Three women bring warmth, cultural depth to development of S China's Hainan

Photos show Marian Deborah Rosenberg, Zhang Ying, Zhong Liuqiong (from top to bottom). (Courtesy of the interviewees)

In south China's Hainan Province, three women from different cultural backgrounds are bringing warmth and cultural richness to the island's development.

One of the women is Marian Deborah Rosenberg, from the U.S., who has been living in Hainan since 2004. In the early days, whenever she spotted errors in the English translations on signboards at Hainan's scenic spots, she would jot them down, point out the mistakes, and offer more natural alternatives.

Rosenberg also translated the eulogy for the 2025 Grand Ceremony of Worship of Confucius, held in Qufu, east China's Shandong Province. When she was first assigned the task, she found it incredibly challenging, as the eulogy was difficult for a foreigner to fully grasp. However, with determination, she threw herself into the project, carefully translating the text while consulting classical works like "The Analects of Confucius," notes and commentaries on the text, as well as works by Western sinologists.

Last year, Rosenberg assumed a new role in overseas communication at the International Communication Center of Haikou  Media Convergence Center.

"I used to run my own translation company, and now I'm working to serve the city of Haikou," she explained. She also founded "Hainan Foreigners," a public welfare community for expatriates in Hainan, offering guidance on everything from the most authentic long-table banquets of the Li ethnic group to the best places to experience traditional Li brocade craftsmanship. Her goal is to bridge the information gap and help newcomers truly become part of the local community.

Zhang Ying, a Chinese cultural producer in New Zealand, has dedicated four years to preserving the traditional songs of the Li ethnic group in Hainan.

Many years ago, when Zhang first heard the ancient melodies sung by elderly villagers in a Li village in central Hainan, she was deeply captivated. With no written script, the songs serve as a vital vessel for the history and emotions of the Li people. However, as modernization has accelerated, fewer and fewer people are able to sing them.

To help preserve the songs, Zhang traveled from one Li village to another, braving winding mountain roads, mosquito-filled tropical rainforests, and the challenges posed by language barriers.

In 2013, her musical film hit theaters, marking the first time Li ethnic culture was brought to the international screen. The film was shown at the China Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival and the Busan International Film Festival. Through it, the haunting melodies from Hainan's rainforests finally crossed language barriers, allowing audiences at home and abroad to truly hear and feel the spirit of the Li people.

Zhang believes the Hainan Free Trade Port is poised to become a global window for cultural exchange. "I often tell my team that our work lets the world hear the songs of the Li people while witnessing Hainan's booming economic growth," she said.

Zhong Liuqiong, a second-generation overseas Chinese whose name in Hainan dialect sounds like "staying in Hainan," is vice president of the Hainan Overseas Chinese Federation and founder of a technology and trade company in Hainan.

To make better use of parking space, she collaborated with leading domestic firms to develop innovative parking solutions, including a "solar-storage-charging" project. She also utilized her extensive network within the overseas Chinese community to promote Guizhou liquor, Fujian tea and Hainan agarwood on a global scale, while also bringing premium foreign consumer goods to Hainan.

Her biggest dream, though, is to take the Guqin, China's ancient seven-stringed zither infused with Li and Miao musical traditions, to stages around the world, giving younger generations of overseas Chinese a chance to reconnect with their roots.