''For the "Tree Island" in Tuen Mun District, New Territories, Hong Kong, see

Pak Chau Pak Chau () or Tree Island is an island at the northwest water of Hong Kong. It is offshore of Lung Kwu Tan near Tuen Mun in the New Territories. Conservation Since 1996, the island, Lung Kwu Chau, and Sha Chau are within the boundaries of the S ...

.'' Tree Island, also known as Zhaoshu Island, (; vi, Đảo Cây) is one of the main islands of the

Paracel Islands The Paracel Islands, also known as the Xisha Islands () and the Hoang Sa Archipelago ( vi, Quần đảo Hoàng Sa, lit=Yellow Sand Archipelago), are a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea. The archipelago includes about 130 small coral ...

group in the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phi ...

. In 1947, the Chinese named the island ''Zhaoshu Dao'' to commemorate

Zhao Shu Emperor Yingzong of Song (16 February 1032 – 25 January 1067), personal name Zhao Shu, was the fifth emperor of the Song dynasty of China. His original personal name was Zhao Zongshi but it was changed to "Zhao Shu" in 1062 by imperial decr ...

() who accompanied

Zheng He Zheng He (; 1371–1433 or 1435) was a Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat, fleet admiral, and court eunuch during China's early Ming dynasty. He was originally born as Ma He in a Muslim family and later adopted the surname Zheng conferr ...

expeditions Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

in high seas (1405-1433). The area of the island is (0.22 km²). It is under the administration of Hainan Province of China through the ''Zhaoshudao

Village Committee The villagers' committee (), shortened as ''cunweihui'' in Chinese, also translated as village committee, is a grassroots mass autonomous organization for self-management, self-education and self-service for villagers in Mainland China. It adopt ...

''. The island is also claimed by the

Republic of China (Taiwan) Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

and

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

Other names

*The name ''Shu Dao'' () is homologous to "Tree Island". It was coined y the Republic of Chinain 1935. *The names ''An Dao'' (), ''Chuan'an Dao'' (), and ''Chuanwan Dao'' (), are traditionally used among the Hainanese fishermen as the island was discovered at night some centuries ago.

Tourism

The island is open to tourists. Tourists may require political examination in

Haikou Haikou (; ), also spelled as Hoikow is the capital and most populous city of the Chinese province of Hainan. Haikou city is situated on the northern coast of Hainan, by the mouth of the Nandu River. The northern part of the city is on the ...

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 ...

Province before taking a tour there, and can hire a fishing boat from Hainan. There is beach volleyball equipment and facilities located on the island; there are also the ruins of a Chinese temple dating back to the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...

PRC's baselines declaration

The Declaration of the Government of the People's Republic of China on the baselines of the territorial sea (May 15, 1996): Three 3 points on Zhaoshu Dao (Tree Island) are the baseline points of the Chinese territorial sea: *Zhaoshu Dao(1) 16° 59.9' N, 112° 14.7' E *Zhaoshu Dao(2) 16° 59.7' N, 112° 15.6' E *Zhaoshu Dao(3) 16° 59.4' N, 112° 16.6' E

References

External links

*
Locate Zhaoshudao on GOOGLEMAP.
* {{South China Sea Baselines of the Chinese territorial sea Paracel Islands Villages in China

Other names

Tourism

PRC's baselines declaration

See also

References

External links