For Wang Shumao, a fisherman in the tropical island province of Hainan, the South China Sea is more than just a fishery—it is an ancestral ocean that has nurtured his village since ancient times. “It brings us food and joy. I love everything about it,” the 66-year-old said.
Wang was born and raised in Tanmen Village, a fishing port in Qionghai City on the island’s eastern coast.
A kind-hearted fisherman
Wang first went fishing with his father in the South China Sea when he was 18. “I felt afraid when the 30-ton wooden boat was tossed by the violent waves of the vast ocean,” he recalled. “And the sleeping berth was small. It was a tough trip.”
In the years that followed, he became used to the fishing life and soon mastered the skills
