'Migratory birds' head south to Hainan retreats
Every year, thousands of elderly mainlanders from northern areas such as Shaanxi, Beijing and Harbin flock to Hainan for Lunar New Year.
The Hainan media call them 'migratory birds', flying south for the winter, drawn by the tropical island's warm weather, white sandy beaches and clear waters.
'I am a migratory bird,' admits Shen Wenbao, 83, a retired college teacher who lives in Harbin, capital of the northeastern Heilongjiang province. 'My hometown is very cold right now. This is our paradise.'
Shen and his wife have made an annual pilgrimage to Sanya every Lunar New Year since he bought a 50-square-metre unit in the city's Mingang area six years ago.
'The nice weather and clean air here is good for my health,' Shen said, noting more and more elderly mainlanders were flocking to the city to escape freezing winters up north.
'I worked at a very small college in Harbin. After my purchase, six of my former colleagues also came here to buy. You can imagine the huge demand from the north.'
More than 200,000 retirees from northern China came to Sanya for Lunar New Year this year, according to mainland media estimates.
But most will return home by April, in time for spring.
'Old people have become a characteristic of Sanya,' said taxi driver Zhang Shenshan, adding that many wealthy mainlanders had bought holiday homes in the city in recent years.
When they return to the north, the new buildings lie empty, and the lights in many districts remain off, Zhang said. 'And my salary will fall to 1,000 yuan (HK$1,138) a month from 5,000 yuan during the peak tourist season,' he said.
