Sleepy Longlou on countdown to becoming the Cape Kennedy of Hainan
Hamlet next to Wenchang launch centre begins its long march from husking coconuts to hustling space rocket watchers
Tens of thousands of tourists flocked to the beaches in southern China on Saturday night to watch the first rocket launch at China’s southernmost launch complex. The dark sky lit up in a thunderous blaze as rocket lifted skywards at 8pm before disappearing out of sight within seconds as watchers cheered with delight.
It was also the maiden flight of the new generation Long March-7 rocket, which is fueled by more economical and environmentally friendly liquid oxygen and kerosene, state media reported.
Eight viewing sites for the launch, the largest accommodating 7,000 people, were packed with tourists and tents.
Shang Linqiang, who travelled from eastern Jiangsu Province to Hainan with his wife, arrived at one beach site at noon, eight hours before the launch, to get a parking spot. “This opportunity is unprecedented,” Shang said.
Earlier in the day, police blocked main roads leading to the Wenchang Satellite Launch Centre and in nearby Longlou, a town of about 20,000 residents on the east coast of the island province.
At first no vehicles could enter the town without approvals, but after 7pm no person or car was allowed to enter the town.
Officials estimated more than 5,000 people from across China had travelled to Longlou to see the what would not only be the maiden flight of the Long March 7 carrier rocket but the first launch from the Wenchang satellite complex as well.
The main thoroughfare in the town is the four-laned Diamond Avenue, formerly a narrow, ragged and nameless road. Before it was announced in 2007 that launch complex would be built next to the town, barely any roads in Longlou had names; today most have bilingual signs. Where there was once one hotel, today there are 17.
On the eve of the launch, the hotels were fully booked, with room rates rocketing more than seven times their normal rate. “It’s even crazier than public holidays,” one hotel receptionist said.
Since the launch complex was completed in 2014, the government of Wenchang which oversees
Longlou has announced plans to develop aerospace-themed tourism, with 18 related projects pending investment of about 260 million yuan (HK$310 million), the local Communist Party chief Chen Xiaobo said earlier this year.
The goal is to develop an educational centre with a strong patriotic base with an aerospace museum, theme park and visitor centre similar to the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.
Longlou will centre stage on the space tourism map, with the promise of new revenue coming from aerospace culture instead of exporting coconuts. Flags and banners bearing the words “Aerospace Town” adorn the town, and there is already an aerospace primary school, an aerospace market – even aerospace meals at street side food stalls.
Residents of the once sleepy tropical hamlet say more people are moving to town to open businesses. On June 12, the town’s first Western-style café opened along the road leading to the launch centre. Local entrepreneur Yang Changhe, 26, arrived in Longlou a month ago and opened the café, hoping to catch the tourist traffic arriving for the historic launch and those that follow, or on their way to ther destinations being considered by the Wenchang government.
Yang’s café serves pizza, egg tarts, fruit juice and probably the only real coffee in town, he said.
“Personally, I’m not expecting a lot of people to arrive suddenly. I would like to grow my business steadily,” Yang said.
“I need to look at the city’s future development in the future. If it sticks to its plan, I believe business will be promising in the coming three to five years.”
His elder brother, Yang Changji, agreed. He works at the project headquarters of an ecological tourism development zone next to Longlou that includes a nature reserve, several boutique hotels and other planned theme parks. He said Longlou’s potential prosperity depended on how soon these future projects close to the town could be finished.
“Many tourists came here for a day trip, but that can’t drive consumption,” the elder Yang said.
So far, many of the projects are still a far from completion: the aerospace theme park, which is expected to cost 3 billion yuan, only received its overall planning approval in March, according to official documents.
“I think the city will scratch their heads to plan more tourism routes and international events, so after the launch, there will be more business opportunities,” Yang said.
“But at least we’re upbeat about the business prospects.”
