蛇蟠岛采石场

Shepan Island Quarry

Useful Information

Location:	Shepan Township, Sanmen County, Taizhou City. (29.143824, 121.584468)
Open:	no restrictions. [2025]
Fee:	Adulst CNY 100, Childern (7-18) CNY 45, Children 0(-6) free, Seniors (60-69) CNY 45, Seniors (70+) free. [2025]
Classification:	Rock Mine
Light:	Incandescent
Dimension:
Guided tours:	self guided, D=1 h.
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:	Guangxiang Yuan, Jianyong Li, Zhiquan Huang, Zhifa Yang (2016): Scientific Site Selection of Ancient Large-scale Underground Quarries from Engineering Geology: A Case of Shepan Island in Sanmen, China. The Open Civil Engineering Journal. 10. 720-726. online DOI researchgate L.H. Li, X.L. Deng, Z.F. Yang, W.D. Sun, S.B. Chen, P.F. Liu (2015): Engineering geological conditions of large ancient quarrying caverns in Shepan Island, Zhejiang Province, China, Ancient Underground Opening and Preservation, CRC Press, 2015. 1st Edition. ISBN 9780429225680.
Address:	Shepan Island Quarry, Shepan Township, Sanmen County, Taizhou City, Tel: +86-4001180888, Tel: +86-0576-83579999.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1978	construction

Description

蛇蟠岛采石场 (Shepan Island Quarry) is one of hundreds of ancient quarries all over the world. Most are not accessible as they are archaeological sites, but some are so exceptional, they were opened to the public. This is one of those extraordinary sites. A quarry is used to remove rock which is needed for all kinds of buildings, roads or other infrastructure. The form of the quarry is a result of the properties of the rock and the technique used for quarrying. Most quarries are open cast, but some are at least partly underground because the miners followed the layer of valuable rock underground. The quarrying here produced an irregular pattern of rectangular pits with rounded corners. After the rock was removed the pit remained and soon the pits filled with rainwater, because the quarry men did not invest work in any kind of drainage. Today this creates a unique sight. But the main quarries are huge caves in the rock which have an irregular shape.

This site actually has no name, it is often simply called 蛇蟠島 (Shepan Island) after the island where it is located. Sepan means snake, and they say the island was actually named after the snake-shaped caves at the quarry. The reason is simple, the island is a sandstone outcrop in tideland, actually two quite similar islands. What you see today is a much larger flat peninsula protruding into the sea, which has no features at all. Actually it is the result of the construction of seawalls in the tidelands in 1978 The locals produce seafood in huge rectangular basins, especially the Sanmen crab, which is well known in China for its delicious taste. Another main produce is the white-leg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei). In other words, the peninsula is actually sea, not land. The most spectacular part of this island is the six-lane motorway which connects Taizhou City and Ningbo City. It crosses the sea on long bridges and connects all the peninsulas along the coast. There is a service area and an exit on the island.

The site is sometimes called 海盗村 (Hǎidào cūn, Pirate Village) which seems to be a marketing stunt. This is based on local lore, according to which the caves were used as hiding places by pirates. Actually some caves were used to build cave houses inside, which are now abandoned. The site has an audio guide and numerous educational signs which all concentrate on the pirate lore, even the names stress this fictitious "history". A circular path leads around the grounds from the entrance. This is quite funny, but sad is that the actual history and the techniques or quarrying are not explained. The site has some local fame as a location for the filming of the movie "Yuguang District", which is unknown in western countries.

The rock here is a reddish sandstone which is called Shepan Stone. It was sold to building material dealers in Ningbo and Shanghai. The first quarries were set up in the late Song Dynasty (960-1279) and quarrying continued until Emperor Wanli’s reign in the Ming Dynasty (1573-1619).