In ancient times the Wuzhizhou Island was titled as Guqizhou Island and such strange name came from an old story.
It is said that Sanya once had a river, but due to slash-and-burn cultivation efforts of those mountain villagers living in the upper reaches of the river, local vegetations were severely destroyed, and whenever mountain torrents erupted, sand, stone and grit would pour down into the sea via Vine Bridge River and polluted the limpid and azure seawater.
The Dragon King then reported it to Jade Emperor. Jade Emperor chopped off a section of Hainan Lingjiao Mountain with his immortal sword and ordered two Saint Cattle to block up the river mouth. Fortunately a man noticed the two cattle on the way and found out the secret, so that the latter stopped moving and turned into two boulders and the sections of the mountain chopped off by Jade Emperor became the Island. It was due to such legend that Guqizhou Island got its name and such two boulders were named as “Sisters Stone”.
Subsequently Sanya City would be established in Hainan province and local government made good effects to verify and ratify toponyms. Local fishermen told them that shape of the Island was exactly like “Wuzhi”, a type of sea creature in local area. Then the Island was named as “Wuzhizhou Island” and such name has been followed as yet.
It is also said that the Island has another name as “Lover Island” and there is another beautiful story for it.
Long, long ago there was a young man who made his living by fishing in the sea. One day he was stricken by a heavy storm and the boat sunk finally. The fisherman drifted with the tide and landed at a lonely island and then he had to maintain his life by hunting day after day. One day, he went fishing at seashore, where he suddenly saw a beautiful girl who was picking up shells on the beach. He had never found out any trace of human being in such island for quite a long time. Then who was the girl on earth? The girl beamed on him and voluntarily accosted him. Wow! She was the little daughter of the Dragon King who only came here for fun.
Then they began to chat with each other like a couple of old friends. They agreed that they would meet here everyday ever since. Day after day they fell in love with each other and never separated. During daytime they would go hunting shoulder to shoulder and after evenfall they would stroll on the beach hand in hand. They lived a happy life like a couple of lovebirds and even the Immortal would have admired them.
One year went by as swift as a flying arrow and Dragon Maid became homesick. She could not leave the lad alone in the Island and also she worried that her father would disagree with their marriage. Finally they talked over and made a decision that Dragon Maid would go home and beg for forgiveness from her father, the Dragon King, and that they would have a reunion in three days at the site where they had met with each other for the first time. The young guy stood at the dating place waiting for his lover’s return. Three days went by and more and more days lapsed and there was no trace of the pretty girl. Burning with impatience the young boy shouted to the sea crying Dragon Maid’s name everyday in the following days.
It turned out that the girl then told her experience to the Dragon King and the latter became so angry that he gave cruel orders to throw his daughter into prison and never allowed her to return secular world any more. The girl yearned towards the secular life and her lover, then one day she escaped successfully in advantage of the guard’s carelessness.
Almost immediately the Dragon King found out and he ran after his daughter to prevent the reunion. It was exactly before the moment that spoony spouse would have threw arms around each other, the enraged Dragon King shouted out an incantation of “stop!” and then deeply loved couple were turned into two large stones.
Year after year the two stones keep standing there face to face witnessing endless ebb and flow. Although there is only an arm’s reach between them, they would never have a chance to embrace each other any longer and they were kept apart forever. Afterward local people named the Island as “Lover Island” to commemorate this spoony couple. Now it has become the most favored dating place for a couple of boy and girl who have amative relations to whisper and appreciate the rote of surf.
