Guishan Island is an island in the

Pearl River estuary The Pearl River Delta Metropolitan Region is the low-lying area surrounding the Pearl River estuary, where the Pearl River flows into the South China Sea. Referred to as the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area in official documents ...

near

Zhuhai Zhuhai; Yale romanization of Cantonese, Yale: ''Jyūhói''; Chinese postal romanization, also known as Chuhai is a prefecture-level city located on the west bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and

Lantau Island Lantau Island (also Lantao Island, Lan Tao or Lan Tau) is the largest island in Hong Kong, located west of Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula, and is part of the New Territories. Administratively, most of Lantau Island is part of the ...

. The island is part of the

Wanshan Archipelago The Wanshan Archipelago, formerly known as the Ladrones Islands, is a 104-island archipelago that is a part of Xiangzhou District, Zhuhai, Xiangzhou District in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, China. Administration Most of the islands of the arch ...

and is administrated as part of Xiangzhou District of

Guangdong Province ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

Geography

Guishan is an island in the Pearl River estuary. The island is around 10 square kilometers large and is located near other islands in the estuary, notably

Lantau Lantau Island (also Lantao Island, Lan Tao or Lan Tau) is the largest island in Hong Kong, located west of Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula, and is part of the New Territories. Administratively, most of Lantau Island is part of the ...

and the

Soko Islands The Soko Islands () are a group of islands in Hong Kong. The group consists of Tai A Chau, Siu A Chau and several smaller nearby islands, in the southwesternmost waters of the territory, to the southwest of Lantau Island. An older name for ...

. The island is variously described as being part of

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

and

, with most sources favoring the latter. The island's west side features shallow water while its east features deeper water.

Population

Guishan is inhabited by several thousand people living in two settlements and is administrated as part of Zhuhai.

Future development

Located in the highly trafficked Pearl River estuary and included in the heavily populated

Pearl River delta The Pearl River Delta Metropolitan Region is the low-lying area surrounding the Pearl River estuary, where the Pearl River flows into the South China Sea. Referred to as the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area in official documents, ...

, Guishan has been considered for a large-scale development project. The project is intended to provide additional living space and has earmarked an estimated 60 square kilometers of land for land reclamation. The stated intent of the project is to reclaim land on which facilities (such as pensioner housing, correctional facilities, and container terminals) can be established, with the eventual goal being for these new constructions to replace similar facilities in Hong Kong to free up space in the city. As opposed to similar development projects on Lantau island, the reclamation and construction project on Guishan will fall under the jurisdiction of Zhuhai and not Hong Kong. This administrative difference could also allow the Chinese government to directly invest in the project, and raises issues over Hong Kong's sovereignty. A bridge or underwater tunnel is planned to span the 5 km distance between Guishan and Lantau, with other proposals stating the island could be connected to the

Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge The Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge (HZMB) is a bridge–tunnel system consisting of a series of three cable-stayed bridges, an undersea tunnel, and four artificial islands. It is both the longest sea crossing and the longest Intercontinent ...

. The island has also been considered as a potential tourism hub. The development of Guishan island is part of a wider plan to reclaim islands in the Pearl River estuary; this decades-long project is slated to promote the development of Dazhi Zhou (), Xiaozhi Zhou (), Qing Zhou (), and Sanjiaoshan islands ().

References

{{commons category, Guishan Island (Zhuhai) Islands of the Pearl River (China) Wanshan Archipelago Islands of Guangdong Islands of China Populated places in China