6 CHINA Thursday, August 6, 2015 CHINA DAILY USA

MARINE RESOURCES ISLAND INFRASTRUCTURE DRIVE SET TO MAKE WAVES China’s newest city has just celebrated its third birthday amid a massive construction program designed to raise living standards and attract more maritime businesses. Xu Wei and Huang Yiming report from Sansha, Hainan province.

ongxing Island has never offered as many business Y opportunities as it does today, according to Chen At least tap water Hongwei. Chen, a construction project is available now, so manager for Hainan First Construction Engineering Co, we can take a bath said the company’s business has received a massive boost after each fishing in the last three years as a result of an intense infra- trip.” structure drive in Sansha, founded in 2012. Chen Zefa, fisherman on Hainan First currently has Zhaoshu Island a 50-person team employed on the construction of the home because he lives there island’s first primary school, for about seven months of but the limited transportation every year. Most of the fisher- capabilities mean Chen’s big- men on the island can dive to a gest headache is simply get- depth of 4 to 5 meters without ting new workers to the equipment, he said, adding, island, which is not open to “We were born to be fisher- the general public. men, and we survive only by “The people who come to fishing.” the island are mainly fisher- However, fish stocks near men and their relatives, and the island have decreased over government employees. It’s the years, and the fishermen never easy to get a ticket for are unable to venture farther the boat,” said the Hunan out to sea because their small province native, who has lived boats are unsuited to the open on the island for more than 20 ocean. The weather is also a years. dominant factor, and the fleet Sansha, which administers is often confined to port when the island groups around the seas are rough. Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha In response, many fisher- and the surrounding waters men have taken part-time in the South China Sea, cele- work offered by the authorities brated its third birthday in as part of government efforts late July. The local authorities A government building under construction on Zhaoshu Island. XU WEI / CHINA DAILY to develop the islands. Zhang are still trying to boost the Xiangfang is primarily a fisher- young city’s transportation man, but he also drives motor- and infrastructure, and fur- boats to ferry government ther improve its function as a officials between the islands. center of government. A num- “You need a bit of luck for fish- ber of projects have also been ing. Sometimes you can make launched to improve living more than 200 yuan ($32) on a conditions on Yongxing single trip, but sometimes you Island and the neighboring barely break even, given the islets. cost of fuel,” he said. Chen estimated that the island — part of Hainan, Chi- Cultural shortfalls na’s southernmost province Sansha has already attract- — is currently home to more ed a raft of private businesses than 1,000 construction eager to explore its maritime workers, equal to almost one- resources, according to the fifth of the resident popula- city government. As of July, tion. The primary school in nearly 100 companies had reg- Sansha is scheduled to open istered in the city, and the total in September, and the city is registered capital was 1.12 bill- relocating all the residents of ion yuan. the island’s fishing villages to “You can see from the blue 19 residential complexes, water and white sand that the some of which are still being Some relocated residents on Yongxing Island have opened a center offering leisure Workers lay turf on Yongxing Island on July 22 as part of local government measures marine ecology is still beyond built. facilities and fresh seafood in their new community. GUO CHENG / XINHUA to improve the environment. XU WEI / CHINA DAILY comparison with any other Xiao Jie, Sansha’s mayor, coastal waters in China,” said said the immature infrastruc- Li Guangyi, deputy manager ture, especially transporta- of Lanlifang Maritime Tech- tion, is one of the biggest Water, water everywhere ... at last nology Co, which operates a factors hampering develop- number of pearl oyster hatch- ment. “There was no prece- eries in the waters around dent to follow in either Although the government has work gives him a genuine sense of to see how they catch the fish and Zhaoshu Island. infrastructure construction implemented many measures to achievement because the lack of to watch them dive for oysters Li said Lanlifang Maritime or city governance. Every- improve living conditions on the fresh water was the biggest chall- and large sea snails. chose Sansha largely because thing we’ve done has been islands in the South China Sea, enge facing the residents. “I know a little of their dialect, of local government measures achieved through trial and the conditions are still inhospita- “In the old days, the fishermen so communication isn’t a prob- designed to help businesses error,” he said. ble — scorching sunshine, burn- would calculate the amount of lem. They are nice people and diversify their income chann- Every sandbag and brick ing temperatures and humid, salt- water they could use for bathing they recognize the value of my els. However, some other busi- used in the construction work laden air. For the residents, the based on the incoming weather work,”he said. nesspeople said the has to be shipped from the biggest improvement has been they saw on their fishing expedi- Even though solar power gen- authorities should make more mainland, and the buildings the introduction of fresh water tions. If they knew rain was on the erators keep the residents sup- efforts to attract more compa- must be able to resist the fre- via a series of desalination plants way, they would use a barrelful, plied with electricity, life on the nies and talented individuals quent typhoons, Xiao told the that treat seawater. but if a dry stretch was expected small islands — with the excep- to the islands and encourage two sessions, the meeting of “Even though some people they only used a ladleful,”he said. tion of Yongxing Island, where them to stay. China’s top governing bodies, choose not to drink the desalinat- “At least they can bathe whenever Sansha is located — is still far Yongxing Island has one in March. ed water, at least they can use it they want now.” from comfortable. commercial street, Beijing to bathe, do the laundry and for Wang and 10 colleagues over- “Food has to be refrigerated for Road, which boasts a super- Poor communications irrigation,”said Wang Junning, an see the maintenance of desalina- 15 or 20 days until the next supply market, a few restaurants, a The transportation of cargo engineer with Beijing Enterprise tion plants on four islands — ship arrives. Some households coffee shop, a barbershop, and personnel between San- Water Group, which operates Yagong, Zhaoshu, Beidao and Wang Junning checks equipment at a desalination plant. don’t even have toilets, and most banks and a post office. sha and the outside world Sansha’s desalination projects. Xishazhou. He said seasickness is XU WEI / CHINA DAILY people live in wooden shacks that “Compared with life in other relies on the newly built San- Wang, a native of the Guangxi an occupational hazard because offer very little protection from places, the city suffers from sha 1, a car and passenger fer- Zhuang autonomous region who he and his colleagues regularly always small. The journeys are with all the residents, and often either the heat or the typhoons. severe shortages of material ry that makes the round trip has been building and operating hop between islands to inspect never pleasant.” accepts offers to eat and sleep in I’m proud that my work helps to and cultural resources,” said Li to Haikou, the capital of Hain- desalination stations on the the equipment: “The waves are After frequent visits to the their homes. Occasionally, he improve their lives,”he said. Huadong, general manager of a an, once a week. In calm islands for three years, said his always high and our boat is islands, Wang is on familiar terms joins the fishermen on their trips XU WEI barbeque restaurant on Beijing weather, the voyage takes Road. The restaurant offers about 10 hours, but heavy free movie screenings every swells and strong winds can night, and the large audiences often extend the journey time they attract are evidence that or confine the boat to port. from Yongxing Island, so the and the maritime industries,” allowed to visit whenever on one of the islands, firmly using it as a base for catching life on the island can become “The area of ocean near local freight airport is being he said. they want, he said. establishing them as a frontier grouper and collecting marine monotonous, a factor that has Xisha is frequently battered expanded and upgraded to Chen, the construction for Chinese fishermen. produce such as oysters and dissuaded many businesses by strong winds that cause accommodate passenger air- manager, said all the islets A second home Chen Zefa lives with his large sea slugs. from making the move there. high tides, and the ship’s craft, according to Xiao. He should be opened to the pub- Ancient records show that father and younger brother in Life on the island, about 2 “The city should try to show- operations frequently have to added that the city is also lic and market forces should fishermen from Hainan first a poorly furnished wooden nautical miles from Yongxing case the local culture and be suspended during adverse searching for opportunities play a greater role in the allo- explored the waters around shack on Zhaoshu Island, Island, has changed drastical- make life on the island more weather conditions,” Xiao offered by the 21st Century cation of resources. Even Yongxing Island during the which is part of the Xisha ly in the three years since San- interesting, rather than sim- said. Maritime Silk Road initiative though their limited resour- Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), Island group. The men are sha was founded. “At least tap ply trying to improve the infra- In an attempt to improve that has been proposed by the ces mean the islets are unable after Admiral Zheng He plot- part of a 200-strong contin- water is available now, so we structure. People need more communications and trans- Chinese government. to receive a large number of ted the location. During the gent of fishermen from Tan- can take a bath after each fish- things to do,” Li said. portation, the authorities in “The hundreds of islets in visitors, people who are will- Qing Dynasty (1644–1911), a men, a township in Qionghai, ing trip,” he said. Sansha are planning to Sansha can serve as platforms ing to pay the high price to fleet of ships was sent to sur- Hainan, who live on the island The 33-year-old fisherman Contact the writers through launch regular flights to and to provide services for trade travel to them should be vey the area and erected a stele for long periods every year, sees the island as his second [email protected]