Ethnic Gin People in South China Enjoy Affluent Lifestyle

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, October 10, 2002

Ethnic Gin People in South China Enjoy Affluent Lifestyle

Traditionally, the people of the Gin ethnic group, who subsisted largely on sea fishing, consulted the lunar calendar to ensure a safe expedition and a good catch.

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Traditionally, the people of the Gin ethnic group, who subsisted largely on sea fishing, consulted the lunar calendar to ensure a safe expedition and a good catch.

Fortunately, there is no longer any need to consult the lunar calendar.

"No day can be luckier than the weekend," said a young lady named He Qin of the Gin ethnic group. "Weekends bring a good harvest of fish and shrimp and much money for the ethnic Gin people."

The Gin ethnic group now numbers more than 18,000, of which nearly 10,000 live on the three islets of Wanwei, Wutou and Shanxin of Dongxing city in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

The three islets, with a combined area of 20.8 sq km, is the largest region inhabited by ethnic Gin people in China, who have traditionally relied on fishing as their principle economic activity.

"In the past, ethnic Gin people had difficulty selling their catches since the islets were somewhat outlying and had no transportation links with the outside," He Qin said.

"The situation, however, has changed a lot in recent years, especially since the islets were turned into tourist attractions,"said the young lady, adding that, these days, huge numbers of tourists flock to the islets, especially during weekends.

She said that now ethnic Gin locals can make money from any activity, for example, running a restaurant, selling clothing or souvenirs, fishing or shrimping.

The small shops that sell drinks and snacks can make more than 10,000 yuan (1,200 US dollars) a month, she said.

The three islets inhabited by the ethnic Gin people are located at the westernmost tip of China's coastline, a dozen nautical miles from Vietnam across the sea. Over the past several years, highways, hotels, restaurants, shops, banks, mobile telecommunications and cyber cafes have been built on the islet for the convenience of tourists.

Like his fellow villagers in Wanwei, the 47-year-old fisherman Su Chunfa and his family members are very busy during the weekends.Su owns several fishing boats and sells his fish and shrimps to restaurants and hotels.

To cope with the growing demand for small bamboo boats, Su set up a shipyard and hired 30 workers. Su's shipyard, the largest on the three islets, has the capacity to produce more than 300 bamboofishing boats annually.

Today's Gin people are no longer limited to fishing. They are also engaged in cross-border trade, tourism, aquiculture, the processing of aquatic products and other businesses.

Some of the ethnic Gin locals speak fluent Vietnamese and serve as interpreters for people trading goods at border areas between China and Vietnam.

Su Chunfa noted that, ten years ago, things such as one-story houses with tile roofs and bicycles were commonplace on the three islets. Today, however, nearly every family on the islets has built a three-story villa. Moreover, they own motorcycles and various household appliances, while some Gin families have even bought famous-brand sedans like Mercedes Benz and Toyota.

In 2001, the per-capita floor space in Wanwei Village where Su lives was 30 sq m and the per capita income was more than 4,000 yuan (480 US dollars).

Li Fuchun, a research fellow with the Guangxi Autonomous Regional Academy of Social Sciences, said that, up until the late 1980s, the ethnic Gin people had earned their income from fishing and agriculture. In the past decade, however, Li recalled that cross-border trade, aquiculture, tourism and the processing of aquatic products have become the four principal businesses and the major sources of income for the Gin people.

While developing local economy, the ethnic Gin people have been working hard to protect their traditional culture.

Su, the fisherman, is an adept musician and plays a single-stringed musical instrument unique to the Gin ethnic group.

"I have installed three loud speakers on the roof of my house and often play my musical instrument there in my spare time to entertain my fellow folks", Su said, "I do this so that the lovely Gin music will remain with them forever."

To date, Su has taught a dozen ethnic Gin primary and middle school students how to play the traditional instrument.

The three islets dwelled by the Gin locals now boast a number of kindergartens, one primary school and one middle school. The schools are partially funded by the local government, while the remainder of the budget is donated by Gin residents.

Su Jiuchun, head of the middle school, said 86 percent of the students in his school are from the Gin ethnic group, and that his school is the first middle school for kids of the Gin ethnic groupin China.

Last year, the local civil affairs department invested 4 million yuan (about 482,000 US dollars) to build a retirement home for elderly people. At present, over 40 elderly persons from the Han and Gin nationalities live in the rest home

Feng Lunying, an 86-year old resident, said, "I'm very contented with my life here. We enjoy delicious food, superb living conditions and wonderful entertainment activities."

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