Tanmen — the harbour and the sea book

A working harbour

Tanmen is a fishing town south-east of Qionghai, about nine kilometres from Bo'ao, and one of China's big fishing ports. As early as the Song era boats sought shelter and supplies here. In the morning the catch is unloaded: mackerel, ribbonfish, squid and sea snails lie on the quay while traders and locals haggle over the best pieces.

What stands out is that the national flag flies on almost every boat. That's no coincidence. Tanmen sees itself as a harbour on a border, even if that border lies hundreds of kilometres out at sea.

South with the monsoon

Tanmen's boats traditionally sail not just off the coast but far out to the Paracel and Spratly Islands, Xisha and Nansha in Chinese. In the age of sail everything depended on the monsoon: in November and December, when the north-east wind set in, the fishermen sailed south. In April, with the south-west wind, they came back loaded.

Many of them dived for sea cucumbers, clams and snails and therefore called themselves “seabed fishermen”. Before the Second World War twenty to thirty boats with a few hundred men set out from Tanmen every year. On some islands they built small temples and graves for comrades who didn't return.

The fishermen's sea book

They navigated with handwritten sea books, the Genglubu. “Geng” is an old unit for the distance travelled, about sixty li, “lu” the route, “bu” the booklet. They contained compass courses, sailing times, landmarks and their own names for individual reefs and sandbanks. Surviving copies go back to the early 18th century; more than ten versions are known.

Because the fishermen sailed with the north-east wind, they simply called the Paracels the “East Sea” and the Spratlys the “North Sea” — from the point of view of the wind direction. In 2008 the knowledge of the sea books was added to the first national list of intangible cultural heritage. The last captains who sailed with them are now well over seventy.

Why these books are politics today

The areas the fishermen sailed to are disputed today. China claims a large part of the South China Sea and cites the history of fishing among its arguments — in China the sea books are regarded as evidence of historical rights and are quoted by diplomats too. Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan make their own claims.

In 2016 an international arbitral tribunal ruled in a case brought by the Philippines that China cannot derive claims to the waters within its line from historical rights. China does not recognise the ruling. So standing in Tanmen, you stand in a place whose everyday history has become part of a major conflict.

The Museum of the South China Sea

Since April 2018 a large state museum has stood right by the harbour, overlooking the boats. It displays the wreck of a Song-era merchant ship that lay on a Paracel reef for about 800 years, with its cargo of porcelain. There are also whale skeletons and an exhibition on the life of Tanmen's fishermen, their boats and their sea books.

The museum is also an official site of patriotic education. The exhibition tells the history of the sea from the Chinese perspective. It's worth keeping that in mind during the visit and looking closely at what is shown and how.

Shells, coral and a ban

The shops on the harbour street display shells, snail shells, jewellery and dried seafood. For a long time Tanmen was also known for carvings from giant clams taken from the reefs far out. This trade is now banned because the animals are protected and their removal destroyed reefs.

For visitors this means: don't buy coral, giant clams or tortoiseshell, even if they're offered somewhere. Exporting protected species is prohibited, and heavy penalties await on entry to the EU.

How to approach the visit

In the morning from about eight the harbour is busiest, when the boats are unloaded. Then go to the museum, just a few minutes away. Allow one to two hours for the exhibition.

The museum is closed on Mondays and free. Foreigners collect their ticket with their passport at the counter on the ground floor of the south building; registering in advance is advisable. The texts are mostly in Chinese; a translation app helps.