What does the frigid area of northeast China, or Dongbei in Chinese, has to do with Sanya, a tropical coastal city on its Hainan Island, just off the mainland and into the South China Sea? It is common knowledge in China that Northeasterners have practically taken over Hainan, particularly Sanya, as the fourth province of Dongbei.

A crowded beach in Sanya [Photo/ VCG]

China's three Northeastern provinces of Heilongjiang, Liaoning and Jilin, neighbouring Siberian Russia and North Korea, are best known for its harsh -20 °C winters, glorious industry heritage and the "Dongbei folks," the people living there who boast their hefty build, straightforward character and their distinctive accent made popular by countless comedians from Dongbei.

Some 2,000 miles away sits the tropical city of Sanya, in the southern tip of the island province of Hainan, which is China's Florida. Sanya has some of China's most popular beaches, most expensive resorts and most comfortable weather, particularly in winter when half of China endures freezing temperatures and increasingly polluted air.

Today, the Dongbei accent can be heard all over the streets of Sanya, much more so than the indigenous dialects of the islanders. Dongbei folks own seafood restaurants, budget hotels and drive taxis. Some of them have bought holiday homes and spend their winters in Sanya, while others made Sanya their permanent home. All of this change began two decades ago.

Starting in the early 1990s, economic reforms led to massive lay-offs across China, mostly in large state-owned enterprises in the heavy industry sector, the backbone of Dongbei's economy. Millions were given a severance package and let go, and the economy there never regained vitality to this day. There were no jobs for those newly unemployed.

Meanwhile in Hainan, the housing market bubble finally broke. The price of a flat plummeted to as low as 300 yuan per square meter and would not return to the highs before the crash until almost two decades later.

The housing market in Sanya revived around 2008, as Hainan became a major tourist destination and Sanya its highlight. With the massive influx of tourists from all over China, Dongbei folks saw their opportunity among all the major groups on the island, which was they are the only ones who could speak proper Mandarin. Since they were able to prosper, they brought their parents there to retire, and their relatives and friends came to find jobs or start businesses of their own.

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