Shangchuan Island (, also known as "Schangschwan", "Sancian", "Sanchão", "Chang-Chuang", "St. John's Island" or "St John Island"
) is the main island of
Chuanshan Archipelago
The Chuanshan Archipelago () is a group of islands in the South China Sea, just off the coast of Guangdong Province of southern China, rather nearer to the Pearl River Delta than to the Leizhou Peninsula.
Administration
Administratively the ...
on the southern coast of
Guangdong
Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. Its name originated from São João ("Saint John" in
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
).
Administratively, it is a part of
Chuandao (),
Taishan __NOTOC__
Taishan may refer to:
*Mount Tai or Taishan (), Shandong, China
* Taishan District, Tai'an (), named after the Mount Tai, a district in Tai'an, Shandong, China
*Taishan, Guangdong (), a county-level city of Jiangmen, Guangdong, China
** G ...
. Located from the mainland, it became the largest island in Guangdong after
Hainan
Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...
Island was carved out of the province in 1988.
The area of the island is , and has a population of 16,320.
It is known for having been the place of death of St.
Francis Xavier
Francis Xavier (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; Latin: ''Franciscus Xaverius''; Basque: ''Frantzisko Xabierkoa''; French: ''François Xavier''; Spanish: ''Francisco Javier''; Portuguese: ''Francisco Xavier''; 7 April 15063 December ...
. Nowadays, it is a tourist site in Guangdong.
History
Shangchuan Island was one of the first bases established by the
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
off the China coast, during the 16th century. They abandoned this base after the Chinese government gave consent for a permanent and official Portuguese trade base at
Macau
Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...
in 1557.
The
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
(
Navarre
Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...
)
Jesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
missionary
A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...
St.
Francis Xavier
Francis Xavier (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; Latin: ''Franciscus Xaverius''; Basque: ''Frantzisko Xabierkoa''; French: ''François Xavier''; Spanish: ''Francisco Javier''; Portuguese: ''Francisco Xavier''; 7 April 15063 December ...
died on the island on December 3, 1552, as he was waiting for a ship to take him to mainland China.
There is
a small chapel that commemorates his death place, designed by
Achille-Antoine Hermitte
Achille-Antoine Hermitte (1840–) was a French architect who is known for designing the Hong Kong City Hall and the Palais du Gouverneur, Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). His life is not well-documented and there is uncertainty about the date and plac ...
and completed in 1869.
Geography
The island has been isolated from the mainland since the last
ice age
An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...
. It is located near
Xiachuan Island
Xiachuan Island () (Hsiachwan Shan) is an island of the South China Sea, on the southern coast of China, part of the Guangdong province.
Administration
Administratively, Chuandao () is one of the 16 towns of Taishan.
Geography
The island is l ...
, which lies west of Shangchuan. The two islands, together with smaller islets, form
Chuanshan Archipelago
The Chuanshan Archipelago () is a group of islands in the South China Sea, just off the coast of Guangdong Province of southern China, rather nearer to the Pearl River Delta than to the Leizhou Peninsula.
Administration
Administratively the ...
.
Shangshuan Island has an area of 137.3 km
2 and a 217 km coastline.
Settlements on the island include:
*
Dalangwan
*
Shadi (), a fishing port on the southwestern coast
Climate
Economy
Shangchuan and
Xiachuan
Xiachuan Island () (Hsiachwan Shan) is an island of the South China Sea, on the southern coast of China, part of the Guangdong province.
Administration
Administratively, Chuandao () is one of the 16 towns of Taishan.
Geography
The island is l ...
have been established as a Tourism Open Integrated Experimental Zone (旅游开发综合试验区,
pinyin
Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...
: ''lǚyóu kāifā zōnghé shìyàn qū'').
Feisha Beach Resort () is a commercial tourist resort located on the island's eastern shore.
Transportation
Shangchuan Island is linked by ferry to
Guanghai
Guanghai is a Town of China, town in Taishan, Guangdong, Taishan Prefecture in Guangdong, China.
External links
Interactive China province map with city guides and more.Map of Guanghai Town
Towns in Guangdong
Taishan, Guangdong
{{Guangdo ...
,
Haiyan (
Shanju
Quanzhou, alternatively known as Chinchew, is a prefecture-level port city on the north bank of the Jin River, beside the Taiwan Strait in southern Fujian, China. It is Fujian's largest metropolitan region, with an area of and a populati ...
) and
Xiachuan Island
Xiachuan Island () (Hsiachwan Shan) is an island of the South China Sea, on the southern coast of China, part of the Guangdong province.
Administration
Administratively, Chuandao () is one of the 16 towns of Taishan.
Geography
The island is l ...
.
See also
*
Chuanshan Archipelago
The Chuanshan Archipelago () is a group of islands in the South China Sea, just off the coast of Guangdong Province of southern China, rather nearer to the Pearl River Delta than to the Leizhou Peninsula.
Administration
Administratively the ...
*
Tamão
Tamão ( zh, 屯門) was a trade settlement set up by the Portuguese on an island in the Pearl River Delta, China. This was the first time Europeans reached China via the sea route around the Cape of Good Hope. The settlement lasted from 1514 ...
,
Lampacau
Lampacau or Lampacao, also known by other names, was a small island in the Pearl River Delta, which in the mid-16th century played an important role in Sino-Portuguese trade. Lampacau no longer exists as a separate island, as sedimentary deposit ...
,
Shuangyu
Shuangyu () was a port on Liuheng Island () off the coast of Zhejiang, China. During the 16th century, the port served as an illegal entrepôt of international trade, attracting traders from Japan, Southeast Asia, and Portugal in a time when priv ...
*
List of islands of the People's Republic of China
This is a list of islands of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Islands that are claimed by the PRC, including those under the control of the Republic of China and those disputed with other countries, are noted after the list.
Chinese charact ...
*
List of islands in the South China Sea
Islands in the South China Sea includes the South China Sea Islands (Spratly Islands, Pratas Island, Paracel Islands and Macclesfield Bank), islands on the China coast, on the Vietnam coast, on the Borneo coast, and the peripheral islands of Tai ...
*
List of Jesuit sites
This list includes past and present buildings, facilities and institutions associated with the Society of Jesus. In each country, sites are listed in chronological order of start of Jesuit association.
Nearly all these sites have bee ...
Notes and references
Further reading
*
External links
General
*
Satellite view on Google MapsWebsite about Shangchuan
Pictures of the island(click on the links on the left to view more)
Maps
Francis Xavier Chapel
Picture of Shangchuan island. The chapel marks the location of Francis Xavier's deathAnother picture of the chapelSatellite view of the chapel
{{Islands of Guangdong
Taishan, Guangdong
Islands of Guangdong
Islands of the South China Sea