We would undertake this one-and-a-half-hour ritual by first going to the largest mussel breeding center on Gouqi Island. We climbed up a col on the island, facing the sea, said to be one of the best spots for sunset gazing, and were able to see white foam floating all over the sea. From a distance, the foam boxes for cultivating mussels looked like sea pearls. The sun's rays turned the previously blue sea into a blazing canvas of red hues, a landscape painted with the most affirmative brushstrokes.

We had planned to stay for another day or so, but that night the owner told us that because of a typhoon alert we would need to leave the next morning.