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Indeed, the 0.38-square-kilometer Baisha seems like a crumb compared with the 74-sq-km Zhujiajian.

Visitors to the larger island can rent boats to catch crabs. Crews cook the crustaceans for them onboard.

Daqing Mountain National Park is an ideal starting point for explorations of Lisha, Qiansha and Qingsha. Promontories join these to Dongsha and Nansha beaches, creating a crescent of splendid shoreline.

Nansha hosts the Zhoushan International Sand Sculpture Festival, which gives shape to a different theme each year.

Outdoor performances of Impression of Putuo staged at Baishan Mountain's foot celebrate the island's position across the sea from the Putuo Mountain that's believed to serve as the home of the Guanyin bodhisattva, or Goddess of Mercy.

It tells the story of a man who becomes a monk through meditation. The show incorporates 3-D Buddhas, who materialize on massive screens.

Indeed, the scenes imbue the island with a different kind of divine spirit.

xulin@chinadaily.com.cn