Tianhou Temple in Dongshuigang Village, Laocheng Town, Chengmai County.

A resident of Dongshuigang Village weave fishing nets.

 Fishing boats in Dongshuigang Harbor, Laocheng Town, Chengmai County.

The lotus pond in Dongshuigang Village, Laocheng Town, Chengmai County. (Photos: Li Tianping)

In Chengmai County, in the northwest of Hainan Island, stands Dongshui Port, an ancient port with a storied past.

Located in Chengmai County's Laocheng area, Dongshui Port, which means "port on the eastern waters," takes its name from its geographical location. This natural deep-water port faces out onto the Qiongzhou Strait, and since ancient times, has been an important gateway linking Hainan Island to the outside world and an important node on the Maritime Silk Road.

Dongshui Port is one of Hainan's most ancient wharves. Centuries ago, the island was poorly connected, with no decent purpose-built docks. Makeshift wharves fulfilled the dual role of cargo and passenger transportation. Laocheng (lit. "Old City"), in the north of Hainan, sits on the coast of the Qiongzhou strait. A short distance from the mainland by sea, it became a hub connecting Hainan Island and the mainland.

Walking along the shore of Dongshui Port today, you can imagine the scenes of those ships of old setting sail. At that time, the wharf was a hive of activity: people milling to and fro, goods piled sky high, and ships constantly coming and going.

According to the "Laocheng Chronicles," during the Tianbao era of the Tang Dynasty (742-756 CE), the eminent monk Jianzhen from Yangzhou departed eastward for Japan at the invitation of a Japanese monk. In the seventh year of the Tianbao (748 CE), Jianzhen, the Japanese monks Yōei and Fushō, and others attempted their crossing for the fifth time. They lost their way and later encountered a typhoon. Their ship drifted to the mouth of the Ningyuan River in Yande County (now Sanya City, Hainan). Jianzhen was received by Feng Chongduo, the deputy governor of Zhenzhou prefecture, and he set up a shrine. Jianzhen lived in Zhenzhou for more than a year, passing through Wan'an Prefecture (today's Wanning City, Hainan), and then to Yazhou Prefecture (today's Qiongshan District, Haikou City) where he stayed for three days to preach. Jianzhen presided over the repair of the Dayun Temple in Zhenzhou and the reconstruction of the Kaiyuan Temple in Yazhou. Jianzhen and his party finally boarded a ship at the Chengjiang Ancient Ferry Port in Laocheng to Dongshui Port and then set sail from Dongshui Port to cross the Qiongzhou Strait.

In the 4th month of the 4th year of the Shaosheng era in the Northern Song Dynasty (1097 CE), Su Shi (Su Dongpo), the disgraced official, set out from Huizhou and headed south. He arrived in Qiongzhou in June, disembarking at Laocheng Port in Chengmai County and arriving at Changhua on the second day of the 6th month.

During his banishment in Dan'er County (modern-day Danzhou City, Hainan), Su Shi vigorously promoted the culture of the Central Plains. His renown caught the attention of Jiang Tangzuo, who went to study under him. Three years later, in the 5th month of the 3rd year of the Yuanfu era (1100 CE), Su Shi was pardoned and returned north. On the 20th day of the 6th month, Su and his children boarded a ship at Laocheng Port in Chengmai County to head north across the Qiongzhou Strait. Dozens of local Hainan elders toasted them with wine as they set off. During his brief time in Laocheng, Su Shi made friends with local scholars, including the famed Zhao Mengde. He also visited places of outstanding natural beauty, spending time contemplating as he looked out across the sea and listened to the waves. While in Laocheng, he composed now-famous poems such as "On Secrets I Learned in Dreams" (《致梦得秘校尺牍》), "Crossing the Sea on the Night of the 20th Day of the Sixth Month" (《六月二十日夜渡海》), and "Two Poems Written While Staying at the Tongchao Pavilion in Chengmai" (《澄迈驿通潮阁二首》).

Dongshui Port is no longer the bustling port of ancient times, but it still sits silently on the coast as a memorial to its own past glory.