Tianya Haijiao

 A popular attraction in the Sanya area is Tianya Haijiao, or the "Edge of Heaven and Corner of the Seas".   The tourist information brochures say the popularity comes from the fact that this is the farthest South you can go and still be in China.  Also, they say, people come to marvel at the stunning rock formations on the beach left by dragons in ancient times.

 Our friends from Suzhou tell a more interesting story about the origins of the park.   According to urban legend, a Chinese mainlander moved to Hianan back in the early 1990's when China was starting to open up it's economy.  Developers were starting to go nuts with the building of hotels and resorts.  But the man only had 2000 yuan in his pocket - about $250 dollars. 

At that time, the "edge of heaven" was a lousy stretch of beach that was too rocky for agriculture or commercial uses.  No one wanted to go there.  But our man had a brilliant idea..... He approached the government and asked them if he could lease the land for 1000 yuan.  They thought the land worthless and agreed to the lease.  Then the man used his remaining 1000 yuan to build a fence and a ticket booth.  Once he started charging admission, then people naturally assumed that it must be something worth seeing since it cost money to see it.  So people came from all the world and paid him money to see the rocks.  And our man became rich - rich beyond the dreams of common men.

I like the urban legend better than the tourist brochures.  The story says a lot about the Chinese spirit of today, and their belief that anyone can get rich....especially by capitalizing upon the foibles of human nature.  It also reminds me of the story of "Stone Soup" that Captain Kangaroo used to read from time to time.