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Shangchuan Island (, also known as "Schangschwan", "Sancian", "Sanchão", "Chang-Chuang", "St. John's Island" or "St John Island") is the main island of
The island was called Shangchuan Shan () in the Ming dynasty, as recorded in the ''Records of the Unity of the Great Ming'' () published in 1461.
Shangchuan Island was one of the first bases established by the Portuguese off the China coast, during the 16th century. They abandoned this base after the Chinese government gave consent for a permanent and official Portuguese trade base at
Satellite view on Google Maps
* * * * (click on the links on the left to view more)
Satellite view of the chapel
{{Islands of Guangdong Taishan, Guangdong Islands of Guangdong Islands of the South China Sea Populated places in China Islands of China
Chuanshan Archipelago
The Chuanshan Archipelago () is a group of islands in the South China Sea, just off the coast of Guangdong Province of southern China, rather nearer to the Pearl River Delta than to the Leizhou Peninsula.
Administration
Administratively the gr ...
on the southern coast of Guangdong
) 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 ...
, 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 ...
.
Administratively, it is a part of Chuandao (), Taishan
__NOTOC__
Taishan may refer to:
*Mount Tai
Mount Tai () is a mountain of historical and cultural significance located north of the city of Tai'an. It is the highest point in Shandong province, China. The tallest peak is the ''Jade Emperor Peak ...
. Located from the mainland, it became the largest island in Guangdong after Hainan
Hainan is an island provinces of China, province and the southernmost province of China. It consists of the eponymous Hainan Island and various smaller islands in the South China Sea under the province's administration. The name literally mean ...
Island (the largest island in the country) was carved out of the province in 1988.
The area of the island is , and has a population of 16,320.
It is known for having been the place of death of St. Francis Xavier
Francis Xavier, Jesuits, SJ (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; ; ; ; ; ; 7 April 15063 December 1552), venerated as Saint Francis Xavier, was a Kingdom of Navarre, Navarrese cleric and missionary. He co-founded the Society of Jesus ...
. Nowadays, it is a tourist site in Guangdong.
History
The island was called Shangchuan Shan () in the Ming dynasty, as recorded in the ''Records of the Unity of the Great Ming'' () published in 1461.
Shangchuan Island was one of the first bases established by the Portuguese off the China coast, during the 16th century. They abandoned this base after the Chinese government gave consent for a permanent and official Portuguese trade base at Macau
Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...
in 1557.
The Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas
**Spanish cuisine
**Spanish history
**Spanish culture
...
(Navarrese
Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. T ...
) Jesuit
The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
missionary
A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...
St. Francis Xavier
Francis Xavier, Jesuits, SJ (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; ; ; ; ; ; 7 April 15063 December 1552), venerated as Saint Francis Xavier, was a Kingdom of Navarre, Navarrese cleric and missionary. He co-founded the Society of Jesus ...
died on the island on December 3, 1552, as he was waiting for a ship to take him to mainland China.
There is a small chapel that commemorates his death place, designed by Achille-Antoine Hermitte
Achille Antoine Hermitte (24 June 1840–) was a French architect who is known for designing the Hong Kong City Hall and the Palais du Gouverneur, Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). His life is not well-documented and there is uncertainty about the date ...
and completed in 1869.
Geography
The island has been isolated from the mainland since the lastice age
An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...
. It is located near Xiachuan Island
Xiachuan Island () (Hsiachwan Shan) is an island of the South China Sea, on the southern coast of China, part of the Guangdong province.
Administration
Administratively, Chuandao () is one of the 16 towns of Taishan.
Geography
The island is l ...
, which lies west of Shangchuan. The two islands, together with smaller islets, form Chuanshan Archipelago
The Chuanshan Archipelago () is a group of islands in the South China Sea, just off the coast of Guangdong Province of southern China, rather nearer to the Pearl River Delta than to the Leizhou Peninsula.
Administration
Administratively the gr ...
.
Shangshuan Island has an area of 137.3 km2 and a 217 km coastline.
Settlements on the island include:
* Dalangwan
* Shadi (), a fishing port on the southwestern coast
Climate
Economy
Shangchuan and Xiachuan have been established as a Tourism Open Integrated Experimental Zone (旅游开发综合试验区,pinyin
Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...
: ''lǚyóu kāifā zōnghé shìyàn qū'').
Feisha Beach Resort () is a commercial tourist resort located on the island's eastern shore.
Transportation
Shangchuan Island is linked by ferry to Guanghai, Haiyan ( Shanju) andXiachuan Island
Xiachuan Island () (Hsiachwan Shan) is an island of the South China Sea, on the southern coast of China, part of the Guangdong province.
Administration
Administratively, Chuandao () is one of the 16 towns of Taishan.
Geography
The island is l ...
.
Shanzui Harbor provide ferry services between the islands and mainland.
See also
*Chuanshan Archipelago
The Chuanshan Archipelago () is a group of islands in the South China Sea, just off the coast of Guangdong Province of southern China, rather nearer to the Pearl River Delta than to the Leizhou Peninsula.
Administration
Administratively the gr ...
* Tamão
Tamão ( zh, 屯門) was a trade settlement set up by the Portuguese on an island in the Pearl River Delta, China. This was the first time Europeans reached China via the sea route around the Cape of Good Hope. The settlement lasted from 1514 ...
, Lampacau
Lampacau or Lampacao, also known by other names, was a small island in the Pearl River Delta, which in the mid-16th century played an important role in Sino-Portuguese trade. Lampacau no longer exists as a separate island, as sedimentary deposits ...
, Shuangyu
Shuangyu () was a port on () off the coast of Zhejiang, China. During the 16th century, the port served as an illegal entrepôt of international trade, attracting traders from Japan, Southeast Asia, and Portugal in a time when private overseas tr ...
* List of islands of the People's Republic of China
A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...
* List of islands in the South China Sea
Islands in the South China Sea includes the South China Sea Islands (Pratas Island, Paracel Islands and Macclesfield Bank), islands on the China coast, on the Vietnam coast, on the Borneo coast, and the peripheral islands of Taiwan, the Philippi ...
* List of Jesuit sites
This list includes past and present buildings, facilities and institutions associated with the Society of Jesus. In each country, sites are listed in chronological order of start of Jesuit association.
Nearly all these sites have be ...
Notes and references
Further reading
* * Masson, Matthieu (2019), "Sancian: Landscape and Architecture in the Burial Place of St. Francis Xavier", ''Tianzhujiao Yanjiu Xuebao'' 天主教研究學報 n.10, 173–222. * De Caro, Antonio (2025). “Pilgrims to Shangchuan Island: (Re-)Constructing a Holy Topography and Celebrating St. Francis Xavier (1688–1933)” in ''From Europe to Overseas: Saints, Martyrs, Heroes, Models and'' ''Soft Power in an Early Modern Global Perspective,'' edited by Michela Catto and Eleonora Rai. Refo500 Academic Studies series (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2025), 123–137. (DOI: https://doi.org/10.13109/9783666502057.123)External links
General
*Satellite view on Google Maps
* * * * (click on the links on the left to view more)
Maps
*Francis Xavier Chapel
* *Satellite view of the chapel
{{Islands of Guangdong Taishan, Guangdong Islands of Guangdong Islands of the South China Sea Populated places in China Islands of China