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. 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. 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

Chapel of the Tomb of St Francis Xavier at Shangchuan Dao

Shangchuan Island was one of the first bases established by the

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 p ...

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) Jesuit

missionary A missionary is a member of a 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.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

St.

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 gre ...

. 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

. Shangshuan Island has an area of 137.3 km² and a 217 km coastline. Settlements on the island include: * Dalangwan * Shadi (), a fishing port on the southwestern coast

Climate

Economy

Shangchuan and Xiachuan 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 Chinese, Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally writte ...

: ''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, 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

Notes and references

External links

General

*
Satellite view on Google Maps

Website 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 death

Another picture of the chapel

Satellite view of the chapel
{{Islands of Guangdong Taishan, Guangdong Islands of Guangdong Islands of the South China Sea