A staff member from the marine department on Wuzhizhou Island in Sanya, South China's Hainan Province, clears fishing nets. (Photo: Cao Wenxuan/People's Daily)
Editor's Note:
This year marks the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the opening year of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30). A new year begins with new resolve and new momentum. The call to "fight for our dreams and our happiness, and turn our great vision into beautiful realities" continues to inspire actions across China.
In the column "New Year on the Frontlines," reporters from the People's Daily traveled to the grassroots to witness the vitality of a vast nation, see its mountains and rivers in motion and its fields in abundance, and listen to the stories of people finding fulfillment in both life and work.
Through these stories, the column seeks to present a vivid portrait of Chinese modernization.
"Can I put my backpack on your desk?"
"Sorry, I don't have a desk. If I had to say, my desk is at the bottom of the sea." The young guy from East China's Shandong Province, Ba Jinlong, scratched his head with a grin, flashing a set of bright white teeth. The remark sounded quirky, but it perfectly captured the day-to-day reality for him and his teammates.
Wuzhizhou Island in Sanya, South China's Hainan Province, is both a 5A-level scenic tourist spot and the site of a national-level marine ranch demonstration area. The marine department of the scenic area has a three-man team – Wang Fengguo, Zhang Heng, and Ba – whose job is to tend coral in these waters. It sounds romantic, but the work itself is grueling.
February in Sanya feels pleasantly warm, yet the moment you slip underwater, the chill seeps straight through your wetsuit and into your bones. On the day of the interview, Ba and Zhang went down again. Each carried a plastic basket holding more than 50 coral seedlings. With a kick of their flippers, they quickly descended several meters to the reef flat. The dozens of kilograms of diving gear feel heavy and cumbersome on land, but underwater they provide a reassuring sense of stability.
The current sways gently back and forth; without some experience, it’s hard to stay steady. But the two move with practiced ease: One hammers a nail into the rock, the other secures the coral seedling tightly to it. Their teamwork is seamless. When Zhang pointed at the nail and made a crossing gesture, Ba immediately understood – tighten it more.
Underwater work follows an iron rule: always go down and come up together. Once, while clearing out crown-of-thorns starfish predators (coral-eating Drupella snails), Ba got tangled in an abandoned fishing net. Fortunately, his teammate spotted him in time and he escaped unharmed.
A few years back, fishermen in the nearby Houhai Village lived off the sea, and conflicts between fishing and conservation were common. Once, the team spent two exhausting hours hauling in a nearly kilometer-long "wall net" (destructive drift net), so tired they could barely stand straight, hearts filled with both anger and urgency.
"And now?"
"Things are completely different!"
With government support, the fishermen of Houhai Village have shifted to new livelihoods, and the village has transformed into a popular surfing hotspot. During holidays, the scenic area sends care packages and sets up scholarships. Relations between the Wuzhizhou Island and the Houhai Village are now harmonious. Old fishermen who spot Ba love to pull him aside and chat about all the positive changes in their lives.
A single tank of compressed air lasts a little over an hour. Once the corals are planted, Ba signals with a hand gesture: ascend slowly. Rising too fast risks decompression sickness – surfacing with a pounding headache and nausea is no joke.
Thanks to the joint efforts of many parties, the live coral coverage rate in the nearshore waters of Wuzhizhou Island now exceeds 37 percent, more than double what it was ten years ago. Dolphins, hawksbill turtles, and other former "long-time residents" have returned.
At 25, Ba gazes at this sea with eyes full of hope: "I want to settle down in Sanya. If one day I can’t dive anymore, I’ll switch to doing marine science outreach and keep being a guardian of this ocean."
The Spring Festival's sunshine scatters across the sea surface, sparkling on the blue waves. The sight of coral being planted on the seabed is no less a beautiful scene, just as wonderful as the sea itself.