Naozhou Island

The Sea Turtle City is advertised as a rehabilitation center for sea turtles, although it is not clear to this contributor how they got all those turtles, and when, if ever, any of them will be released back into the sea. Nonetheless, it is a good place to see those creatures. There is a shed with a few small indoor pools, as well as a large outdoor pool. To feed the giant chelonians, the management buys similarly giant winter melons (冬瓜); you will see a pile of them next to the office. Your admission fee includes a small bowl of thinly sliced winter melon. You can offer them to the denizens of the outdoor pool, and they will all come to the pool's edge to have their chance at a melon slice. Actually, the turtles seem to associate people with food, so even if you just stand by the pool edge, turtles probably will come to you anyway.

Unlike the neighboring Donghai Island, the rocky Naozhou Island is not big on beaches. Although Google Maps shows stretches of sand here and there along the island's shores, many of them have in reality been converted to fishing boat harbors or aquaculture ponds, by means of a liberal addition of concrete. The pretty Nayan Bay Beach is one of the few "official" beaches preserved on the island... and even there, at least in winter, you'll see a "no swimming" sign. The ¥5 admission family is collected by a peasant family living at the entrance to the beach.