Changdao County

The Changdao County ) is a county in Yantai, a prefectural area of Shandong in the People's Republic of China. It consists of the Changshan Islands within the Bohai Strait, directly north of Penglai. They are known for their sandy beaches and picturesque limestone cliffs. The total land area is only , but the coastline is long.
Geography.
The Changshan Islands (), also known as the Temple Islands or Miaodao Archipelago () are an archipelago of 32 islands located across the southern portion of the Bohai Strait, the waterway connecting the Bohai Sea to the Yellow Sea, collectively named after the two largest islands. In Chinese, they are also known as the "Long Islands" (), and anciently as the "Sandy Gate Islands" ().
Administrative Divisions.
The Changdao County has jurisdiction over one subdistrict, one town and six townships:
Islands.
There are 32 islands in Changshan Islands, and 10 of them have permanent residential settlements. These islands are mostly formed by Proterozoic low-grade metamorphic rocks, with smaller amounts of Tertiary igneous rocks and Quaternary sedimentary rocks.
Demographics.
Ten of the islands are occupied, and there are twenty-two uninhabited islands, some little more than sand spits. There is one large town, Tuoji Town (砣矶镇, population 8,495) and seven smaller towns with forty villages, with a total population in the county of 52,000.
Economy.
The major occupation is aquaculture, producing products such as sea cucumbers, abalone, sea urchins, bivalves, kelp, scallops, prawns and fish. Tourism is also important; many of the villages sport resort hotels.
Transportation.
The islands are regularly served by both a passenger and vehicle Roll On, Roll Off ferry from Penglai. There is a small military airport on the largest island, South Changshan Island.
Tourism.
Both Changdao National Forest Park and Changdao National Nature Reserve are located on the islands, which are on a cross-Bohai Sea flyway.
Temple Island () got its name from the large number of temples that were built there. Xianying Palace is a temple that was built during the Northern Song Dynasty, starting in 1122. It was originally a Taoist temple to the sea goddess Matsu, but became Buddhist later. At the present time the local government has restored the temple to its Ming Dynasty appearance, although many additions had been made during the Qing.