The archipelago includes several groups of islands. The western group, located south of the Pearl River estuary andLantau Island, was formerly known to Europeans as the Ladrones, from theSpanish for "thieves". It comprisesGreater Wanshan, Guishan, and Wai Dangling Islands and the Zhizhou, Sanmen, and Aizhou groups. The eastern group, located south ofHong Kong Island, was known as the Lema Islands. Today, they are known as theJiapeng Liedao and Dangan Liedao, respectively.
The largest island, Dangan, features mountainous terrain similar to Hong Kong.
Dangan Liedao (担杆列岛), the eastern group of Wanshan archipelago, and the eastern half of the former Lema Islands chain
Dangan Dao (担杆岛), 13.2 km2 in area and the largest of the islands; 200 permanent residents mainly along Zhangmu Bay and Hengkeng.
Erzhou Dao (二洲岛), 8.15 km2
Zhiwan Dao (直湾岛), 4.5 km2
Xidan Dao (细担岛), 0.85 km2
Jiapeng Liedao (佳蓬列岛), the southern group of Wanshan archipelago, and the western half of the former Lema Islands chain
Eyan Shi Dao (枙咽石岛, O-yen Shih). A 39 m high islet about 1 mi (1.6 km) north of Beijian Dao.[4]
Beijian Dao (北尖岛), 3.17 km2. Two peaks rising almost perpendicularly to a height of 300 m on the southwestern end of the island, are known as Asses' Ears.[4]
Miaowan Dao (庙湾岛), 1.46 km2 in area.[5] 240 m high.[4] It has a small population of fishermen.[5]
Shan Zhou (杉洲), 0.16 km2
Wanzhou Dao (湾洲岛)
Huangmao Zhou (黃茅洲)
Ping Zhou (平洲), 0.144 km2
Wenwei Zhou (蚊尾洲; 'Mosquito Tail Island', also Gap Rock in English), 0.022 km2. The small island is in the form of two hillocks, about 24 to 30 m (80 to 100 ft) high, and the island derives its English name from the gap between them.[6] TheGap Rock Lighthouse [zh] (蚊尾洲燈塔) on the island was built to serve as a navigation aid to vessels sailing to Hong Kong. It was built by a Hong Kong contractor[which?] and partly funded by the ImperialQing Government for both construction and maintenance costs. Besides the lighthouse it had separate European andChinese[clarify] living quarters, telegraph and storage rooms.[7] It came into operation in 1892 under Hong Kong control (island still under Chinese sovereignty) staffed by British lighthouse keeper andChinese[clarify] assistants. The lighthouse lenses and windows were damaged by typhoons in1893 and1905, the keepers eventually abandoned the site, civil war in China left it in ruins by the 1930s and 1940s. Taken over in1949[clarify] by theCommunists in Beijing, lighthouse was restored in 1986 with solar panels and fully automated.[8][9][10]A small helipad was added in by the Chinese.[when?][citation needed]
Dong'ao Dao
Southwestern group:
Dawanshan Dao (大万山岛), 8.07 km2. The seat of Wanshan Town (万山镇) of Zhuhai is located on the island
Wai Lingding Dao (外伶仃岛), 3.7 km2 in area and a tourist attraction with natural sites (Dangandao Provincial Nature Reserve) and temples. The seat of Dangan Town (担杆镇) of Zhuhai is located on the island
Sanmen Liedao (三门列岛)
Hei Zhou (黑洲)
Henggang Dao (橫崗島), 0.74 km2
Sanmen Dao (三门岛), 0.98 km2
Sanmen Zhou (三门洲)
Yuangang Dao (圆岗岛), 0.016 km2
Zhuwantou Dao (竹湾头岛), 0.33 km2
Aizhou Liedao (隘洲列岛)
Ai Zhou (隘洲), 1.2 km2
Ai Zhou Zi (隘洲仔; 'baby Aizhou'), 0.6 km2
View fromTian Tan Buddha in Hong Kong. The closest islands are theSoko Islands, part of the territory of Hong Kong. The four most distant islands are part of the Wanshan Archipelago. From left to right: Ai Zhou, Ai Zhou Zi, Dazhi Zhou, Xiaozhi Zhou.Dazhi Zhou (upper) and Xiaozhi Zhou (centre).Ai Zhou Zi (bottom) and Ai Zhou (top).
Northwestern group, located betweenLantau andMacau:
Zhizhou Liedao (蜘洲列岛)
Dazhi Zhou (大蜘洲), 1.67 km2
Xiaozhi Zhou (小蜘洲), 1.2 km2
Guishan Dao (桂山岛) – formerlyPLA base from the 1950s. The seat of Guishan Town (桂山镇) of Zhuhai is located on the island
Niutou Dao (牛头岛), 1.1 km2. Connected by a road to Guishan Dao
The archipelago's economy is mainly fisheries (crystal prawn, peeler crab). There is a growing tourism industry with a focus on history, beaches, and the natural beauty of the islands. About 350,000 tourists visit the islands annually.Club Med opened a holiday resort on Dong'ao in 2014.[12]
There is also potential for petroleum extraction in the waters off the islands.
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