The city government yesterday released a list of uninhabited islands off Shanghai's coast that it hopes will be used for economic activities such as tourism, water reservoirs and shipping.
Most of the 23 islands belong to the city's suburban areas such as Chongming County and Jinshan District, Shanghai officials said.
The islands include Big Gold Mountain Island (Dajinshan Island in Chinese), Chicken Bone Reef (Jigu Jiao), Lovers Reef (Qinglu Jiao) and Cucumber Island (Huanggua Sha).
A new regulation makes it easier for tourists to make trips to Shanghai's islands by renting fishing or cargo boats.
Tourists should register their ID cards with the boat's owners and file reports with local border authorities, according to the new coastal law enforcement rules.
Big Gold Mountain Island, south of coastal Jinshan District, is expected to attract tourists since it is among the few natural islands with no traces of human activity. There's no ferry service to the island now.
People soon will be able to rent a boat to take the one-hour journey to the island. The fares will be negotiated between customers and fishermen.
