Weizhou Island is located at Beibu Bay, 36 nautical miles from downtown Beihai in Guangxi. It faces Beihai City to the north, Leizhou Peninsula to the east, Xieyang Island to the southeast, Hainan Island to the south, and Vietnam to the west. Weizhou Island is an island condensed by volcanic eruption, which is also regarded as "Penglai Island". It is the youngest and largest volcanic island in China. Seen from the sky, it is a bow-shaped piece of green jade floating in the sea. Covered by luxuriant vegetation, this island also houses special sea erosion landscapes, volcanic lava, colorful corals and wide beaches.
The total area of Weizhou Island is 24.74 square kilometers, and the highest elevation of the island is 79 meters. Scenic spots on the island include Crocodile Mountain Scenic Area, Dishui Danping Scenic Area, Shiluokou Scenic Area, Catholic Church Scenic Area, and Wucai Beach Scenic Area.
Main attractions of Weizhou Island
Crocodile Mountain Scenic Area locates in the south part of the island. Here, people can view the special volcanic rocks of different shapes, the largest of which is a well-preserved black rock. There is a Crocodile Crater Park Museum in the park. This museum houses many specimens of volcanic rocks, coral and other sea creatures. People can learn the knowledge of the specimen through the words, pictures and videos.
Shiluokou Scenic Area locates on the west part of the island. The shape of the surrounding village looks like a stone snail, hence the name. In the coastal area, there are many unique-shaped volcanic rocks formed by marine erosion. There is a stone shaped like a beautiful woman looking forward to her husband’s return on the beach. Apart from the beautiful sea scenery, the area also integrates some amusement projects, such as sea yachting and submarine diving.
Wucai Beach Scenic Area has a sea cliff of 20-50 meters on a 1.5-kilometer coastline. This beach was named as “Sesame Beach” before, because of the small black stones looking like sesame seeds on the beach. Here, people can see a wonderful sea erosion landscape and lots of strange sea caves on the cliff.
The formation of Dishui Danping Scenic Area is a miracle. The rock stratum has a very clear vein with mixed colors. Twining vines, wild flowers and plants grow at the top of the cliff. Drops of water accumulate on the surface of the rock, hence the name.
Catholic Church was built in 1853 by foreign missionaries from Paris, France. It took 10 years to complete the construction. The main building is well preserved. The whole building is mainly made of coral sedimentary rocks on the seabed, which is a typical French Gothic church of the Renaissance period. The church is 13.5 meters high, 56 meters long and 17 meters wide. The construction area of the church is 1,500 square meters. The church can accommodate 1,500 believers at the same time.