SANYA - A coastal resort city in South China, has converted fishing boats into a floating public library.

The so-called Sea Study is the first public library on the island of Ximaozhou, 8 nautical miles west of downtown Sanya, Hainan province.

"A life cannot be called life without books," said Chen Muhu, 78, a fisherman who was browsing archaeology books in the library.

Pyramid-shaped Ximaozhou Island is home to 4,000 residents, but it has only one primary school.

"Locals needed a library badly," said Qin Jiayi, the instigator of the project. "We see quite a few readers every day."

More than 30 fishermen spent four weeks renovating three abandoned fishing boats into a reading cabin, a salon, and a 16-bed hostel.

Qin planned to double the library's collection to 4,000 books.

Because of limited fishing resources nearby and obsolete equipment, fishermen from Ximaozhou are less dependent on the traditional way of making a living. Twenty-four fishing boats have been taken out of service. Timber from some was made into furniture.

Qin wanted to bring the boats back to life in a different way, with support from the local government.

The library satisfies local people's needs while making the village more appealing to outsiders, said Jia Peng, a government official.

The government plans to renovate another 21 vessels into theaters, shops and hostels.

"It sounds cool," said Feng Yuetao, a tourist from the plateau province of Qinghai who wanted to visit the library with his family.

Xinhua