A Guide to Zhoushan: Learn from My Mistakes! Fewer Crowds and Plump Seafood Await

🚢 How to get there? ✈️ By plane: Zhoushan Putuoshan Airport (not many flights, but super fast from Shanghai and Hangzhou). 🚌 By bus/car: About 3–4 hours from Hangzhou/Shanghai. The scenery on the cross-sea bridge is very healing (when stuck in traffic, silently recite "facing the sea, with spring blossoms"). 🚢 By boat: If you are going to outlying islands such as Dongji Island and Gouqi Island, remember to book tickets in advance (be quick and efficient). --- 🏝️ Must-see attractions 1️⃣ Mount Putuo (ticket price: CNY 160) ➡️ A Buddhist holy site. The statue of the Nanhai Guanyin is super impressive. Remember to bring cash for donations (scanning a QR code just doesn't feel right). ➡️ Tips: Don't wear slippers into the temple, or you'll get a death stare from the monks. 2️⃣ Zhujiajian (free) ➡️ Play in the water at Nansha Beach and drive along Daqingshan Island Ring Road (you can also rent a small electric scooter). The sunset in the evening is so beautiful that it will make you cry. 🥺 ➡️ Sand Sculpture Art Festival (really sculpted from sand, not an insult). 3️⃣ Dongji Island (ferry tickets from CNY 130) ➡️ Filming location of the movie "The Continent". Suitable for artsy youths to take photos and chill. Even the dogs on the island can pose better than you. ➡️ Bioluminescent sea (summer only. If you're lucky, you can see "blue tears," so romantic that you'll want to propose on the spot). 4️⃣ Shenjiamen Fishing Port (free) ➡️ The night view of the fishing port in the evening is amazing. The lights of the fishing boats are like stars falling into the sea. ➡️ Seafood night market (more on this below, try not to drool). --- 🦀 Food guide A day in the life of a Zhoushan local: seafood noodles in the morning, seafood fried rice for lunch, seafood street food for dinner, and grilled squid for a midnight snack... (Yes, here, seafood is a staple food!) 🍜 Must-try recommendations ➡️ Seafood noodles (around CNY 30): "Feizhu Noodle Shop" in Shenjiamen is overflowing with ingredients. Crab, shrimp, and shellfish are all thrown in. ➡️ Stir-fried swimming crab with rice cakes (seasonal price, most plump in autumn): The rice cakes absorb the crab roe and are so delicious that you'll want to lick the plate clean. - ➡️ Smoked hairtail: A Zhoushan specialty, crispy and sweet. You can eat 500g of it as a snack. - ➡️ Night market (CNY 100–150 per person): Bingang Road, Shenjiamen. Remember to bargain! (If the owner asks for CNY 200/500g for the fish, you can say affectionately, "CNY 100, is that okay? I'll come again next time!") 🍺 Local snacks - ➡️ Seaweed mooncakes (yes, seafood-flavored mooncakes!) - ➡️ Fish ball soup (so bouncy that you could play ping-pong with them) --- 🏠 Accommodation recommendations (budget version) - ➡️ Zhujiajian/Shenjiamen: Homestays in the off-season are CNY 100–200/night. Choose one close to the sea and wake up to the sound of the waves in the morning. - ➡️ Dongji Island Hostel: CNY 50–80/bed. Suitable for social butterflies (chat with strangers about life at night). - ➡️ Warning: Hotel prices double on weekends/holidays, book in advance! Accommodation conditions on the island are limited, don't expect a five-star hotel, just make sure it's clean. --- 📌 Useful tips 1. Sun protection! Sun protection! The UV rays in Zhoushan can turn you into "braised prawns" in seconds. 2. Mosquito repellent! The mosquitoes by the sea are like fighter jets, so carry mosquito repellent with you. 3. Seafood taboos: Don't be greedy and eat raw marinated seafood, or your stomach will "protest" (prepare some berberine). 4. Dialect challenge: Zhoushan dialect is level 10 difficulty. You win if you understand one sentence! (For example, "eating" is called "quefan")