Cleaner waters and returning wildlife mark Xiamen's coastal transformation

Detailed summary

XIAMEN — For Lin Yulin, Tong'an Bay in Xiamen, a coastal city in East China's Fujian province, was once a place to make a living. His family raised oysters there, as did nearly every household in what was then Pantu village.

For Lin Yulin, Tong'an Bay in Xiamen, a coastal city in East China's Fujian province, was once a place to make a living. His family raised oysters there, as did nearly every household in what was then Pantu village.

But intensive aquaculture took a toll on the environment. Dead fish and shrimp floated on the water, and a foul, fishy smell hung over the shoreline, with few tourists willing to venture there, Lin recalled.

Today, the bay tells a different story. At sunset, cyclists and runners follow a waterfront promenade. Sailboats skim across the water, while visitors sip coffee on sandy beaches that were once muddy aquaculture grounds.

"When the tide comes in, you can often see fish jumping out of the water," said Lin, deputy Party secretary of Pantu Community. "Even Chinese white dolphins, which we hadn't seen for more than a decade, have returned to Tong'an Bay."

The transformation is the result of years of environmental restoration.

Since 2006, aquaculture facilities have been removed from tidal flats, mangroves restored and beaches rehabilitated. As the coastline recovered, families that once depended on aquaculture gradually shifted to other livelihoods, with some opening guesthouses and restaurants and others taking up work in tourism projects, Lin said.

Pantu's revival is part of a broader effort in Xiamen to restore coastal ecosystems damaged by intensive aquaculture and urban development.

Since 2002, Xiamen has pursued a transition from an island-based city to an ecologically oriented bay city, adopting restoration plans tailored to individual bays.

Measures have included opening gaps in seawalls to improve water circulation, removing nearshore aquaculture facilities, dredging sediment, planting mangroves and restoring coastlines.

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