Zhoushan Island is the principal and namesake island in the Zhoushan Islands, formerly romanized as the ChusanIslands, an archipelago administered by Zhoushan Prefecture in Zhejiang Province in the People's Republic of China. It is the province's largest island and 3rd-largest in mainland China after Hainan and Chongming. The island is the district seat of both Dinghai and Putuo. The island was the site of the first and second capture of Chusan during the First Opium War.
When referred to as a port, the Port of Zhoushan (舟山市) refers to the prefecture-level "city" consisting of Zhoushan island as well as the other nearby outlying islands, in Zhejiang. The former name of Zhoushan was Dinghai (Chinese: 定海). The Port of Zhoushan is a popular port for bulk carriers.
Name
The name Zhoushan means "Boat" and refers to the shape of the island on a map.
Geography
thumbnail|The Changhai Channel is a channel dividing [[Changhai County|Changbai Island and Zhoushan Main Island]]
At 30° N. 122° E., it lies northwest to southeast, and has a coastline, at its longest point at its narrowest. Its area is 502.65 km<sup>2</sup> (including tidal zone). At its closest point, it is from the Chinese mainland. It rises to an altitude of .
The island has a varied range of landscape, with hill and dale, as well as watered with numerous small streams, of which the most considerable is the Dongjiang (East River), passing into the harbour of Dinghai. There are several hundred ports around the islands, separated into three areas: Dinghai Port Zone, Shen-jia-men Port Zone (沈家门港区), and Laotangshan Port Zone (老塘山港区). The tourism regions include the regions of Shen-jia-men and Dinghai.
History and attractions
thumb|British ships [[Capture of Chusan|attacking the island as the troops prepare to land in 1840]]
The island was the site of the first and second capture of Chusan during the First Opium War. A number of historical sites and monuments on the island are popular tourist attractions.