In my first post on Zhanjiang I talked about finding the boat launch to Techeng Island, but not being able to visit, so we decided on our last full day to make the trek. We bought our tickets at the ticket booth and proceeded to the waiting area, and then boarded the boat to take the 20-minute ride to Techeng Island with about 10 other passengers, under cloudy skies.
We took the passenger-only boat above, there is another, larger ship that transports all the motorbikes, and a couple cars, to the island as well, seen below.
Once we arrived we walked under the large stone gate,
past vendors selling all manner of things, with the rain steadily increasing. We were glad we brought our umbrella, and lo and behold, we saw more mini golf carts with cartoon animal themes, as we had seen, and rented, at the Huguangyan Scenic Area. The island is pretty small, so we had originally figured to walk it, but with the rain coming down we rented one for half the price of our previous one, and were on our way.
After hiding under a building overhang until the rain let up, we proceeded to a beachfront restaurant, but that was closed. We parked the cart anyway, and walked the beach, taking in the city across the water.
There were a few Buddhist temples scattered throughout the island, and we would stop and explore and then head to the next one, driving the ring road around the island.
The roads were easy to navigate, and basically empty. The rainbow steps and blue road walls that provided a barrier to the sea brightened up the drizzly day.
My favorite part of the island was the pavilion at the end of a long boardwalk, next to a field of Mangrove trees.
We drove the cart completely around the island, a final pause to snap a picture of the many boats wading; we returned the cart and waited for the boat to return us to Zhangjiang, having spent just over two hours on the island.
Overall though, Techeng island was in need of a major improvement project; and we were told as much by a helpful gentleman, who, in broken English and translator, helped us get return tickets. He even introduced us to his cousin when we were back in Zhanjiang. His cousin (whose name was easy to remember, Yaoming) spoke English and had worked for a summer in San Luis Obispo, a place we had visited back when we lived in California.
While in Zhanjiang, we spent most of our time visiting the many city parks (which were just ok at best) and the waterfront, but the beaches were not for lounging, except the one at Yugang Park.
We actually had one of our favorite experiences there, as it started to downpour, and we went and hid under a building overhang. Shortly, we were joined by a group of park workers; they were so kind to us, and they gave us (and kept giving us) snacks, like tangerines and pickled diakon, and small packets of cookies and sesame bars. It was so sweet and nice, and really showed us how friendly people can be, even with the language barrier. Jessica got out her phone to take a seflie with them, but they at first thought we wanted them to take our picture; they lit up once we said we wanted it with them. A very cool moment.
We enjoyed our time in Zhanjiang, though it would not be recommended for those with a limited amount of travel time in China as there is simply not that much to do. We only needed a half day to visit the Huguangyan Scenic Area (definitely worth doing) and Techeng island, respectively, and the South Pole trip was definitely an extra thing to do while we had a lot of time. It was unusually hot and humid, and the language barrier was a larger hurdle than it was in Guangzhou, so that contributed to our opinion of our time there as well. It was quite the experience overall, and I’m glad we were able to do it together. Now, on to our next city, Nanning!
Phil's WayPastCool 