6 CHINA Thursday, May 26, 2016 CHINA DAILY 7

Editor’s note: China Daily is running a series of articles on the South China Sea. Complied by our reporters Li Xiaokun, Zhang Yunbi and Liu Xiaoli, the articles cover a range of topics and provide a fascinating insight into what life is like. In these articles our South China Sea reporters present the colorful and unique way of life on the islands, including Yongxing Island, which despite being no bigger than 280 football pitches hosts the government of Sansha city. Sansha, governing the Chinese islands there, will soon be 4 years old. Road sign indicates distances Island school shows its unique character from South China Sea issue

Class act by teachers allows pupils to relish life and learning Zhang Yunbi REPORTER’S on the country’s southernmost outpost of education LOG

By LI XIAOKUN and LIU lege, volunteered for half­year ing,”Huang, 26, said. XIAOLI in Sansha, Hainan terms. The school requires no fees Tang Hualing, one of the and all the pupils are provid­ t first glance, a road Like many schools on the teachers, is Li’s wife. In Febru­ ed with free food, bags and sign indicating the Su Xun (left) and Deng Ruming, who work at China Mobile’s Hainan Chinese mainland, the walls ary, the couple brought their At first the pupils uniforms, thanks to the local distance to New branch, are veterans in combating the elements to maintain of the country’s southernmost 5­year­old son here at the start government. Li said they are York and Bangkok, ZHANG YUNBI/CHINA DAILY schoolaredecoratedwithchil­ of a new semester. also considering issuing a asA well as other destinations, equipment on the Xisha and Nansha Islands. were very shy, and dren’s paintings. “I came when I learned the scholarship of 10,000 yuan may seem out of place on tiny But the images reveal the island had opened its first many of them ($1,500) for every newly Yongxing Island, which hosts uniquewayoflifeonYongxing school. Children here need enrolled pupil. the city government of San­ Island. Shells and marine education. We are willing to cannot speak The school is also planning sha, but it has become a land­ Technicians ride creatures, from vibrantly col­ stay here as long as we are to serve adults on the island. mark in its own right. ored fish to an octopus open­ needed,’’ Tang said. Mandarin. Now Li said that in the future sol­ Standing at the end of Bei­ ing its inquisitive eyes, have They carefully prepared for diers will be able to avail jing Road and in front of the wave of modern pride of place in the paintings enrollment upon arrival. But I’m happy to hear themselves of diploma cours­ Xisha Hotel, the brown, steel that provide a fascinating on the morning of the first day them say ‘hello’ es through long­distance edu­ road sign points out the dis­ insight into life on the island. their son was the only pupil. cation. Fishermen will also be tances and directions to glob­ communications “We have encouraged the “The parents were very cau­ to me on their instructed on modern fishing al destinations. students to be curious about tious,justwatching.Wetalked and breeding techniques. “Bangkok, 1,220 kilome­ the different forms of life here. a lot with them about the own initiative Lin Li, a cleaner working ters; New York, 13,601 kilome­ By ZHANG YUNBI It is a precious experience and school’splans,”Lisaid.Onthat for the Sansha government, ters; Sydney, 6,976 and LIU XIAOLI the root of their love for the afternoon, 18 pupils arrived. every morning.” said her daughters have kilometers,” its gleaming in Sansha, Hainan island,”said Li Zanzong, head­ Three months on, the been more active since white letters inform. master of Yongxing School. school has 29 students, main­ Huang Haiwei, an English going to the school. “And Interestingly, it gives the Vast distances, loneliness, Sometimes we The newly built four­story ly the children of fishermen. teacher at Yongxing School most importantly, now I can distance to major cities of wind and tide, are no obstacles school was opened just six It has three kindergarten take them with me, instead countries not directly to technicians answering the have to relay a months ago, but Li said it has classes and three primary of leaving them in my home­ involved in the South China A road sign on Yongxing Island indicates (from top to bottom) the call, so that others can, well, signal if we are to adopted the most advanced school classes. town.” Sea issue — Thailand, the distances to Beijing, Haikou, Sanya, Bangkok, New York and Sydney. answer their calls. China’s educational methods in Hain­ “At first the pupils were 29 students United States and Australia. ZHANG YUNBI / CHINA DAILY largest cellular network pro­ an province. very shy, and many of them Contact the writers at lixiao­ The countries have differ­ vider is boosting and ensuring reach a more “I’m confident of raising the cannot speak Mandarin,”said Number enrolled this semester [email protected] ing positions and policies have embarked on what it kilometers from their home fourth generation signal remote island, quality of education here to Huang Haiwei, an English at Yongxing School, which regarding the South China calls the “Freedom of Naviga­ bases to fulfill what Washing­ access in the South China Sea. the highest level,” said Li, 36. teacher. opened six months ago with Sea. tion” program. ton describes as a “rebalan­ Their work has connected transferring from Li and the school’s six teach­ “Now I’m happy to hear three kindergarten classes and Inside Bangkok has echoed Bei­ Some US politicians and cing in Asia”. many isolated remote islands ers, all graduates of a famous them say ‘hello’ to me on their three primary school classes jing’s call for peacefully experts have doubted China’s But the road sign is a sym­ to the outside world. Even a bigger ship to a Hainan teacher training col­ own initiative every morn­ Comment > p9 resolving disputes through sovereignty over the Nansha bol of something more signifi­ Vietnamese fishermen, who negotiation, while Australia Islands because the islands cant than distances. It also sometimes illegally fish near­ smaller one.” has demonstrated an increas­ are geographically closer to shows the importance of a by, have bought the China ing interest in having a say the Philippines and they say connected world and greater Mobile SIM cards for signals, Su Xun, a veteran technician with about the South China Sea China has made “excessive communication. local islanders said. China Mobile’s Hainan branch issue. claims”. It testifies to the point made But the scale of the opera­ And the US is increasing But they fail to see the glar­ by Foreign Minister Wang Yi tion, including shipping, We have no choice but to stay its military presence in the ing contradiction that the US responding to a question by installing, maintaining and for a month to wait for the next sea by boosting alignment military will go to “great CNN in March: “History will upgrading transceivers and ship to dock,”Su said. with treaty allies, including lengths” by traversing the prove who is a mere visitor cellular radio towers, is huge, Deng Ruming, a colleague the Philippines. US warships Pacific Ocean thousands of and who is the real host.” especially as it takes 10 to 15 of Su, works on optimizing the hours to cover more than 300 networks, and he noted one km from Hainan Island to frustrating incident to high­ Yongxing Island. light the point. “Sometimes we have to relay “The laptop is a must for a signal to reach a more remote tuning and upgrading trans­ island, transferring from a big­ ceivers. Once a colleague’s lap­ gershiptoasmallerone,andso top went overboard during a on,”saidSuXun,aveterantech­ storm,” Deng said, adding that nician with China Mobile’s the trip had to be made again. Hainan branch. “Sometimes Other challenges facing Su we rent a boat from local fisher­ and his team include high lev­ man for shipping.” els of humidity and corrosive With the distances involved, seawater, both of which can time is of the essence. Su noted play havoc with the sensitive that government ships often equipment. stay at a destination for just a Those on board Sansha 1 — few hours before weighing the largest vessel commuting anchor and sailing again. between Hainan Island and This means that all the Yongxing — have reason to work, be it tower installations, appreciate the technical offloading equipment, must expertise that allows them to be done as efficiently and utilize 4G signals during their quickly as possible. Any delay trip and make a call at their can mean weeks of waiting. convenience. “Sometimes it is impossible to finish fixing or updating the Contact the writers at zhang­ Above: Teachers encourage students in a reading class at Yongxing School, Yongxing Island, where Sansha city is located. equipment within three hours. [email protected] Right: Children in a kindergarten prepare to get creative with toys. PHOTOS BY YANG GUANYU / XINHUA AND ZHANG YUNBI / CHINA DAILY Against the backdrop of a paradise sunset, residents collect shells and enjoy the sandy shoreline of Sansha Island. ZHANG YUNBI/CHINA DAILY

Internet campaigns boost protection of ecosystems on Xisha Islands ‘Patron’ promotes safer, greener environment An ocean paradise with all the Thanks to the cellular network conveniences of the mainland and Wi­Fi on Zhaoshu, an island By ZHANG YUNBI attire of a wide­brimmed hat the island’s residents to near­ in the Xisha chain, simply scan­ in Sansha, Hainan and all­weather jacket. by Yongxing Island. Now ning a QR code on a label hang­ [email protected] Wang and the islanders are there is no need as our build­ long Beijing Road, surely the me they stop fishing from ing from a coconut tree will tell at the forefront of protecting ing integrates the five sta­ Li Xiaokun quietist road named after our mid­May to Aug 1 every year you who has adopted and The sea has been a pivotal the ecology of the South Chi­ tions,” Wang said. REPORTER’S capital 2,680 km distant, I to protect stocks. financed it. part of Wang Chun’s career na Sea by regulating fishing Wang said his committee LOG found no fewer than four Despite the long distance, it In February, Sansha city since 1993 and his tide of activities. They have also sends extreme weather alerts bank branches. seems residents, both long­ launched an online bidding cam­ progress has seen him now encountered, and firmly to the residents and fishing The stores lack for nothing, term and those more recently paign that allowed people to lead a working team that gov­ dealt with, illegal fishing by boats will be taken onshore. Some fishermen and there is even a branch of a arrived to help build or guard adopt 500 coconut trees. The erns a slew of islands and foreign ships from neighbor­ Living conditions on the famous chain selling spicy the southernmost Chinese campaign was so popular that all waters. His role has earned ing countries. islands have seen a marked have become cooks As the ship sailed slowly, duck neck. city, have developed a strong­ the trees were sponsored within him the affectionate title of Illegal fishing? This is not improvement. Modern hous­ almost hesitantly, into the When having a drink out­ er attachment to the mother­ 24 hours. “Patron of the Islands”. innocent fly­cast fishing. The ing is replacing the flimsy and yacht cap­ harbor of Yongxing Island, side a coffeehouse that night, land. Wang Chun, head of the Qili­ The islands group he is crews on board these vessels wooden dwellings that tains, some work after an exhausting 15­hour among many relaxed resi­ I guess that is due to their anyu working committee who responsible for within the often use dynamite to kill the appeared randomly on Zhao­ trip from Wenchang, Hainan dents, I developed an illusion, awareness of the island’s stra­ lives and works on Zhaoshu Xisha Islands is called Qilian­ fish and the explosions cause shu Island and offered little in the power province, I was astonished by incongruous as it sounds, of tegic significance for China, Island, told China Daily that a yu, “seven islands in a string”. immense damage to the frag­ in the way of protection from the dreamlike light­green still being on the Chinese and the responsibilities on second round of adoptions may Qilianyu forms a special ile marine ecology. the elements. plants, and some morning sea stretching in mainland. their shoulders. be held in July, with 300 to 500 part of Sansha city’s adminis­ “The ecology here is very Construction commenced front of me. It was not long before I real­ Five­star red flags are hung trees available for sponsorship. tration because Wang’s com­ vulnerable, and recovery is May last year on the first nurture pearls and The spectrum of colors was ized that I was on the largest at the gates of almost every “There will be more such cam­ mittee combines five organs extremely difficult,’’ Wang batch of 27 houses for local more vibrant, more gasp­in­ island of Xisha and the loca­ building, from the school to paigns, and we are also exploring in one — a police station, bor­ said. residents and they will have seashells for scien­ ducing than I had seen in the tion of the Sansha govern­ the greengrocer’s. I also saw a allowing people to adopt shell­ der defense branch, law For centuries, the islands A bird’s view of Qilianyu islands. ZHA CHUNMING / XINHUA all modern conveniences. Maldives. ment. tiny one under a tree. dwelling invertebrates, such as Modernity comes to nature as a QR code hangs on a coconut tree on Zhaoshu Island. The code enforcement workstation, have played a crucial part Apart from offering shelter tific institutions.” But, I had to remind myself, A marine affairs officer Fisherman Li Jinsan sang mollusks, for nurturing,”Wang shows that the tree was “adopted” by Xiao Jie, mayor of Sansha. ZHANG YUNBI / CHINA DAILY militia command and a medi­ both in the work and lives of away from the new commit­ become cooks and yacht cap­ the committee building has a from the extreme weather, this was the Xisha Islands, pointed out “how quickly me a song he composed for said, adding that the animals cal, rescue and aid center. Chinese fishermen. Wang tee building, a testament to tains, some work in the pow­ videoconferencing system. both sun­baked days and vio­ Wang Chun, chief of the Qilian­ two words that have frequent­ clouds move here” — so there the motherland when I inter­ would help to balance the marine Wang is often the first per­ likes to show visitors a tradi­ China’s unbroken presence er plants, and some nurture As the annual typhoon sea­ lent wind­fuelled storms, the yu working committee ly appeared in my daily news is not much rain on the viewed him. ecology and purify the waters. more than three years on islands Shi Guoning, head of Sansha’s shortage of fresh water and pro­ son that officials visiting the tional temple frequented by and jurisdiction. pearls and seashells for sci­ son — usually from June to new housing will allow chil­ reports, yet for the first time I island. In its darkest corner A soldier told me, when the Xiao Jie, the mayor of Sansha, — including Zhaoshu — have Bureau of Land Resources and duced conditions that allow an islands will turn to. There fishermen on Zhaoshu Island Partly because of shrinking entific institutions,” Wang October — is around the cor­ dren and the elderly to stay could truly appreciate their meteors can be seen streaking first ray of sunshine arrives in adopted the first coconut tree in resulted in greater plant cover­ Environmental Protection, said increasing number of plants to they are guaranteed a friend­ for blessings before they fishery resources, “tradition­ said. ner, Wang said they had a indoors at enjoy the comforts scenic lure. across the sky about every 10 the new year, national flags the first batch. age, which has improved living the completion of water desali­ thrive. ly welcome by Wang, whose went out on the perilous sea. al fishermen on the islands The islands may be remote, contingency plan in place of home. Online But it wasn’t just the natu­ minutes. are raised at the same time on “The greening programs, conditions for the residents,”he nation plants on islands in the deeply tanned complexion Another must­see place is have been encouraged to but they are connected. They and the building could func­ Island life is not all sun­ See more by ral setting that caught me by People living here are all islands administered by which have been in operation for said. Xisha chain has tackled a chronic —ZHANGYUNBI shows he is a man who enjoys the old office of the village shift to other sectors”, Wang are fully covered by a cellular tion as a shelter for the resi­ shine, and the man with the scanning the surprise. proud of their home, and Sansha. the outdoor life, an impres­ committee, a bungalow built said. network and the meeting dents. wide­brimmed hat seems code. When my colleagues and I cherish it. “At that time tears fill my sion enhanced by his favorite in the 1970s just a few meters “Some fishermen have room on the second floor of “In the past, we transferred ready for any situation. walked down the 300­meter­ A fishing vessel captain told eyes,” he said.