Chicken Island (Guangdong)
Chicken Island is an island located in the southeast of Dianbai district, Maoming, Guangdong province, China. Its original name is Fenzhou island and Wanzhou island. The distance from Chicken Island to continent is 8 nautical miles. The area of Chicken Island is 1.9 square kilometers and it is the biggest island in Maoming. The highest point on Chicken island is 122 miles and the visibility of the sea area around it is between 6 and 12 miles. The climate of Chicken island is subtropical climate.
History
Chicken island was located in the sea Silk Road. Over thousands of years, many ships used it to take a rest here. Chicken island has traces of the communication between ancient China and western countries.Besides the witness of history, famous people had come to Chicken Island. Li Deyu, a politician in Tang dynasty, left a stone tablet here when he suffered a demotion in 848. He used the stone tablet to record the climbing in Chicken Island and his demotion.
In 2004, Chen Mingzhe bought the rights of using Chicken Island for fifty years. He spent 4.3 billion yuan to develop the island. Chicken Island has become the AAAA degree scenic spot in China.
Origin of the name
There are mainly two origins of the name which can be divided into history and myth reason.History
One origin is about Li Deyu. He was an officer in Tang dynasty. After demoted by the court, he kept travelling and had been Chicken island. After his visit, people built a temple for him and exalted him as spirit. When ships went by, sailors would go to the temple and worship his spirit by releasing a chicken.Myth
There are two myths about the origin of the name. Here is the first one. Long time ago, local sailors who needed to be navigated would put a chicken in this island and blessed for safety. Gradually, the name of the island became Chicken Island. In Chinese, Chicken island means the island is used to releasing chickens.Here is the second story about the origin of this name. In the old time, sailor who came through this island, the wave was too huge that many boats had been destroyed. One day, there is a Buddhist looked at a boat team which was coming back and the boats were getting through the Wanzhou island. The Buddhist discovered that the billows looked like centipedes which were attacking the boats. Wanzhou island looked like a chicken. Therefore, he had an idea to solve the problem. He told sailors to build a temple in Wanzhou island and release some chickens there. These behaviors mean that they were using chicken to overcome the centipedes. After that, the sailors felt it makes sense and they kept doing it. Because releasing chicken means accumulate virtue in Chinese Buddhism. After that, the sea around Wanzhou island become quiet and peace. Sailors had got full tank of fishes and they felt it works. Therefore, whenever sailor go to work, they would release a chicken in Wanzhou island to accumulate virtue for safety. Gradually, people called it Chicken island.
Economy
| Total visitors | 454,600 |
| Visitors per day in tourism peak | 5300–6300 |
| Income | 1.35 billion yuan |
Chicken Island was an uninhabited island. In June 2004, Chen Mingzhe, a Taiwanese attained fifty years use right of Chicken Island. After two years, they built up a wharf which depth is between 30 and 40 miles and width is 5 miles, a road which length is 9 kilometers which surrounds the island and completed the water system, hydro system and network system. He also develop Chicken Island into a tourist attraction. The table above is the tourist economy of Chicken island in 2011.