East Island

Dongdao is located in the Dongdao atoll of Xuande Islands in the east of China's Xisha Islands, about 50 kilometers southeast of Yongxing Island. The island is rectangular in shape, surrounded by sand embankments, and the middle of the island is low-lying. The area is 1.7 square kilometers. The island is a complex of rising reefs and coral shell sand bodies. The island is elongated, with a length of about 2,400 meters, a width of about 1,000 meters, and a land area of about 1.7 square kilometers. The average altitude of the whole island is only 4-5 meters, the higher one is on the sand embankment, about 8.5 meters, and the sand embankment is 60 meters wide. At the southern end of the island, there is also a sand spit consisting of coarse sand sticking out from the reef, and there are two new sandbars on the reef on the north side of the island. The reef where the East Island is located is a long arc-shaped huge reef that protrudes to the northeast. It is the northeast wing of Dongdao Atoll and the better preserved wing. In the southwest of the atoll, the coral reefs have not yet grown near the water surface, but only become reef flats, which are deeply submerged. Such as Kanhan Beach, Binmei Beach, etc. The island has a nature reserve at the southern tip of China. There are more than 40 kinds of birds, known as the "bird island", among which the white boobies are national second-class protected animals. The East Island is dense and lush, and there is a small freshwater lagoon on the southeast side. In addition, the island is full of southern tree species - wind-resistant tung and crocus, and the superior natural environment has attracted many seabirds to inhabit. There are more than 60,000 seabirds on the island. There are about 100,000 white boobies and more than 40 kinds of birds such as egrets, golden eagles, sea cranes, etc.