Living on marine time

Editor's note: China Daily reporter Huang Yiming visits Yongxing Island, part of the Xisha Islands in the South China Sea, to observe the establishment of Sansha city, the smallest prefecture-level city in China in land area and population. Residents talked about their lives on the small island.

Liang Shaoqun, director of the fishery bureau

Fifty-nine-year-old Liang Shaoqun, director of the Xisha Islands fishery bureau, has worked on Yongxing since 1975.

At first, he was a film projectionist. He typically could get only a few films from the supply ship, which would then be shown for a long time.

But islanders enjoyed watching those films despite the limited number of films and poor screening equipment because there was no other entertainment, Liang remembered.

Life was very hard because of a shortage of supplies when Liang started working on the island. "Fresh vegetables kept for only two days, and we had to eat other vegetables like pumpkin which could be stored for a longer time," Liang said.

Drinking water was a big problem. Islanders relied on rainwater that had been collected for drinking. Liang remembered that during that time two people conducting research on the island became ill after drinking the water.

When the supply ship was delayed getting to the island because of a typhoon, people had to eat fruits as their main food, so the arrival of supply ship was very important to residents and soldiers, Liang said.

Liang met his wife and got married on the island. He said he was thrilled to see the establishment of Sansha city on Yongxing Island, before his retirement. He will retire next year.

Wu Qingzhi, head of a marine animal protection station as well as a cultural relics agency

Wu Qingzhi is a senior resident of the Xisha Islands. In 1978, 20-year-old Wu spent 17 hours in a boat to reach Yongxing Island. During his 34 years on the island, he has worked as loader, film projectionist and director of a culture center.

Now he is head of a marine animal protection station and a cultural relics agency in Sansha. He has extensively studied the creatures of South, North and West islands of the Xishas.

During the sea turtle ovulation period, Wu and his colleagues' main task is to protect the creatures and other marine animals. They have to educate fishermen not to fish during the ovulation period.

"When I first came to the island, residents had little awareness of animal protection. After our teaching and communication, they accepted the concept," Wu said.

Wu experienced hardships in the Xishas, especially supply shortages and his isolation from his family on Hainan Island. He could not go home when his grandmother and father died. His two daughters live on Hainan Island because they could not receive a good education where Wu and his wife work on Yongxing.

Wu said he is happy to have witnessed the development of Yongxing in his 34 years living there.

Mai Sanqing, director of the post and telecommunication office

Residents of Yongxing Island call the Qiongsha No 3, the island's only supply ship, a "ship of lives".

The vessel is also the main means of transportation to and from the island.

Every 15 to 20 days, it carries drinking water, vegetables, fruit, meat and other daily necessities to the island.

The trip from Hainan Island usually takes 15 hours.

For Mai Sanqing, the director of the post and telecommunication office in Sansha city, the supply ship's arrival is critical for his job. "Tourists to Yongxing Island like to send post cards and letters to friends and residents here also get many letters. We rely on the supply ship to deliver them and the delivery date is usually uncertain," Mai said.

Sometimes it takes only several days, but when the supply ship runs into bad weather, such as typhoons, and cannot reach the island, it can take up to two months to send mail.

"Now, it's convenient on the island to surf the Internet, and more residents like shopping online, which also increases our workload when they receive goods," Mai said.

The post office, the southernmost one in China, is on Beijing Road, the main road on Yongxing Island.

Chen Hui, boss of a cafe

The only private business on the island, Feiyujun Cafe and Teahouse, was opened by Chen Hui, a woman from Shenzhen, Guangdong province.

In 2003, Chen was stuck on the island for a month because of bad weather. During that time, she planned to open a cafe bookstore as a rest place for visitors to the island. Her dream came true in 2008. But it is not as easy to operate the shop as Chen thought. It's difficult on the small island.

In the beginning, all the materials had to be brought in from outside. When a typhoon came, the supply ship's deliveries take longer. Because there is no transportation worker on the island, Chen has to carry the goods herself to the shop.

Another problem is that there are not many tourists. And it's hard to find waiters.

"I am prepared for a possible loss," she said.

In 2009, Chen and other island residents set up a maritime environment protection association. The association had launched lots of activities in environmental protection with the cooperation of the local government and military departments. Chen also started making wooden trash bins, which now can be found all over the island.

Fu Zaichou (below)and Huang Liangshan, from fishermen's village

On Yongxing Island, fisherman Huang Liangshan at Yongxing village operates a restaurant that specializes in local seafood. He began fishing near the island in 1999 and has become a large supplier of seafood on the island.

Yongxing is the island's only village. It has a population of 159 and 38 fishing vessels, said Fu Zaichou, the village head.

Most of the villagers are from Dongjiao township in Wenchang, Hainan province. Some have lived on the island for more than 20 years, Fu said.

Many young people from Hainan Island have appeared in the village during the summer vacation. A 6-year-old girl named Fu Wendie, from Wenchang, came to the village to visit her parents and relatives. Her parents, Fu Dizhao and Zhu Yan, earn their living fishing on the island.

The girl's parents enjoy life in Yongxing and hope to permanently live there after the establishment of Sansha city, they said.