This Video Shows a Sandbank in China, Not Moses’ Red Sea Crossing
A video (here, here and here) showing a narrow strip of sandy land surrounded by seawater is being widely shared on social media claiming that it depicts the location in the Red Sea where it is believed that the Hebrew prophet Moses parted the waters to help his people escape the Pharaoh’s army. Let’s verify the authenticity of this claim made in the post.
Claim: Visuals show a narrow sandy strip surrounded by seawater, purported to be where Moses parted the Red Sea to help his people escape the Pharaoh’s army.
Fact: Visuals are from a tourist spot known as Yugu Shazhou, which translates to ‘fishbone-shaped sandbank’, located in Qixia Village of Dongshan County in southeast China’s Fujian Province. It is unrelated to Moses Red sea crossing. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Firstly, we performed a reverse image search of the video after noticing several people identifying the location as China rather than the Red Sea between Africa and Asia. This led us to the original video published by a digital creator on Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok) in October 2021, titled “Maldives? No, this is the fishbone sandbar of Dongshan Island, Fujian. Bring your loved one to Dongshan Island.”
Taking a cue from this, we searched further and found numerous videos by Chinese media outlets (here, here & here) and vloggers (here & here) promoting this place. According to these reports, the location is Yugu Shazhou, which translates to ‘fishbone-shaped sandbank’ in Qixia Village of Dongshan County in southeast China’s Fujian Province. The sandbank became a popular scenic spot for its fishbone-like shape, attracting thousands of tourists.
A comparison of Google Earth’s view with the visuals from this place can be seen below.
Additionally, the exact location where Moses is believed to have parted the Red Sea is undetermined and a subject of debate among archaeologists and scholars. Some believe it is near the Gulf of Suez, while others suggest the Gulf of Aqaba. However, there is no definitive archaeological evidence to pinpoint the exact spot.
To sum up, the visuals of a sandbank in China were falsely shared as the location of the parting of the Red Sea.