Secret Coral Village 2-Day Complete Guide

From Beijing Station → Zhanjiang West Station (G693, 9h, ¥628/person), exit the station and take the "Xuwen Tourism Express" directly to Jiaowei Township Coral Museum Visitor Center (2.5h, ¥65/person), total for three people by high-speed rail + shuttle ¥2,079. Stay at "Jiaowei Lighthouse Homestay" (triple room, coral white walls + terrace facing Qiongzhou Strait, breakfast included, ¥298/night; the owner is a retired reef protector, gifting a hand-drawn "Xuwen Coral Atlas"). ✅Free admission｜Xuwen Coral Reef National Nature Reserve is a research-oriented ecological protection zone. The core reef platforms (Baoxi, Fangpo, Beiliao, etc.) strictly prohibit entering the water, stepping on, collecting, or feeding; the public can enter for free: ▫️ Coral Museum Science Center (4D surround theater + live miniature reef tanks); ▫️ Fangpo Village Ancient Salt Field Viewing Boardwalk (overlooking the "white jade belt" formed by natural coral debris on the tidal flats); ▫️ Dengloujiao Coastal Geological Trail (view basalt columnar joints and intertidal coral algae communities); ▫️ Jiaowei Township Fishermen’s Culture Museum (exhibiting fishermen’s century-old "Coral Taboos Ballads" handwritten manuscripts). 🐠 In-depth experiences (all public welfare, zero commercial): ▫️ Morning patrol with reef protection team (by appointment, ¥0): pick up trash along the tide line, learn to identify early signs of coral bleaching; ▫️ Noon participation in "Coral Ark" nursery class (by appointment, ¥0): transplant a broken branch of staghorn coral in an artificial ecological pool (numbered and archived, scan QR code to check growth log); ▫️ Evening climb to Dengloujiao Lighthouse, use the brass binoculars borrowed from the scenic area to observe Chinese white dolphins leaping—this is the northernmost stable habitat in the world. 🍜 Local dining: • Lunch at "Fangpo Fisherman’s Home" charcoal-grilled horse-eye snapper + coral algae steamed egg (¥88/person) • Dinner self-cooked at homestay: salt-baked mint shrimp + Xuwen pineapple fried rice (¥68/person) Three people daily average meal cost ¥234 → per person ¥78/day, strictly following the "Comfortable 300" budget. 💶 Local cash expenses (two days): meals 234×2=¥468 + transport 65×3×2=¥390 + emergency ¥200 + souvenirs: coral algae tea bags + "Jiaowei Fishermen’s Proverbs Notebook" (¥128) = ¥1,186** 📊 Total budget under ¥4,000: high-speed rail + shuttle ¥2,079 + accommodation ¥298×2=¥596 + meals ¥468 + transport ¥390 + souvenirs ¥128 + emergency ¥200 = ¥3,861 ✅ Balance ¥139 → exchange for three Xuwen volcanic rock coral rubbings bookmarks (taken from Dengloujiao basalt, embossed staghorn coral pattern, handwritten number on the back "Reef Protector Day XXX"). 🌿 There is no diving here, no glass boats, no coral bracelets, only reef platforms exposed at low tide like unhealed wounds on the earth, and a group of people bending down to pick up plastic ropes. True blue begins at the moment you bend down and feel the weight. (Note: All prices are based on July 2024 12306, Zhanjiang Cultural and Tourism Bureau announcements, and on-site consumption records in Jiaowei Township; the entire trip complies with the "Xuwen Coral Reef National Nature Reserve Management Regulations," with no illegal marine activities;