With a land area of just over 20 square kilometers, Sansha manages about 2 million square kilometers of ocean, which is larger than Xinjiang. Zhaoshu Island is a small island stretched out to the sea by Sansha, named to commemorate the Ming Dynasty Zhao Shu was ordered to send three Buddhas, the whole island is only 600 meters long and 300 meters wide. Perhaps in order to express their deep affection for the sea, the island keepers used steel and wooden planks to build a circular viewing platform that stretched out dozens of meters to the sea. Standing on it, I saw the waves surging in the sky, before and after the waves flew before and after. Back then, Su Dongpo was only boating on the Yangtze River and exclaimed, "Where a reed is, Ling Wanqing is at a loss", if he came here, what should he do?
Under the observation deck hangs a large cage with a rope, you don't have to worry about it on weekdays, there are always some treasures who take the initiative to climb in. On that day, we curiously pulled up the cage and found two huge nautilus in addition to various fish and shellfish. Nautilus, phoenix snail, Tang crown snail and Wanbao snail are known as the world's four famous snails. The wonder of this nautilus lies in its structure: the whole shell is divided into more than 30 "air chambers" that are isolated from each other and can communicate at any time, and the snail lives in the innermost "air chamber", directing and regulating the air and water in each chamber, and determining the ups and downs of the entire snail body. It was such a small thing that inspired people to invent submarines, so the world's first nuclear submarine was named "Nautilus". Who would have thought that eating a nautilus at the dinner table would eat a submarine instead? We were looking through the cage when suddenly a ping-pong ball-sized crab flew out with a "snap" and landed on a reef in the distance. Heck, the crab is a stupid guy who runs rampant in the sand, and it relies on a hard shell to protect itself, so I didn't expect to meet a flying species here. According to the principle of bionics, human beings may be able to invent a flying tank based on this, which can fight in the sea, land and air domains, and the power is endless.
There is also a small island next to Zhaoshu Island, Beidao, where there is a turtle conservation center. Green sea turtles are the only sea turtles that lay their eggs in China, and their main nesting grounds are in the North Island. Baby turtles swim to the depths of the ocean after birth, and only reach sexual maturity after about twenty or thirty years, but they come back to lay eggs even after thousands of miles and so many years. What an instinct and an astonishing memory! I can't help but wonder if I could develop a biomimetic drug that enhances memory.
I stood on the observation deck, looking out at the Pacific Ocean, and in the distance there was a huge ship floating faintly against the horizon, and a large whale was turning over and spraying water nearby. There are still many knowledge and mysteries soaked in this sea, waiting for people to explore.
Just like in the sea, the island is full of life. There is no fresh water here, but the progress of science and technology has made desalination very simple and can fully meet the needs of people's lives. And those red flowers and green trees, which can grow tenaciously only by rain, dress up every inch of sand and gravel land to be extraordinarily beautiful. A kind of grassy vine called "thick vine" is extremely resistant to salt and alkali, the leaves are round and thick, the vine is tough and long, glowing with oily green light, covering the whole island. They hold up the ubiquitous red triangular plum, so that the island is like a cluster of flowers floating in the ocean. Further afield, there is also a species of bison, which is said to have been brought by residents from the mainland to escape the chaos during the wars of the Ming and Qing dynasties. They survived by rain, ponds, and green grass, and have been passed down from generation to generation, which shows the tenacity of life.
On Woody Island, the main island of the Paracel Islands, a kernel tree that I had never seen before caught my eye. The tree is as thick as two hugs, and the body of the tree is carved by typhoons and waves into ravines, and the bulging black bumps are like cast iron, revealing the vicissitudes of history. There is a stone tablet next to the tree, which is inscribed with the words "Monument to the Navy's Recovery of the Xisha Islands, November 24, 35th year of the Republic of China". The back is engraved with an iron anchor of a warship and four large characters "Nanhai Ping Domain". This is a commemoration of the Chinese government and navy after Japan's surrender in 1945 to recover and build the island. In fact, before the occupation by the Japanese invaders, Li Zhun, the commander of the Guangdong Navy in the late Qing Dynasty, also surveyed Xisha and declared sovereignty, landed on several islands, raised flags, fired cannons, erected monuments, and brought cattle and sheep from the mainland to release them. These small islands in the ocean have never left the embrace of the motherland.
Now, there is a "Chinese Fertile Soil Forest" on Zhaoshu Island, which is spliced by the soil sent by various provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities across the country. Plant a coconut tree on the soil of each province, autonomous region and municipality. From above, it's a giant green phalanx. The sea breeze rustles the leaves of the phoenix-tailed coconut trees, and the green and yellow coconuts hang in the air like lanterns. Everyone who is destined to come to the island will go to the coconut tree in this province and city to take a photo and leave their hearts in Sansha.
I stood in Sansha, looking at the sea in the distance, and behind me was the lovely motherland.
This article was originally published in Guangming Daily on June 28, 2024, page 15