Beachcombers descend on Hainan for festival

The 2023 Tanmen Beachcombing Festival kicked off on Tuesday morning in Qionghai, Hainan province.

Themed "Tanmen: Venturing the high seas since time immemorial", the event includes a marine culture forum, a sea sacrifice ceremony (a traditional ritual to pray for a good harvest), a seafood and cultural market, a beach music festival, fishing sports games, an art corner activity, movie screenings on the beach, a treasure hunt competition and other marine-related activities.

The beachcombing festival has been held since 2015. Tanmen has long been recognized as an important part of Hainan's fishing industry. It has a thousand-year history of beachcombing, which originated with residents scouring for fish, shrimp and shellfish at low tide.