Nan'ao (), formerly romanized Namoa, is an island and county of the prefecture-level city of Shantou in Guangdong Province, China. The county spans a land area of , and sea area of . As of 2020, the county had a permanent population of approximately 64,429.
History Since ancient times, Nan'ao has been an important and necessary transit station for marine trade along the southeast coast of China and has been known as the "land of mutual market at sea".
There have been human activities on Nan'ao island since the Neolithic Age, dating back to approximately 6000 BCE. Archeological sites indicate the island was home to a Neolithic people known today as the Xiangshan culture (). Additionally, the located in Nan'ao provides evidence of ancient human inhabitation.
Nan'ao belonged to Nanyue during its existence.
Nan'ao was incorporated into the Han dynasty's territory and was administered under the jurisdiction of , Nanhai Commandery.
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the central government dispatched 158 military officers and deputy officers to Nan'ao. In 1575, Ming military commanders incorporated Nan'ao, dividing the island between and Zhangzhou Fu. In 1685, Qing officials further reinforced the island. The former site of the Nan'ao General Headquarters still exists and has become an important cultural tourist attraction. In 1732, the island was organized as a .
In the first year of the Republic of China (1912), the island was reorganized as Nan'ao County. The island fell to the Communists on 3 March 1950. Communist forces established a local government on June 1, 1950.
Geography Nan'ao County is part of the prefecture-level city of Shantou in Guangdong Province, China. It chiefly rests on Nan'ao Island, which covers , but also includes 35 other nearby islands. Altogether, it occupies of land and of sea. It is the only island county in Guangdong.
The southern coast of Nan'ao island forms part of the southern boundary of the Taiwan Strait, and it is only from the Pacific international transport route.
Climate Since the island is located on the Tropic of Cancer, it has subtropical monsoon climate and marine climate, characterised by long, humid, sunny summer and short, mild winter.
The annual average temperature is between , which is slightly higher in coastal and low-lying areas, and lower in mountainous areas. The coolest month is February. From mid-February to the first ten days of April, the temperature goes up gradually, reaching over 22 °C in the second ten days of April. In mid-July, the temperature reaches . It gradually decreases from mid-September and drops below 22 °C in early November. In general, the highest temperature is and the lowest is .
Administrative divisions Nan'ao County administers three towns: , , and . These three towns are then divided into 5 residential communities and 41 administrative villages.
Demographics As of 2019, Nan'ao County had a permanent population of 62,600, who were mostly Han Chinese.
The island is home to the Nan'ao dialect (), which is part of the broader Teochew dialect. The dialect differs by town, with those in speaking similarly to the region of mainland region of , whereas those in and speak more like dialects heard in Zhangzhou, Quanzhou, and Xiamen.
Owing to the close geographic proximity to Taiwan, as well as close linguistic and cultural connections, the county government estimates that over 100,000 people hailing from Nan'ao County live in Taiwan.
Economy In 2019, Nan'ao County's gross domestic product reached ¥2.933 billion, its total retail sales of consumer goods was ¥2.854 billion, and the total output value of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery was ¥2.34 billion.
As of 2018, the total import and export volume was 99.04 million RMB (US$14,806,579), an increase of 22.8% over 2017. The revenue of public finance budget is 262 million RMB (US$39,169,262), an increase of 13.2% over the previous year, of which the tax revenue is 188 million RMB (US$28,106,188), an increase of 40.8% over 2017. The total investment in fixed assets is 2.030 billion RMB (US$299,450,503), an increase of 13.4% over 2017. The GDP reached 2.466 billion RMB (US$368,669,466), an increase of 5% over 2017. The total retail sales of consumer goods were 2.662 billion RMB (US$397,556,390), an increase of 8.9% over 2017. The increase value of the tertiary industry is 930 million RMB(US$138,890,850), an increase of 5.7% over 2017. The total agricultural output value was 2.19 billion yuan (US$327,065,550), an increase of 4.2% over 2017.
Since the opening of Nanao Bridge, the local economy has been booming, especially in tourism. According to official statistics, the total tourists reached 5.93 million in 2017, an increase of 10.5% compared with the same period last year, and the total tourism revenue increased by 20.6% compared with the same period last year.
+Tourism comprehensive income (2014–2018)Year20142015201620172018Tourism comprehensive income (US$)62,829,900182,505,900216,912,750261,641,655310,559,220Year-on-year growth (%)27.2187.419.320.6218.6
Infrastructure Nan'ao Bridge
, a cross-sea bridge connecting Chenghai District and Nan'ao County, was officially opened to traffic on January 1, 2015. The bridge starts at Laiwuwei () in Chenghai District, and ends at Changshanwei (), Nan'ao County, which is connected with a loop highway which circumferences the island. Prior to the completion of Nan'ao Bridge, those who wished to travel between Nan'ao and the mainland had to use a ferry, which would not run in the event of strong winds or thick fog.
The route of the bridge is long, of which the total length of the bridge is , and the total length of the connecting line is . The maximum speed of traffic traveling along the bridge is . The width of the road is , and the width of the bridge is .
Cycles, motorcycles and pedestrians are banned from using the bridge.
Wind power
Located in the central part of the east peninsula, Nan'ao Wind Farm is the largest island wind farm in Asia. The local government devotes much attention to the development of wind energy resources and wind power, a renewable and pollution-free new energy source. Nine wind farms have been built in the central and eastern mountainous areas of the island.
Nan'ao Wind Farm is the first project in China that realizes large-scale wind-PV complementary power generation, and creates the precedent for China's development and utilization of renewable energies.Nan'ao Wind Farm, Energy China. The towers may be seen when driving up the mountain roads to the turbine site.
Attractions
Nan'ao is the only island-wide AAAA-level tourist area in China.
Historic interest The Song Dynasty Well
In 1276 (during the Southern Song dynasty), the Ming emperor fled to Nan'ao in order to escape the pursuit of the Yuan army. The local residents excavated three wells to provide water for the emperor, ministers, soldiers and their horses, respectively named Dragon Well, Tiger Well and Horse Well. Over the past 700 years, the Southern Song dynasty well has appeared and disappeared from time to time. Although it is only 10 meters away from the sea, the water inside is pure and sweet.
Nan'ao General Headquarters
Nan'ao General Headquarters is the only island-level administrative General Headquarters in China. Because of Nan'ao's strategic geographical location, it has always been an important military site since ancient times. During the Ming dynasty, the central government sent troops here and set up a vice-general office, which was then upgraded to a General Headquarters during the Qing dynasty. Inside the headquarters there is a museum which records the history of coastal defense here.
Shen'ao Ancient City Park In Kingshan village of Shen'ao town, there is an ancient wall about 5 meters high and more than 40 meters long, which is the only section of the Ming dynasty wall left in Nan'ao. It records its important history of coastal defense. The wall was repaired and renovated in 2015, around which an ancient city park was built. Inside the park there are various species of trees, including nanmu trees, peach trees, silver fir, and Spathodea campanulata.
Xiongzhen Pass Xiongzhen Pass, located in the junction of Yun'ao Town and Shen'ao town, has been strategically situated from ancient times. It is included in the Chinese Famous Passes List as Shanhai Pass and Jiayu Pass of the Great Wall. The pass, which was built in 1585 during the Ming dynasty, has been repaired and expanded over the centuries. The existing wall, built in 1982, is 24 meters long, 7 meters wide and 5 meters high.
Treasure Island
To the northeast of Nan'ao Island, there is a small island not far from the coast, with a total area of less than 1,000 square meters, known as "Treasure Island." It is believed to have been the place where the Ming dynasty pirate, Wu Ping, hid his treasures.
According to legend, during the Jiajing period of the Ming dynasty, because of the crisis of the government, official corruption, financial crisis and the severe frontier crisis, the people lived a miserable life. The pirate Wu Ping built a camp in Shen'ao bay, which eventually became Wu Ping's sphere of influence; nowadays the village is still named after him.
In 1565 Wu Ping was defeated by the general who was sent by the imperial court to Nan'ao. Wu Ping hid all his treasures in the small island now known as Treasure Island, and then jumped into the sea to commit suicide. After the death of Wu Ping, there was a saying circulating among the local residents that describes the hiding place: "underwater at low tide, surface at high tide". The meaning of this sentence in local dialect is: "when the tide is high, the land cannot be immersed by water, but when tide ebbs the land is flooded", suggesting that it should be a place with fresh water. The location of the buried treasure remains unknown.
Nature reserves Qing'ao Bay
Located at the easternmost end of Nan'ao Island, lying on the Tropic of Cancer, Qing'ao Bay is the first place in Guangdong Province to see sunrise.
In recent years, Qing'ao Bay has been developed as an important area for creation of national-level ecological demonstration zones and national 4A-level tourist zones. Coastal garden construction, ecological environment construction of sewage treatment project, beach comprehensive treatment, hotel domestic sewage discharge standard, mountain spring water source protection, and sea area environmental improvement have been developed a lot, all of which ensure the effective management and protection of local natural ecosystems such as bays, rocky banks, beaches, streams, gardens and vegetation.
The Qing'ao bay corridor was built on the southern beach reefs of Qing'ao Bay. Pavilions have been constructed overlooking the sea.
Nan'ao Yellow Flowers National Forest Park
Located in the west of Nanao Island, with a total area of 13.73 km2, the park is an ecological park integrating natural landscape, cultural landscape and rejuvenating treatment. In 1992, the Ministry of Forestry of China approved the original Yellow Flower Mountain Forest Farm as the "Island National Forest Park". Here there is the Dajian mountain, which is known as the "First Peak in Shantou", with an elevation of 588.1 meters. It is the only island national forest park in China. The erosion of sea breeze, sunshine and rainwater for a long time cause weathering of rocks, which is called granite landform. A large number of Taiwan Acacia trees are planted here, yellow flowers blossom in spring, hence the name Yellow Flower Mountain.