A Day of Wandering on Wild Boar Island, Zhuhai

Ramblings on Wild Boar Island I arrived on the island before the morning mist had cleared, the sea breeze carrying the salty tang of the ocean. The encircling walkway stretched like a ribbon, with the churning waters of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge sea area to my left, and phoenix trees shedding their morning dew to my right, scattering red petals among the broad leaves of the fiddle-leaf figs. As the sun climbed higher, I turned onto the coastal boardwalk. A teenager on a bicycle sped past a bougainvillea wall. Under the shade of Australian pines, several orange parasols sheltered vendors selling fresh coconuts, a grandmother dozing while fanning herself. A beached fishing boat on the rocky shore bore mottled rust, barnacles forming grayish-white scabs on its hull. In the afternoon, I followed a small gravel path towards the heart of the island, where the Zhuhai Grand Theatre suddenly emerged from the treetops, its two silver shells reflecting the shimmering light of the Lingdingyang sea. As egrets glided past the viewing platform, a couple on bicycles stopped to take photos, their laughter carried on the wind. As dusk painted the clouds red, I sat in the Moon Gazing Pavilion, peeling freshly bought longan fruit. A sunset like a salted egg yolk dipped towards the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, the whistle of a returning cargo ship startling sandpipers foraging on the mudflats. The tide lapped at my feet, seashells gleaming faintly in the sand. Wild Boar Island