Changdao Island，which is under the domain ofChina，is known as the Miao island chain（calledShamen Island in ancient times），but is calledChangdao Island for short.Changdao Island is locatedbetween the peninsula of Shandong and eastern Liaoningwhere the Yellow and Bohai seas meet.It is Shandong’sonly island county and consists of 32 islands covering56 square kilometers.The islands have a total coastlineof 146 kilometers and a standing population of 45，000.
When the Qin Emperor Qinshihuang and Han EmperorWudi went looking for a spirit to obtain eternal life onthe island，the island has been known as a“mountain ofthe spirits of the sea and a scene of the spirits on earth.”
Changdao Island features mountains，the sea，islands，reefs，caves and historical sites and is a combination ofexotic，elegant，dangerous，sacred，and enchanted things.In summer with intense heat，the island offers a tranquilenvironment and a cool weather.It is an excellent placeto come for tourism，holiday trips，fishing，paintingpictures，and adventure;it is a fairyland where visitorsspend summer vacations，enjoy cool weather，appreciatenovel sights and explore mysteries.The State Council hasnamed Changdao Island as a national-level prime scenicarea，national-level protected zone，national-level forestpark，and in 2006，as one of the“ten most beautiful islandsof China.”It is one of the most famous tourist and holidaydestinations in China.
Changdao Island is one of the great paradises of Chinaand is the scene of four famous myths and folk legends，“Mazu Protects the Sea，”“Eight Immortals Cross theSea，”“Zhang Yu Boils the Sea，”and“Jingwei Fills theSea.”The launch of the fishing tourism program allowsvisitors to come and enjoy a hundred kinds of seafood，sleep on a local fishing family’s kang，enjoy the naturalcoastal scenery，purchase local products and learn to appreciatethe local customs.
Changdao Island is rich in seafood resources andis known as“the home of abalone，scallops，and kelpin China.”In the spring of 1999 the Changdao Islandcounty government introduced the activity called，“Eatin the home of a fishing family，stay in the home of afishing family，enjoy the life of a fishing family.”A numberof fishing households were selected that had theproper conditions for receiving guests and their serviceswere publicized to promote tourist groups to come toChangdao Island and stay in their homes on a marketdrivenbasis.The villagers are responsible for specificadvertising and promotion activities，transportationarrangements and providing food and lodging，but participatinghouseholds must strictly comply with the generalrequirements for the fishing tourism program andprovide a full range of services，including food，lodging，transportation，tours，shopping and entertainment.Hardwork and constant improvement has resulted in a moreand more diverse range of services and activities and the program is now fairly well developed.
One of the major activities in the fishing tourism programis the“Be a Fisherman for a Day”activity，whichallows tourists to personally experience what it’s like towork as a fisherman.During the day tourists go out onthe fishing boats and cast nets，set traps，and catch crabunder the direction of fishermen.The“Tour around theIslands”activity provides tourists with a day of beautifulsights to enjoy.The“Fishing on Diaoyu Island”activityallows visitors to try their hand at fishing on a boat andwith fishing equipment provided by the host family.Inaddition，visitors can enjoy a sea tour of Wanniao Islandor make arrangements to take a trip to other nearby touristattractions.
There is no set menu for meals in the homes of thefishing families and guests can select dishes according totheir own preferences.There are usually 8 dishes，includingfish，shrimp or crab，shellfish，meat and vegetables，prepared according to local custom.The host may alsoprepare seaweed dumplings，an island specialty，for theirguests accompanied by fish sauce，shrimp sauce，seamonster sauce，sea hare sauce and other flavors of the sea，and guests who are interested may share a few drinkswith their hosts.
After dinner guests may watch television，sing Karaoke，play music videos of Changdao Island songs performedby famous stars or simply sit on a folding stool（favorite type of chair for relaxing among fishing families）
and shoot the breeze with their hosts.Every eveningaround 7 PM the villagers stage a folk performance，witha lion dance parading down the street，a bonfire and singingand dancing，in which guests are invited to participate.
Guests may visit any house in the village，take strollsdown the streets，collect shells along the shore outside thevillage or go up on the hill behind Wanggou Village tosee the famous“ancestor tree，”said to have been broughthere from Yunnan by people when they immigrated here.
The Changdao Island people have carefully createdtwo new items in its fishing tourism program，the“comfortableFishing Home”and“Sea Tour with a Fisherman”
activities.The blue sky，azul sea，ample sunlight，seabeaches and pure seaside air plus the local people withtheir simple，enthusiastic and straightforward personalitycombine to make Changdao Island an eco-friendly，safeand healthy tourist destination.
