The quarry-ravaged Sanjiao Island coastline in the Wanshan Archipelago will be restored by December 2021 as conversion into China's first "public service + tourism" uninhabited island destination continues.

In addition to repairing 3,300 m (3,609 yd) of shore, the island ecological restoration will see embankments reinforced and a mangrove forest planted, the Zhuhai Natural Resources Bureau announced on May 26.

Already, 800 m (875 yd) of beach shoreline was cleaned up in 2019 from damage caused by quarry activities in the 1980s and 1990s. The restoration is intended to resist natural disasters, prevent coast erosion, and improve the surrounding marine environment and ecological services.

Sanjiao Island

Located in the northwestern part of Wanshan Archipelago, the .87-sq-km (215-acre) Sanjiao Island is at the geometric center of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. It is about 8.7 nautical miles and 20 minutes by ferry from Jiuzhou Port in Jida, 6.6 and 8.5 nautical miles from Macao and Hong Kong, and 21.6 nautical miles from Shenzhen.

Architectural concepts released last year suggest eight theme parks on the island: Floating Central Town, Sparkling Bay, Garden in the Air, Eden Valley, Smart Park, Moon Lake, Dream Beach, and Tropical Utopia.

The tourism project will focus on marine agricultural sci-tech exhibitions; brown field, forest, and beach restoration; rainwater collection and recycling; and sea water desalination. Work resumed in March and is expected to be completed in 2022.

Contractor Zhuhai Jiuzhou Holdings Blue Marine Tourism Development, a subsidiary of Zhuhai Jiuzhou Holdings Group, attained the island's usage right through a listed transaction in 2017, following the country's first release of a real estate registration certificate for an uninhabited island. 

Rendering of the project [Photos courtesy WeChat account: sanjiao_island]