'Sea gypsies' find their feet and prosper

Life on shore

In 1997, a report about the plight of the Tanka people caught the attention of President Xi Jinping, who was then the deputy secretary of the Communist Party of China Fujian Provincial Committee.

There were 18,466 Tanka people from 4,125 households living on boats at the end of that year, local media reported.

Xi visited the boats and chaired a meeting in Fu'an, and called for efforts to resettle the Tanka people ashore as soon as possible.

He oversaw the resettlement program in person, and visited Xiaqi village in 1998 and 2000.

With a total investment of over 7 million yuan, authorities offered free land and a 1,300 yuan housebuilding subsidy for each person as part of the resettlement program in Xiaqi village.

A total of 2,310 people were able to leave their boat homes and move to resettlements, where tap water, electricity, cable television, medical facilities and schools were also provided.

In 2013, the government relocated another 642 people from 120 households to new homes as the old resettlements became overcrowded.

The resettlement program was a life-changer for Jiang and his family who were among the first group of villagers to secure a house and move ashore in 1999.

The initial period took some getting used to, he said. Jiang's father, like him, missed the sampan rocking them to sleep, and the family did not know how to use gas cookers given to them by the authorities.

"But it was warm, and we no longer had to withstand the freezing cold snaps during winter and worry about our boat being broken into pieces by typhoons," he said.

However, the fact that they were uneducated made it difficult for them to find jobs.

"Schooling was impossible for us because we had nowhere to go after school," he said, explaining that the Tanka people had to fish for their livelihoods.

To make a new living, Jiang learned from other fishermen how to raise razor clams in coastal waters.

Within a few years, he had guaranteed annual income of 70,000 yuan from the clams.

Jiang remembered his nervousness when Xi, when he was the governor of Fujian province, visited his family in November 2000.

"I almost trembled when I met with him. He was smiling, and greeted me with a handshake. It warmed my heart," he said.

"He said that 'You should continue the hard work now that you have resettled ashore'. I have been inspired by these words all my life," he said.

The Tanka people have good stamina and the difficult life on boats helps them endure hardships, Jiang said.