Satellite launches add appeal to tropical Hainan

The seaside Wenchang center covers more than 12 square kilometers, the equivalent of 1,700 soccer fields. Its location offers good security and easy transportation. It is the nation's first pollution-free, green and environmentally friendly site that has fully adopted new propellants such as liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen and aviation kerosene, according to the launch center administration.

Unlike the first three launch centers which are all landlocked in western or northern plateaus and mountainous regions where inconvenient transportation has hindered commercial development, the Wenchang site, one of the few low-altitude launch sites in the world, has been designed and built with an open concept, which integrates aerospace development with sightseeing tourism, related businesses and upgrading of the local economy, according to city government officials.

Many of the locals in Longlou, once a struggling town where most residents made a living by fishing, have begun operating stores, restaurants and small hotels. There was only one small hotel when construction of the space center was commenced in 2009. The town now has 32 hotels and around 900 stores, restaurants and homestays, providing jobs to more than 5,000 people.

For most people, watching a live rocket launch is just a dream. In Wenchang, however, it has become part of everyday life.

Data from the township administration showed that Longlou, with a permanent population of 27,000, received more than 500,000 tourists in 2021. The annual disposable income of rural residents in Longlou more than tripled from 5,559 yuan ($871) in 2009 to 19,171 yuan in 2021.

Xie Xiangxiang, an associate professor of tourism at Hainan University, said that there is great potential for space launch tourism in Hainan, as promotion of the aerospace industry is a top priority in the master plan released in 2020 by the central government for the construction of Hainan Free Trade Port. The plan aims to build the whole of Hainan island, which is about 32 times the size of Hong Kong, into a globally influential high-level free trade port by the middle of the century.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period, Hainan will promote the construction of Wenchang International Space City, where a key national laboratory for space and earth observation and three aerospace science and technology innovation platforms for satellite research and development, advanced manufacturing, launch and aerospace information applications, will be built, said Li Haixuan, an official with the Hainan Department of Science and Technology.

Li said a space tourism industry covering space science popularization, education, tourism and comprehensive services is also high on the agenda.

Full efforts are being made to introduce more innovative resources to boost high-tech aerospace industries so as to turn Wenchang into a major scientific and technological aerospace innovation base and a strategic highland that gathers core technologies for the development of rockets, satellites and relevant big data sector in China, according to the local plan.

On March 16, the Wenchang city government reached an agreement with Xichang Satellite Launch Center to jointly harness the advantages and commercial potential of the aerospace industry to cultivate a world-class launch site as well as build a world-class international aerospace city that highlights aerospace culture and tourism.

"Space launch-related tourism is set to become a new form of intellectual property for Hainan, alongside the construction of key aerospace projects, an aerospace theme park and the introduction of international partners, backed by rich natural and historical resources and the strong development of the aerospace industry in Hainan," said Xie with Hainan University.