Living attractions help boost incomes among island's ethnic groups

Few people get as up close and personal with Hainan's tourists as Su Yingli.

Hundreds of visitors pass through the 63-year-old widow's living room every day just to look at her and see how she lives.

Although she has lived in the house all her life, the Binlang Valley Cultural Tourism Zone in Baoting county - a multimillion-dollar theme park dedicated to the Li and Miao ethnic groups - was built around it 18 years ago.

"I have never seen so many people in my life before this. I actually don't pay too much attention to them as they walk through, and rarely speak to them," she said.

Su struggles to understand Mandarin and speaks Sai, one of five dialects spoken by the Li people, who are unique to Hainan.

Having lost her husband, Tan Jianrong, four years ago when he was 72, Su now lives with two other women.

The house is very basic, but one of the advantages of having a theme park on your doorstep is that there are plenty of cafes, places to watch TV and other modern facilities.

"There is plenty to do here. It is actually quite sociable. There are no special rules. I just have to keep my house neat and tidy for the visitors," she said.

In exchange for being a tourist attraction, Su receives 1,800 yuan ($290) a month. She also has been given a free villa outside the 59-hectare site, which is used by family members. One of her sons, Tan Jinjiang, 30, works as a builder on the site. His wife, Chen Li, is a fruit seller.

"Before the park was built, we actually led a very poor life. Now everything is subsidized," Su said.

When visitors enter the attraction, the Li and Miao people greet them with the name of the park, "Bloon", in the Hainan dialect.

Huang Jingyun, 27, from the nearby town of Xinzheng, was one of a number of women making traditional clothes, so the tourists, mainly Han, can observe the traditional skills involved. She usually works on the family farm, but is paid to work at the site for three days.

"It is actually quite good, because I'm making my own clothes and being paid for it. Young Li people do not normally dress like this, only at weddings and other occasions," she said.

"We wear jeans and T-shirts at home just like everyone else, although my 86-year-old grandmother does wear traditional dress all the time."

(China Daily 06/25/2015 page6)