Off the coast of Guangdong, Nei Lingding Island whispers tales of smugglers, revolutionaries, and displaced islanders. Nei Lingding Island, once known as Lintin Island, sits in the Pearl River estuary. Its location, closer to Hong Kong and Shenzhen, belies its administrative past. Until 2009, it belonged to Zhuhai on the western shore. Today, Nei Lingding Island is part of Shenzhen.
Nei Lingding Island’s history is rich with intrigue. In 1513, Jorge Álvares landed here, marking the first documented arrival of a European ship on China’s coast. The island served as a customs point for ships bound for Guangzhou. Officials inspected cargo and levied duties. However, when China banned opium imports in 1821, Nei Lingding Island transformed into a smuggler’s haven. Hulks of old ships became floating warehouses. Opium was transferred to smaller boats for illicit trade in Guangzhou and beyond. American ships were even involved in this illegal activity, as noted by Edmund Roberts during his 1832 visit.
Before Hong Kong’s cession in the 1840s, Nei Lingding Island was the primary base for British merchants in the Pearl River Delta. It also provided shelter during monsoon season, sometimes for up to six months, for ships needing repair. The island’s population fluctuated dramatically. From fewer than 60 inhabitants in 1814, it swelled to almost 2,000 by 1821. By 1832, it housed around 5,000 people.
Nei Lingding Island also played a role in China’s revolutionary history. The island’s fishermen and boat-dwellers, traditionally living with relative autonomy, became pawns in the CCP’s maritime strategy. They were resettled, organized into “fishermen villages,” and mobilized to secure the coastline against the United States and the KMT. The story of Fishing One Village, formed by relocated islanders from Nei Lingding Island, illustrates this transformation. These displaced islanders received government loans to upgrade their equipment and joined cooperatives. They faced jurisdictional disputes, however. Neither Zhuhai nor Bao’an wanted the responsibility of allocating them land. They finally received a coastal plot in Shekou in 1970.
A portion of Nei Lingding Island has been a nature reserve since 1984. The Nei Lingding Island and Futian Nature Reserve protects rhesus macaques, pangolins, pythons, and a mangrove forest. The island’s history, a mix of global trade, illicit dealings, and revolutionary change, makes Nei Lingding Island a unique gem in the Pearl River Delta. The struggles of its inhabitants to maintain their identity and claim their ancestral lands continue to resonate.