Zhoushan

Surrounded by the sea, it has a subtropical monsoon climate.Winter is warm and summer is cool, mild and moist, with plenty of light. Average annual temperature 16 °C, annual precipitation 927–1620 mm. It is suitable for the reproduction and growth of various biological communities, which provides favorable conditions for fishing and agriculture production.Influenced by monsoon instability, summer and autumn are vulnerable to typhoons, winter is windy, July and August are prone to drought.

Zhoushan main island is accessible by plane via its small (domestic) airport situated on Zhu Jia Jian island, connected to the main Zhoushan island by a road bridge, so access is quite easy. There are flights from Shanghai's Honqiao Airport twice a day (morning and late afternoon), and flights from Beijing and Xiamen. Access from the main island to Zhu Jia Jian is easy via taxi or bus. When arriving at Zhoushan Airport and you have no car available, avoid taxis and their (marketing) aggressive drivers at any costs, especially if you are a foreigner, alone. There is a reliable and cheap alternative to these taxis in the form of airport buses. These can get you almost anywhere on the main island for a price less than €1.50. Show the driver/operator a written note where you want to go to make sure that you get in the right bus. Taxis from main island to airport are ok, and do not overcharge.

Zhoushan archipelago is not connected to the mainland's railway network. The closest point you can get via train is Ningbo South Station on (Shanghai)-Hangzhou-Fuzhou railway. That will change in the future. As of 2022, a project to build a high-speed rail connection to Zhoushan is underway.

There are 3 major ways to reach Zhoushan from mainland by road, as follows:

From Hangzhou following G92 Expressway or from Shanghai following G15 Expressway (G15 is passing the 35 km marvel Hangzhou Bay Bridge) to Ningbo Ring Expressway (G15_01). On Ningbo Ring, head north until you reach the interchange with G92_11. This is the expressway to Zhoushan (green expessway standard indicators are with English characters as well). The expressway will take you through the spectacular Zhoushan Bridge network, passing the sea and 3 minor islands until reaching Zhoushan main island near Dinghai District. In main Zhoushan island the expressway is continued with National Road G329 (indicated by red signs with white characters) which will get you to the other end of the island and eventually to ZhuJiaJian island (where the airport and the main sea resort reside).

Another way to reach Zhoushan by road and your time is not limited, same as your willingness for exotic stuff, you can continue on G92 from Hangzhou (and not take the Ningbo Ring), pass Ningbo city and go to Beilun city on the sea side. There the expressway is finished and the national road will take you to Baifeng Car Terminal. This access is used mostly by trucks, because they are not allowed on the bridge network of G92_11. From Baifeng the ferry will take you to Zhoushan's Yadanshan ferry terminal, very close to Dinghai District downtown, after a 50-minute sea ride. The ferries are quite ok, they offer some drinks and most important you can stay on the outer decks and enjoy the thrilling scenery of Zhoushan archipelago.

If you want an alternative to the above and your starting point is Shanghai, you can follow the Shanghai's S2 Hulu Expressway which will lead you to another Chinese technological wonder - the 37-km-long Donghai Bridge. The Donghai Bridge connects the mainland to a tiny island (more a rock than an island) in the middle of East China Sea where there is a deep-sea huge container terminal and a car ferry terminal. From the car terminal you will have a ~1-hour sea ride to Zhoushan, passing the northern island chains until Zhoushan's main island Ximatou ferry terminal. From there, head south and touch the G329 National Highway. The roads are well-indicated so there should not be a problem as long as you stay on the beaten path.

Zhoushan, being a major holiday spot, is well served by bus services, making this the best form of transport for getting in. The buses are quite cheap, reliable and in most cases more comfortable and clean than you would expect. There are bus connections to all Zhejiang province municipalities and as well to Shanghai, Fuzhou, Nanjing, Jiangyin and others. Since the most frequent used lines are from/to Shanghai, Hangzhou and Ningbo, these will be described in more depth.

From Shanghai you have two choices for reaching Zhoushan by bus. One is via the public bus service from Shanghai South Hub Station (rail and bus station). The buses from here run at every 45 minutes to Zhoushan from 06:00 to 18:00 all week. The ticket costs about ¥130, can be purchased directly at the station and in most cases is not necessary a booking or buy in advance since there are always available seats. Pay attention that in Zhoushan there are 3 stations for each of Zhoushan main island's districts - first one in Dinghai, a further one in Lincheng and the terminus in Shenjiamen - Putuo District all served by the same bus, so choose in advance depending of your destination. On the way back to Shanghai take all the above in reverse.

Another choice is the touristic bus service which starts from Shanghai's NanPu Bridge Tourist Bus Service Terminal. The bus station is located exactly under Nanpu Bridge on Puxi side and has its own station of Shanghai's Line 4 Metro. The buses run all day long at roughly same intervals as public bus service. Prices are ¥138 for a normal seat or ¥220 for a special splurge VIP seat in double decker buses (Jan 2012). Not all buses have VIP service. The VIP means you will have one of the only 6 seats in the lower deck, identical to a Business Class plane seat. In Zhoushan, this bus will touch downtown Dinghai District (in a different location than public bus station) and will finally drop you off in Shenjiamen somewhere 1 km away from the public bus terminal. From Shenjiamen to Shanghai this touristic bus starts from Banshendong Ferry terminal on the easternmost tip of the island and has 2 more stops in Zhoushan, at Dongang New Bus Terminal (which is in the middle of nowhere) and in Dinghai.

The bus ride between Shanghai and Zhoushan takes roughly 4 hours with a 15 minutes break on Hangzhou Bay Bridge North bank.

Bus connections from Ningbo to Zhoushan are extremely frequent at every 30 minutes or so, from Ningbo's North or South Bus stations. Ningbo North Bus Station is your choice because of its proximity to Ningbo downtown (15-minute walk from TianYi square, just across the river from Mariott Ningbo Hotel). If you reach Ningbo by train and you do not plan to visit Ningbo, than from Ningbo South Railway Station, just cross the street and you will find Ningbo South Bus Station. The bus ride between Ningbo and Zhoushan take 2 hours.The ticket costs somewhere around ¥50 In Zhoushan the bus from Ningbo will stop on the stations as described on Shanghai public bus section above.

Hangzhou bus service to Zhoushan is served by the same 2 methods as for Shanghai. The bus ride from Hangzhou to Zhoushan takes 3 hours and it can start from Hangzhou North or South Bus Stations. The Hangzhou South is more used due to close distance to Hangzhou downtown and West Lake scenic spot. Tickets are below ¥100, can be purchased directly at the bus terminal and do not need be booked in advance due to dense departure schedules (every half hour).

Zhoushan being an archipelago, it is served by a dense and well-developed (and complicated) network of ferry lines between the (inhabited) islands and/or mainland. The ferries are mainly of 3 types: fast passenger ferries (water buses), normal passenger ferries (slower but much bigger) and the combined car and passenger ferries (RO-PAX Ferries).

From the mainland the main ferry connections to Zhoushan are from Shanghai and Beilun Port of Ningbo.

There do not appear to be any international passenger ships to Zhoushan.

To understand Zhoushan ferry network, one should divide it in:

• ferry lines connecting mainland to Zhoushan main island (see above section "By car")
• ferry lines connecting mainland to other major islands in the archipelago (from Beilun to Liuheng Island for example)
• ferry lines connecting Zhoushan main island to other islands in the archipelago (see below "Get around")

There are many ferry terminals in Zhoushan's main island and as well at least one on each inhabited island.

• 🌍 Opium War Relics Park (鸦片战争遗址公园, 竹山公园 Zhushan Park), 81 Zhushanmen Road, Dinghai District 定海区竹山门路81号 (Bus routes 31 and 34), ☏ +86 580 2380424. Free. (updated Dec 2018)
• 🌍 Shenjiamen Fishing Port (沈家门渔港), Bingang Road, Putuo District (普陀区滨港路) (Bus routes 1, 3, 6, 7 (or k07), 15, 23, and 29. The fishing port is at the southeastern end of the island). Free. (updated Dec 2018)
• 🌍 Zhoushan Museum (舟山博物馆), 610 Haitian Avenue, Xincheng, Dinghai District (定海区新城海天大道610号) (Bus routes 22, 103 and 105), ☏ +86 580 8230561. Tu-Su 09:00-17:00, no entry after 16:00. Free. (updated Dec 2018)

• 🌍 East Pole (Dongji) island (东极岛), East Pole Township, Putuo District. (updated Oct 2022){East Pole (Dongji) island}

• 🌍 Putuoshan (普陀山), Putuo District, South Edge of Hangzhou Bay, Eastern Zhoushan Islands Sea. (updated Oct 2022)

• 🌍 Daishan Island (岱山岛). (updated Dec 2018)
  • Lulan Qingsha Scenic Area (鹿栏晴沙景区). (updated Dec 2018)
• 🌍 Gouqi Island (枸杞岛). (updated Oct 2022)
• 🌍 Liuheng Island (六横岛). (updated Dec 2018)
• 🌍 Taohua Island (桃花岛, Peach Blossom Island). (updated Dec 2018)
  • Tower Bay Golden Sands Beach (塔湾金沙景区, Tawan Jinsha Scenic Area). (updated Dec 2018)
• Xiushan Island (秀山岛). (updated Dec 2018)
• Zhujiajian Island (朱家尖岛). (updated Sep 2019)
• Flower and Bird Islands（花鸟岛, Huā Niǎo Dǎo）

• Putuo Hilton Hotel Zhoushan（舟山普陀希尔顿欢朋酒店）☏ +86 580-6363888 Convenient transportation, the hotel is equipped with a gym, table tennis room, children's park and so on. Peripheral public facilities are complete, from the surrounding food, seafood stalls near.
• Puduo Kaiyuan Famous Ting Hotel Zhoushan（舟山普陀开元名庭酒店）☏ +86 580-6059999. Ocean Children's Park and Children's Play Area are located on 6/F. Located in the downtown of Putuo Donggang New Town, the surrounding tourism, shopping, catering, entertainment, business is extremely convenient.
• Manju Hotel（曼居酒店）☏ +86 580-6882777 Located in the central area of Donggang, 200 m away from the sea, the geographical position is superior. The hotel takes Zhoushan marine culture and fishing culture as the theme to create a local cultural scene in Zhoushan, where you can experience the beautiful life firsthand.

• Zhoushan Travel Nanyuan Maritime Silk Road Hotel（舟山舟旅南苑海上丝绸之路酒店）☏ +86 580-6877000 The hotel integrates the design concept of "Maritime Silk Road", and the four room architectural styles of Jiangnan, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and the Mediterranean Sea are integrated.
• Narada Hotel Zhoushan（舟山君澜大饭店）☏ +86 580-3366666 Amazing view overlooking Putuo Mountain.Fully furnished, with central business districts and government offices within easy reach. Seafood night food stalls are about a 5-minute walk away and you can enjoy the local flavors.

• Putuo Mountain Radisson Manor（普陀山雷迪森庄园）☏ +86 580-6690666 The hotel integrates culture into architecture, saying that architecture hides into nature, advocating health and wellness and caring service full of surprises.
• Putuo Mountain Putuo Mountain Villa（普陀山普陀山庄）☏ +86 580-6091666.Located in the center of Putuo Mountain, the environment is elegant and the location is ideal.
• Nam Cave（大乐之野·南洞）☏ +86 15355828477 The Chinese courtyard and the Jiangnan garden are skillfully integrated. The single-family courtyard is built on the mountain, and each house is named after the place name of Dinghai, which is simple and traditional. The hotel has a restaurant, café, shop and paddling pool.