'Sea gypsies' find their feet and prosper

The once-impoverished Tanka people have found new livelihoods and opportunities after moving ashore

Jiang Chengcai can still remember the discomfort he experienced when he slept on a real bed in a real home for the first time.

He was accustomed to resting on planks under a bamboo cover on his boat home.

It was 1999, and he had lived on a boat for 32 years. Growing up, he shared a 10-square-meter sampan with his parents and siblings.

He was married on another small sampan, a wedding present from his parents, where his wife later gave birth to their three children.

"Even today, I cannot bear to recall those memories," said the 52-year-old resident of Xiaqi village in Fu'an, Fujian province.

Jiang is one of the Tanka people, or boat dwellers, who traditionally lived on sampans and made a living by fishing and ferrying on the coastal waters of southern China.

Also known as "sea gypsies", they were not only born on the fishing boats, but also grew up, worked and died there. Though all discriminatory policies against the Tanka have been eliminated since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, few of them could afford to build a house on land.

As a child, Jiang recalled that going ashore with his father was almost like an adventure and he would hide behind him to avoid people's stares.

Modern facilities are impossible in floating homes, with no tap water, no electricity and no access to education and healthcare. The bamboo cover at the stern of the vessel shelters the bedroom, kitchen and bathroom, and is sometimes used for keeping poultry.

"We worked in the prow, and lived in the stern. Our life was like this for as long as I can remember," Jiang said.

He remembers a feeling of desperation when his children contracted high fevers, and there were no doctors available.