Chinese language - Boao, small fishing town in the process of amazing changes

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Boao, small fishing town in the process of amazing changes

www.chinanews.cn 2006-04-24 18:00:14

Chinanews, Apr. 24 �C The 2006 Boao Forum for Asia was opened in Boao
last Friday. Once a small fishing town, Boao is undergoing tremendous
changes, becoming a window to the outside world since China adopted the
open-up policy.
Back in the 1990s, Boao, situated at the mouth of the Wanquanhe River,
was still a small, tranquil town where 15,000 fishermen lived a
self-supporting life.
In 2000, however, the whole world began to focuse attention on this
86-square-kilometer town, China��s southen Hainan Province, when it
hosted the first Boao Forum for Asia. Its name was quickly spread
throughout the world, and hosting the forum has drastically changed local
people��s lives.
��Boao used to be a small fishing port, where tourists came to experience
fishermen��s life; however, it now has become a conference venue that
attracts elites from around the world,�� said 77-year-old Xu Zhenhuan, a
retired lighthouse tender. Having lived here for nearly half a century,
Xu told reporters that in the past, the beacon was the only modern device
seen in the town, whereas now latest high-tech devices had filled every
corner of the town, changing the town into a ��digital�� village. Xu
retired in 1996 when his son Xu Dafu took over his post, working at the
lighthouse every day, navigating the ships passing by and witnessing the
changes of the town.
Wang Huiya, secretary of the Boao village committee of the Communist
Party of China, said the Boao Forum for Asia had boosted the conference
economy here. Since 2000, about 400 domestic and international
conferences have been held in Boao, making the place widely-known. After
Boao was chosen as the venue for the Forum, it has attracted investors to
make investment here on 20 projects, worth well over 300 million yuan.
The Forum venue covers over 10,000 mu in area, and many villagers have
come to the town center to work in the service sector. Some other
villagers have gone to other provinces to find jobs. Local people��s life
style has greatly changed. Within six years, more than 30 family inns and
restaurants have sprung up with a booming business. Before 2000, the town
used to have a population of 15,000, while now about 30,000 people live
here. Tourists and businessmen come here all year round, and the small
town is expected to receive 5,000 tourists every day on average.
Although people in Boao live a far better life than before, they are
still as friendly as they used to be. Although Boao is a small town,
local people wish that everybody would enjoy their visit here, said a
native who works in one of the conference halls.

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