Tianxin village in Wanning, Hainan province has developed from a small fishing village into a surfing-themed tourism village after years of construction, bolstering villagers' incomes and quality of life.
Tianxin village is located south of Wanning, with Lingshui Li autonomous county to the west, mountains to the north, and a half-moon-shaped bay to the south. The village was founded in the early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and it currently has a population of 1,967, of which 96 percent are members of the Li ethnic group.
Chen Zhenguo, Party chief of the village, said that the villagers used to depend on fishing for a living and the per capita annual income was only a few thousand yuan.
In March 2017, China established a national surfing team, and most of the team members were from Wanning. After the national surfing team's training base settled in Wanning, the local surfing market flourished, changing the lives of villagers dramatically.
To date, there are 12 surf clubs in Tianxin village. There are 58 villagers working as surf coaches, and 235 people working in hotels, such as Forest Inn, Sunac Legend Hotel, as well as Qingpu Hotel. In addition, there are currently 202 homestays in the village for rent. Each homestay is 800 yuan ($118.70) per month, with the monthly income generated reaching up 161,600 yuan.
Chen noted that the per capita annual income in the village is now more than 18,000 yuan. Many young people in the village have become surfing coaches, with some of them earning as much as 20,000 to 30,000 yuan per month.
Tourists get ready to surf in Tianxin village. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
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