Residents on Big Wanshan Island have made their living from fishing for generations, but now tourism is a growing industry.[Photo by Xu Taotao/for Shanghai Star]

The islands that spot the South China Sea offer great beaches, fresh seafood and a little slice of life in slow motion. Xu Taotao and Zhou Wenting kick back and relax.

We were sunbathing by the swimming pool when Jacques, from France, sauntered over to a bikini-clad woman lying on a nearby deck chair and started chatting with her.

They were a couple from Paris. Jacques, a member of Club Med, the French resort chain, had brought his wife to the beautiful islands on the South China Sea to celebrate her birthday.

Jacques was not backwards about coming forward in his praise of these serene and elegant islands of natural beauty. We agreed with him. Lying by the pool with the sky and ocean view stretched before us, enjoying the loving touch of the sunshine, seemed an absolutely supreme experience, miles away from annoyances and trials of real life.

We enjoyed a week living a life of luxury on the three islands that belong to Zhuhai city, Guangdong province. Each of the islands has a unique personality. Dong’ao Island is like an exotic young lady, Big Wanshan Island is like a plain fishing girl and Wai Lingding Island is like a masculine young adult.

Zhuhai is actually a city surrounded by more than 140 islands. These glamorous and mysterious pearls of the ocean are just waiting to be discovered.