Ramble on Xigudao Prose Essay

On the sea not far from my hometown, there are two small islands facing each other from east to west. They are marked on the map as Dongluo Island and Xugu Island. Dongluo Island is directly south of the village, about two nautical miles away, and Xigu Island is southwest of the village, about four to five nautical miles away. The two islands are about four nautical miles apart.

No one has researched why the gongs and drums were named after the island. I think it may be because of people’s imagination. Looking back from the outer sea in the south of the island, Dongluo Island is like a gong with two sides of rippling waves, while Xigu Island is like an upright waist drum, standing in the blue sky and blue sea, roaring under the impact of the tide and the beating of the waves. The sound is vaguely like the sound of sonorous gongs and drums, as if praying for peace and prosperity. However, in my mind, there is no way to connect the two islands with gongs and drums.

Among the two islands, Dongluo Island is closer to the village and has a gentle terrain. There is a beach in the north of the island where boats can be berthed. The island is rich in limestone. Most of the limestone needed for nearby village construction comes from Dongluo Island. People are familiar with Dongluo Island as they are familiar with the land under their feet. Xigu Island is relatively far away, and ordinary people rarely have the opportunity to peek into its "true face of Mount Lu", making it somewhat mysterious.

Xigu Island has a steep terrain. It rises sharply from north to south with a very steep slope. The rocks around the island are rugged and there is no place to dock ships. The terrain in the north of the island is slightly gentle, while the south of the island has thousands of cliffs and rough waves. The top of the island cannot be seen when looking up. On the concave cliffs, there lives a kind of swiftlet with three toes. The nests produced by this kind of swiftlet are rare and exquisite. The types of vegetation on the island are roughly the same as those on the coast near the village. Due to lack of water and year-round sea breeze, the plants on the island are relatively low. There is a lighthouse on the top of the island, which was originally managed by the Navy Navigation Corps. Every few years, the Navy sends people to the island to repair or replace fuel. Because of the construction of the lighthouse, a path was opened directly to the top of the island. When we were children, we liked to stand by the village at night and look at Xigu Island in the night, counting the flickering lights on the lighthouse. Every time we counted to twelve, the lights on the lighthouse turned on again with the cheers of the children. stand up.

There are many birds inhabiting the island. In addition to swiftlets, there are also various seabirds. The most peculiar thing is a pair of sea eagles. This pair of sea eagles has a wingspan of more than two meters and is very large. They hunt fish and sea snakes for food. I remember when I was a child, the fishermen in the village once went to the island to catch a pair of young eagles. Their feathers were still intact, but they were as big as Muscovy ducks. You can imagine how big these adult sea eagles are. I heard from the fishermen who came to the island that when they caught the young eagle, the big eagle was not in the nest. The nest was made of branches as thick as a child's arm. There were many fish bones and sea snake bones scattered around the nest. Not long after the fishermen caught the little eagle on the boat, the pair of big eagles came back. They found that the little eagle was missing, so they looked around. Perhaps the cry of the little eagle attracted them. They flew over the fishing boat and circled back and forth several times. They screamed and swooped down, scaring the fishermen so much that they picked up wooden sticks and banged on the pots and sides of the boats to drive them away, and then they were able to escape. The strange thing is that the number of sea eagles on the island has not increased over the years. This pair of sea eagles just stay together on the island. Where do their descendants go when they grow up? It remains a mystery to this day. ,

There is also a kind of crab growing on the island. The individual is similar to a blue crab. The crab shell is dark reddish brown. Its food is mainly rotten leaves. It can also climb trees to forage for wild fruits. This kind of crab is not only delicious, but also has medicinal value. It is said that eating this kind of crab in porridge can drive away wind and dampness. Because of this, fishermen from the village go to the island to catch crabs from time to time. The best time to catch this kind of crab is at night after heavy rain. The wind and rain shake all the dead branches and leaves to the ground, providing them with abundant food. Moreover, the caves are flooded, so they cannot stay inside for a long time, so they all crawl out to look for them. Food.

After being away from home for thirty years, I heard that Xigu Island has also undergone new changes. The navigation lighthouse on the island has been placed under the management of the local waterway bureau. In order to adapt to the development of the modern navigation industry, the country spent nearly one million yuan to rebuild the island's lighthouse. The rebuilt lighthouse is tall and large, equipped with advanced lighting equipment, and ships sailing twelve nautical miles away can see the island. Lights on the lighthouse. The management department built a simple dock on the island, making it more convenient to land on the island. If the characteristics of the island can be fully utilized to carry out island adventure tourism, it may open up a way to make money for the development of the local economy.

When I have some free time, I really want to visit Xigu Island again!