Wai Lingding, Dan'gan, Dong'ao and Wanshan
 * Fast/slow ferry service to Guishan, Wai Lingding, Xiangzhou
 * Sightseeing ferryboats from Zhuhai