Experiencing isolated island life on China's far eastern fringes II

Given the peaceful setting, it’s easy to get the feeling that not much has changed here in decades. Yet the islands’ history hasn’t been completely without note. On October 2, 1942, the Lisbon Maru, a Japanese ship carrying 1,800 British prisoners of war from Hong Kong to Japan was mistakenly sunken by a US submarine just to the northeast of Dongji. Woken at dawn by the explosion and shouts from drowning soldiers, the islanders set out in their fishing boats and managed to rescue 384 of the prisoners, who had been left to drown by the Japanese.
All but three prisoners were subsequently recaptured (the lucky few holed themselves up in a cave on the coast and eventually gained passage back home), but the key rescuers were offered lifetime residency in Hong Kong (obtain more via Hong Kong city guide) by the government there. After a few months however, they all returned to Dongji professing homesickness. In 2005, a British group of family members and retired soldiers visited Dongji to commemorate the islanders’ efforts and to lay a wreath at the small monument that stands on Qingbang.


The story of the Lisbon Maru now forms the main exhibition in the little museum on Miaozihu which, together with a small display of local fishermen’s paintings next door, is one of the island’s few distractions. Otherwise, activities are limited to walking the surrounding hills. Miaozihu’s peaks feature a ‘sunrise-watching pavilion’, a Confucius temple, a PLA monument and a statue of Chen Caibo (one of the first settlers here, now worshipped as a god of fishermen), though none of these ‘sites’ are really quite as interesting as they sound and the real attraction is being surrounded by birdsong and fresh air as you admire the picturesque views out to sea for your China vacation deals.
Regular buses run between Nanpu Bridge Tourist bus centre (1588 Waima Lu, near Inner Ring Road; 3376 5779) and Shenjiamen port every day, taking around four and a half hours and costing 138 RMB (unit for China money ) each way. The daily boat to Dongji town (Miaozihu) leaves Shenjiamen at 8.30am, returning at 11am. The trip lasts around two hours and costs 100-150RMB/each way.
The early start for the Dongji boat means that you’ll almost certainly have to stay the night in Shenjiamen. Hotels line the harbour front offering rooms from 150RMB/night, with better (and more expensive) options the further away from the ferry terminal you walk. At night, the Shenjiamen harbour front hosts a fun night market with small restaurants cooking up a wide range of seafood, while Zhujiajian (a 40RMB taxi journey away from the harbour) has a pleasant park with a beach and sand sculptures (entry is 30RMB).
If you don’t hold a Chinese passport, you’ll need to obtain an Aliens’ Travel Permit before going to Dongji. The Public Security Bureau in Shenjiamen can arrange this for you free of charge, but you’ll need your passport and proof of your employment in China (an Aliens’ Employment Permit should suffice). Their offices are located at Room 113 in West Building 4 of the giant new government offices complex at 169 Changzheng Jie, a hollowed-out cube of a building that dominates the skyline as you enter the town. Office hours can be unreliable, so call 0580 366 4087 before best tours of China here.