Chongming Island has its own exclusive version of the "sea" and sky
by JAMIE WATERS
Apr 28, 2025
Although Chongming Island is surrounded by the Yangtze River Estuary and is not a "sea" in the true sense, it indeed has its unique version of the "sea" and sky—**the grandeur of the river and sea meeting, the vastness of ecological wetlands, and the pastoral sense of freedom**. This exclusive kind of romance can only be truly experienced in person:
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### 🌊 **The Aesthetic Boundary of the "River and Sea"**
- **The wonder of brackish water convergence**: The Dongtan Wetland on Chongming Island is where the Yangtze River meets the East China Sea. At tidal rise and fall, the light blue river water and the muddy yellow sea water form a gradient "waterline," like a natural palette.
- **The "sky mirror" of migratory birds**: In winter, thousands of migratory birds (such as swan geese and white-naped cranes) fly over the tidal flats. The sound of their wings flapping combined with the wind is more breathtaking than any symphony.
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### 🌾 **The "Sea" Imagery on Land**
- **Waves of reeds**: In autumn, the reeds in the Xisha Wetland stretch for kilometers. When the wind blows, golden "waves" roll, and the walking boardwalk feels like floating on the sea.
- **The breathing of rice fields**: The rice field art in Shuxin Town (such as the giant "Island Starry Sky" pattern) viewed from above resembles the tidal patterns of the earth.
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### � **Exclusive Experience Recommendations**
1. **Chasing the sea at Dongtan sunrise**: Wait early in the morning for the sun to leap from the water-sky junction. The clouds reflect in the tidal pools, as if walking on the alien shore from "Interstellar."
2. **Cycling "surfing"**: Ride along the island’s ring dike (about kilometers long), with the "river and sea" on one side and forest on the other, the wind roaring past your ears.
3. **Crab encounter with "sea" flavor**: Chongming hairy crabs are plump and delicious. Enjoy peeling crabs at a farmhouse while watching the sunset sink into the "sea" horizon, even the vinegar dish reflects the glow of the sunset.
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### 📍 **Fun Facts**
- Chongming Island grows eastward into the East China Sea at a rate of about square kilometers per year, so the true "vast sky and sea" will be even broader in the future.
- The white blades of the island’s wind farm spin day and night, locally called the "waves on land."
If the city buildings make you feel oppressed, why not come to Chongming for an "atypical" feast of sea and sky—there are no coconut groves or sandy beaches here, but there are windmills, flying birds, and land that is still growing. 🌅
Post by JAMIE WATERS | Apr 28, 2025
















