Xieyang Island (simplified Chinese: 斜阳岛; traditional Chinese: 斜陽島; pinyin: Xiéyáng Dǎo; Jyutping: ce4joeng4; lit.
Xieyang has an area of only 1.89 km2 (0.73 sq mi) and is of volcanic origin.
The island may be described as appearing like a goat with its front legs crouched, and so in ancient times was called "斜羊島".
Along with Weizhou , waters around Xieyang were discovered in 2015 to be seasonally frequented by Bryde's whales, and the area has become the first acknowledged location among mainland coasts of China to have regular migrations of large cetaceans.
[1] Xieyang, along with nearby Weizhou, has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports significant populations of Chinese egrets and fairy pittas.