Decommissioned Xiangzhou Fishing Port next to Yeli Island will become a high-quality urban public space for passenger transport, cultural leisure, and entertainment with boardwalks accessing land, sea, and island sceneries.

The 170,000-sqm (42-acre) sea area is located off Central Lovers Avenue in Old Xiangzhou. It will be developed to harmonize with Yeli Island and nearby Sea & Sky (Haitian) Rest Station.

Work begins this month on a 410-m (448-yd) sightseeing boardwalk from Haitian Rest Station at the Lovers Avenue-Meihua Road intersection to tiny Zhouzai Island. Later this year, Xingchen (stars) Boardwalk will be constructed between the island and North Causeway (Beidi). Views will take in the city nightscape, parks, beaches, and modern architecture along Fenghuang Bay.

North Causeway is situated west of Xiangzhou Port Ferry Terminal and attracts hordes of tourists. It will be augmented with a waterside platform that has cultural leisure and entertainment facilities, as well as 1,200 public parking spots.

Design stretch of upgraded Xiangzhou Fishing Port with wavy boardwalk to Zhouzai Island and then onward to Haitian Rest Station [Photo courtesy Zhuhai Xiangzhou Zhengfang Holdings]

Multiple overpasses will be erected near Xiangzhou Port and the Xinyue Bridge and passages will be bored beneath Shuiyongkeng Village and the Zhuhai Museum & Planning Exhibition Hall.

In addition, the causeway section along Lovers Avenue will be reinforced and upgraded to resist storm surges, high waves, and flooding. Work will begin by the end of this year and be completed by late 2023.

The cleaning of rancid sludge in the harbor basin will also begin before year's end to further improve the environment along Lovers Avenue, according to project handler Zhuhai Xiangzhou Zhengfang Holdings.

The shallows encased by Xinyue Road and Yeli Island will undergo ecological restoration to provide a habitat for seabirds. Meanwhile, 1,053 m (nearly 2/3rd mile) of coastline is being restored to create a large beach opposite Sea & Sky (Haitian) Park, improve water quality, and increase disaster prevention.

Xiangzhou Fishing Port had been a major anchorage for fishing boats in the Pearl River Estuary to shelter, load and unload, trade, and take on supplies since it was built in 1957. It was shut down on Aug 10, 2019 with all fishing boats relocated to the new Hongwan Central Fishing Port southeast of the Zhuhai Bridge.