Source:
https://scmp.com/news/china/article/1988829/known-edge-world-hainan-plays-special-part-chinas-history
China

Known as the ‘edge of the world’, Hainan plays a special part in China’s history

The old myths about the area may have faded, but it still retains its charm, and the people there never forget their seafaring origins

The old myths about the area may have faded, but it still retains its charm, and the people there never forget their seafaring origins

Hainan has always been an outlier, and no city on the island more so than Sanya. Throughout history, Hainan and Sanya were referred to as the “edge of the world”, where civilisation dropped off and wonders that were beautiful and terrible were to be found. As time went on, the myths faded away, but Hainan remained a special part of China.

Like their Cantonese neighbours to the north, the Hainanese are seafaring folk, fisherfolk and people who are content to live high in the tropical mountains, far from the seething masses. As the southernmost city of Hainan, nowhere is further from the capital than Sanya.

Just outside of Sanya is Tianya Haijiao, the official “edge of the known world”, famous for the many romantic couples who make the pilgrimage here each year to swear their undying love to each other.

On the other side of the city, to the east, are Yalong and Haitang bays, where locals fished and dived for pearls. To the north, are the impenetrable mountains and the tropical rainforest that defied explorers for centuries. The old pirate den of Sanya, with its pearl beds and fish filled reefs, poets and forgotten adventurers, has become a thriving metropolis perched at the northern end of the South China Sea, with millions of visitors each year and a booming economy.

Yet, the beauty of Chinese civilisation, and Sanya’s in particular, is its ability to remain rooted despite dramatic and lasting change. Sanya is still a city of fisher folk, people who take to the seas as often as not to gather the fruit of the oceans to sell and eat and trade.

The seafaring folk are accustomed to the whims of a mercurial ocean, and seem to sway like sea grass with the waves of change that have affected the city in the past three decades. Despite more access to capital, jobs and education, the people of Sanya have maintained their intrinsic character: open and friendly, quick to enjoy an afternoon by the ocean and just as quick to jump to the hard work of hauling in a day’s catch.

As the city changes, however, so do the daily deeds of the populace. A few short decades ago, Sanya was primarily an agricultural area of farmers and fishermen. Today, the people are just as often business owners, landowners, professors, even investors in their own city, as the riches gained over time present new opportunities.

It is within this context that food and custom become two of the constants which help preserve identity. Hainan still loves seafood, as evidenced by the hundreds of seafood barbecue restaurants and shacks that pop up each evening. That love means fishermen are still needed, boats are still plentiful, and chefs with their own take on a sauce or a technique for grilling shellfish are still a dime a dozen in Sanya. The city cannot leave its oceanic roots, no matter how many high rises dot the skyline.

Visitors are able to enjoy this part of Sanya’s character not only in the scenic spots and restaurants of the area, but also with the particular goods and trinkets available only here: beautiful bits of coral and shell, hand crafted coral sculptures and many-coloured necklaces. Only here in Sanya are these things available.