My colleagues and I outside Zhoushan Oceanic Art Museum

I must confess, as adventurous as I am, I haven't explored all the beautiful sites this city has been blessed with. But then, who can say they have, completely! This is what makes this place inexhaustible. I have read about some of the beautiful tourist destinations here, and I have to say, Zhoushan seems like a deeply religious place, where anyone can come and just connect with nature and their spiritual side.

Since Zhoushan Island was established on the basis of a group of islands, it's no surprise that most of its tourist sites are beautiful beaches serenaded with hills, mountains and rich waterfalls. Some of the beaches to visit include the Dongji Island, Nansha Beach, Zhujiajian Island and Putuo Liuheng Island.

Personally, I look forward to visiting the Mount Putuo, which is one of the four top Buddhist shrines in the entire country. It is a place any spiritual person like me will love to go.  Another place is the Fayu Temple which is no ordinary temple. Apart from being a religious site where you get to see monks practice their prayers, the building itself is an architectural art with magnificent statues, surrounded by a serene and quiet environment.

The last one on my bucket list of places to visit in Zhoushan is most definitely the international sand sculpture art plaza, which I think should be a world heritage center. The beautiful moldings of sand found in this place are absolutely breathtaking. The Chinese say that pictures are worth a thousand words, and these amazing sand sculptures tell stories mere words alone cannot fully describe.

On most weekends, I like to go out by myself to just explore some beautiful spots in Dinghai which may often be overlooked by other foreigners. I discovered that some of these places provide me the kind of refreshment and warmth that relieve whatever academic stress I may be experiencing at that moment.