Seaside pleasure

The youth hostel I booked was a three-story house made of stone and wood on the west coast of the island. Sitting on a balcony that overlooked the quay, I basked in the sun and enjoyed the sea breeze.

The co-owner of the hostel is a woman named Shelly Wang, who is in her 40s. The Hangzhou native was attracted by the environment and scenery of the island when she first visited with her husband in 2003. The following year, the couple decided to buy a house on the island for them to spend their holidays in.

"I dreamed of living in a house by the sea," she said. "But I couldn't choose a place far away from my home as I needed to take care of my family in Hangzhou. That's why Miaozihu worked for me, an island in the same province as my home."

After renovating the house, she turned it into a youth hostel in 2014 and now spends six months on the island every year.

Over the past 15 years, Shelly has witnessed changes on the land as Dongji became better known to tourists.

She said the young residents of the island used to earn a living in cities such as Ningbo and Hangzhou and the elders went fishing for money. Now, some of the migrant workers have returned home and have started their own businesses like running restaurants.

"As tourism prospers, the island's infrastructure has improved. I seldom suffer from power cuts any longer," she said.

The island dwellers are benefiting from the thriving tourism, but I hope the environment of the place will be preserved at the same time.