Extreme China (2018) s01e02 Episode Script
Hainan
1
I'm Ben Horton.
Come on, guys, hike!
A National Geographic
explorer and photographer.
I'm traveling across China,
exploring its unique landscapes.
This is tight.
And the people who call them home.
This is epic.
But I need help,
and I'm teaming up with China's best.
You're safe, I'm with you, buddy.
-An alpinist.
-This is the top.
A diver,
and an incredible rock climber.
Together, we'll navigate wild places.
It's a whole different world down here.
-To learn from local communities.
-Here.
To see how they survive and thrive.
That's a big drop.
Wow!
And have the adventure of a lifetime.
This whole thing is melting.
I'm exploring this island of Hainan
to document the local fishing culture
and explore its hidden underwater world.
Known as the Hawaii of China,
Hainan is 20 kilometers off
its southernmost tip.
It's a major tourist destination
with over 55 million visitors a year
drawn to its beaches, tropical climate
and underwater beauty.
I didn't know that China
had an island like this,
and I'm really excited
to explore what's out there,
beyond what the tourists see.
But I need help to get there.
So I'm teaming up
with Zhang Lidan, or Dou Dou,
a freediver,
and one of China's top explorers.
She's been on extreme adventures
across seven continents,
four oceans and over a hundred countries.
She travels the world to raise awareness
about wildlife protection.
Dou Dou's role as an ambassador
for maritime conservation
fuels her passion for diving.
And she has a special connection
to this island.
Dou Dou and I are going to
document the local fishing culture
and explore the offshore islands and reefs
that tourists never get to see.
Wow!
-Look at this view.
-Yeah.
How did you get into free diving?
When I was a kid, my dad would
take me out in a boat
every day after school,
and we'd spearfish for dinner.
I've heard a lot about Dou Dou.
It's great to meet her.
She's friendly and fearless,
which are great traits to have
in an adventure partner.
We are heading to Caotang Village
on Hainan's east coast
where fishing has brought sustenance
for the people here
since the 14th century.
This village is home
to multigenerational families
who free dive to catch fish
in a very unique way.
I'm keen to learn an ancient technique
and document it,
and Mr. Peng, a local fisherman,
is the perfect teacher.
Mr. Peng is searching for a local root
that is used to
make a potion to stun fish.
When I first step into the jungle,
I'm impressed by the fact that
there's real tropical terrain here.
I came to Hainan thinking about the ocean,
and not thinking
about what I'd find on land.
There.
Stem.
So it's kind of like a vine.
The three-leaf derris is found
in China's tropical southern provinces.
It contains rotenone,
a natural chemical compound
used by local peoples
of the old world to catch fish.
Okay, so it's down there.
How much of the whole thing?
All of the vine as well?
Just cut here.
It's interesting, because it looks like
every other plant out here.
I'm kind of nervous.
I've heard of people doing things
that are actually toxic for the reef,
but this is coming from a plant.
I don't think it'll be toxic,
but I'm curious to see if it works,
and especially curious
to see the fish wake up afterwards,
like he says they will.
Mr. Peng is taking us out in his boat now
to show us how to use the fish potion.
I'm excited because this is
an opportunity for me to photograph
some traditional fishing knowledge
that's not used very much anymore.
We are heading out just
10 kilometers offshore to find a reef.
This will be my first dive in Hainan
and I'm feeling curious.
I hope that the visibility
in the water is good,
so I can capture Mr. Peng in action.
Well, I'm ready.
Yeah, me, too.
I'm excited to get out of this heat,
into the water.
Yes, we can go.
I always have these strange nerves
before I get in the water.
It's another world,
and you never know what it is
that you're gonna see
the moment you pass into it.
Freediving is diving
without any breathing apparatus.
It's been practiced by humans
for at least 8,000 years.
With one breath, you dive down
and don't surface
until you run out of air.
Having a dive buddy is crucial for safety.
As soon as my face touches the water
and I can see under the surface,
I always relax.
And this beautiful feeling
of freedom overcomes me.
I'm floating now
and I can glide around the reef.
-Ben, let's go over there.
-Okay.
It's not easy to find fish,
but at last we spot some.
There's a large boulder underwater
that Peng has put a fishing net
all the way around.
He's swimming around it,
squirting this fish potion
into the cracks and crevices of the reef.
And slowly but surely,
you start to see its effect take hold.
I grew up spearfishing,
where you go out, you select a fish
and then you take just that fish.
This method affects the whole reef.
and I'm not sure how it affects
the environment as a whole.
But since it's a traditional method
that's been passed down for generations
and it's made from a plant that's
found right here on Hainan island,
I do think it's important to document it.
Thanks.
Fish?
Yeah, I know that in Chinese.
Lobster.
A goatfish is a Haili?™
-Butterflyfish is Yabu?
-Yabu?
I'm glad to see
they're all swimming around.
So the potion doesn't kill them.
-It knocks them out.
-Now it's wake up.
So were heading back to shore
after seeing how the fish potion works.
It's interesting to learn some new skills
and a traditional way of fishing.
-Wait, what?
-Danjia.
-Danjia, okay.
-Yeah.
Are they the people that live
in a village built out on the ocean?
I always wanted to see that to photograph.
That'd be cool.
Yeah.
This is a floating town in Hainan,
southern China.
It's home to a close-knit community
of over 19,000 Tanka people,
also known as the Danjia.
For generations, they have lived a life
physically connected to the sea.
Dou Dou and I are going fishing
with a large family
who live and work on the same boat.
Mr. Li has lived his whole life
on this 30-meter-long vessel.
It is so clean in here.
-Yeah.
-Not what I expected.
Is this all his family?
-Eighteen.
-Eighteen?
-Yeah.
-Do they all live here on the boat?
I'm gonna practice my Chinese.
Yang Jing Ying.
Oh, yeah? Nancy?
Nice to meet you, Nancy.
-I think I scared her.
-Yeah.
Legend says,
the Tanka are descendants of people
driven to the waters
in the late Eastern Jin Dynasty
over 1,600 years ago.
They were forbidden to live on land
and over time, were forced
to adapt to a life at sea.
They traditionally live
in extended families
on board their boats or floating houses.
Where does everybody sleep?
-Oh, here?
-This cabin.
We walked through this
and I had no idea it was rooms.
Wow, this is tiny.
I don't think I could lay flat in here.
You can try.
This is tiny.
No bed.
Yeah, no bed.
I think I have to have my knees bent
just to lay down.
The boat is much bigger than I thought,
and there are even larger cabins upstairs.
-He lives in this room.
-Yeah.
Yeah, he's got the comfy room.
-Wow, check this out.
-Wow.
Seriously, it feels like a home.
Everything here is just like a house
that you'd have on land somewhere.
-You've got plants, laundry.
-Yeah.
I've always dreamed of living on a boat,
but I can't imagine having
18 family members on a boat with me.
Why didn't you decide to move onto land?
So their whole lives
have been on the boat.
It's different,
but it's an amazing way to live.
Yes.
Every year, China enforces
a fishing ban of almost four months
to allow populations to replenish.
And Mr. Li's family has a small window
of time left to earn their livelihoods
before typhoon season hits
and the fishing ban starts.
We are going to help them fix their nets
before we set out to fish.
-So you're holding it with your toe?
-Yeah.
-Looks hard work.
-Yeah, looks technical.
Need the same size.
-Right.
-Yup.
I think I'm starting to understand.
When I'd heard about a family
that lives on the ocean in a boat,
I imagined something
more like a houseboat.
But this was a fishing boat
that had been made into a home,
not the other way around.
Tonight, I'll get to learn
more about their livelihoods,
as we sail for a night-fishing adventure.
Mr. Li and his family are heading out
to fish off the coast of Hainan,
southern China.
Joss paper, or spirit money,
is thrown for good luck
and to ensure smooth sailing.
It's a common offering
used in traditional Chinese
ancestral practices.
This overnight trip is a chance
to learn and document
how Tanka people earn their livelihood.
My photography career
was built on ocean conservation.
And oftentimes,
the fisherman is the one
that gets the bad rap in the story.
As I sit and talk to Mr. Li
and the other fishermen,
it gives me an opportunity
to see the industry
more from the individual's perspective.
Their parents and their grandparents
were all fishermen,
and this is the way
that they've been taught.
It's also how they feed their family
and provide an income.
While the men are hard at work
preparing for their night fishing,
the Tanka women
are preparing a unique meal.
Wow, pufferfish for dinner.
Is this a normal meal? Pufferfish?
Special meal.
They're showing me this pufferfish
and I'm thinking to myself,
I'm not sure if I would try this
in a restaurant with a certified chef.
Pufferfish are supposed to have
this incredibly powerful toxin,
and if you eat it,
it shuts down your ability to breathe.
But then they tell me that it's not
actually not the poisonous pufferfish.
Now, I know they spend every day
out in the ocean, and know their fish,
but I'm having a hard time believing them.
So it's ready now,
or she's just doing this for the spikes?
Just the spikes.
There was a lot of meat on that fish,
and she's going to add it
to a rice porridge called congee.
We all just sit on the deck for the meal.
It is good. I like it, yeah.
How important is it to you
your children carry on
traditions of the Danjia?
It's always interesting to see
how a culture has evolved
throughout the years,
and to see where it's going.
It's important for me to document this now
to show that there's a way of life
that these people have been living
for hundreds of years.
After 10 hours, Mr. Li is still hunting
for the perfect fishing spot
by using a sonar-based fish finder.
But night is when the ocean comes alive,
and that's the best time to fish.
It's 2:00 a.m. The crew is all asleep.
We're waiting for the captain
to give word that the fish are here.
When that happens,
it's gonna be absolute chaos.
Everything's gonna
start moving really fast.
So now, we're just waiting for the fish.
This is the moment
everybody's been waiting for.
Everybody's on deck, working.
The big boat's turned off its lights.
There's a small boat
in the center with lights.
Then the big boat is now circling
around it, dragging the net.
Everybody seems to be where they need
to be at exactly the right time,
and everything seems to start to flow.
It's incredible that this many people
can stay organized
and get the 800-meter net
off of the boat all in one go.
By projecting light
at the surface of the water,
we begin to create
a natural food chain reaction
by attracting smaller prey,
which in turn will draw out
a large number of fish.
This is a great opportunity for me
to capture their night fishing action.
But it's high risk.
It's always dangerous
being in the ocean at night,
and to be working on a fishing boat
in this dark, out in the ocean,
with big swell rocking the boat
back and forth,
it takes it up to another level.
If you were to go overboard,
there's a good chance
nobody would ever find you again.
It's incredible to see the efficiency
with which they work,
and to think it's a family operation.
The nets are filled up
with hundreds of kilograms of fish.
It's chaos, so I stand off to the side
and try to document it from a distance.
Last night we caught
over 300 kilograms of fish.
It's been a great experience
being with the Tanka people.
I get to learn about fishing,
but it's more than just a tough job.
This family has hundreds of years
of cultural connection to the ocean.
Mr. Li knows all the islands
offshore of Hainan.
He's the perfect person to suggest
somewhere remote that we can explore.
So he said Jiajing Island is a good place.
-That's what we're looking for.
-Yeah.
Jiajing Island is about
three kilometers away from Shimei bay
and far from the main
tourist destinations,
so I'm hoping to capture
the untouched beauty of Hainan.
Well, it looks like
it's about average eight meters depth,
between us and there.
We are going to paddleboard there,
camp on the island,
and explore the reefs.̣
-So it'll take most of the day.
-Yeah.
On the northern end of the island,
it looks shallower.
-Probably where we'll find the reef.
-Yeah.
That would be a good place to land,
probably find some shelter
and a good place to camp.
-This is gonna be fun. Real adventure.
-Yeah.
We are going to stand on a board
while using a long paddle to move,
a cross between surfing and kayaking.
This sport is called
stand-up paddleboarding, or SUP.
About to paddle out to Jiajing Island.
It's uninhabited,
so if anything were to happen out there,
we'd be a long way from any help.
The island is within sight,
but it will take us
a few hours to get there
and start our underwater adventure.
Dou Dou and I are on an expedition
to explore the reefs off
Hainan's uninhabited islands.
We've been paddling for two hours
and we're both pretty tired.
This wind kicking up,
it's making it choppier.
Yeah.
Nice to get there before
the storms or wind picks up more.
Hainan, off China's southern tip,
has more than 200 tropical islands
with reefs that are home
to over 800 marine species.
And I can't wait to explore
its underwater world.
-I think we're about a kilometer away.
-Yeah.
You see the right side have beach, right?
Yeah, yeah.
Well, we're almost there.
Let's finish this.
Yeah. Let's go.
We finally made it to Jiajing Island
and this place is untouched.
Now we've just got to set up camp.
What's your plan for dinner?
Spearfish. It's the only way I know.
You get to select the one fish
that you need and not affect everything.
Right around here, there's a spot
where I saw some boulders,
and that's where we'll find bigger fish.
This coral out front looks too shallow.
Freediving is a tricky sport,
and breath-holding techniques
take a lot of training.
We swim past the rocks
and take a few deep breaths in and out
as we warm up.
During the day, these fish will be hiding
in a cave under the reef
or perhaps under the coral somewhere.
To find them, you have to go down
and stick your head in a hole
and wait for your eyes
to adjust to the darkness.
After they adjust a little bit,
sometimes you can see a fish
hiding in the back.
When you finally see a fish,
you don't want to go straight at it
because it'll swim away.
You just have to sit there
and wait for the right moment.
It's important to hit it in a place
where it kills it instantaneously.
Finally, he just squeaks out
into the light a bit,
and I can see that I have a good shot.
I pull it out, and it's a good, clean hit
and I know that we're gonna
have dinner tonight.
-Today is good job.
-Yeah?
-It looks good.
-Yeah.
I'm excited to try that.
Today was an amazing experience.
Paddling with Dou Dou
and getting to catch dinner
on these beautiful islands
that people just don't get to visit.
I can't wait for us to dive again
and take some photographs tomorrow.
How deep do you think it is?
I think three or five meters,
not too deep.
Hopefully get some good shots
of the coral.
Dou Dou and I
will look for offshore reefs,
and document the underwater world
of Hainan island.
But with strong tides kicking up sediment,
there's not much visibility.
Free diving has always
felt like the most natural way
to explore the underwater world, to me.
When you're free diving,
you're part of it.
It feels like flying.
You can go in and out of the reef
and just glide through the water
in a way that you could
never experience wearing tanks.
We have to swim towards the channel
to find a reef to photograph.
But it's not easy.
-It's a little bit murky.
-Yeah.
But let's dive down, see what we can see.
-Yeah.
-May be some fish at the boulders.
Okay.
Sunlight is what makes coral reefs thrive.
You can find them all over the world,
close to the equator in shallow depths.
They are a crucial part
of our ocean's ecosystem,
and a key indicator
of the health of our seas.
Let's go down and see how deep it is.
Maybe we'll find some fish down there.
Be cool to see what's at the bottom.
Dou Dou and I can hold our breaths
for around three minutes.
At the new site,
we dive down about five meters
and we find our reef.
This area's got quite a bit of life.
The coral here is a lot more prominent
than it was in the shallower water.
I think, perhaps,
it's because it's a little bit deeper,
but the coral has definitely
grown much more here.
Yeah, I saw it,
with the really long spikes.
You know, if the sea temperatures
change just a few degrees,
their larvae won't survive.
I saw some starfish down there, too,
so I'm gonna go down
and take a few more photos.
We swim further along
and take in its beauty.
Taking photos underwater
can be really difficult.
Red light doesn't penetrate the water
like blue light does.
So the deeper you go,
the more blue your picture's gonna be.
I'm shooting with a small housing
so I can free dive
and move quickly around the reef.
To get a good photo,
I have to stay near the surface
so that those reds
penetrate into the water.
In this shallow coral reef area,
the colors really start to show through.
Coral reefs can be
some of the most colorful places,
between the fish
and the different types of coral,
starfish and all the amazing animals
that live in this environment.
Underwater, it seems like it's
an advantage to have bright colors,
and everything on this reef
is just glowing.
This expedition
has been a real eye-opener.
I got to free dive on a coral reef
off of an uninhabited island,
something I never thought
I'd have the opportunity to do.
My Hainan adventure
has been unforgettable.
This unique local fishing culture
has taught me a lot about
the hard work it takes
to survive and thrive
in this oceanic environment.
And with Dou Dou's help,
I've discovered an underwater paradise
I never knew existed.
On my next extreme adventure in China
That was a cool little route.
I explore the largest group
of sinkholes on Earth
That is a lot bigger than I imagined.
rappel deep down
This is intense.
to an amazing underground world
-This looks like
-Heaven.
and venture into the hidden depths.
This is tight.
Oh, my God.
I'm Ben Horton.
Come on, guys, hike!
A National Geographic
explorer and photographer.
I'm traveling across China,
exploring its unique landscapes.
This is tight.
And the people who call them home.
This is epic.
But I need help,
and I'm teaming up with China's best.
You're safe, I'm with you, buddy.
-An alpinist.
-This is the top.
A diver,
and an incredible rock climber.
Together, we'll navigate wild places.
It's a whole different world down here.
-To learn from local communities.
-Here.
To see how they survive and thrive.
That's a big drop.
Wow!
And have the adventure of a lifetime.
This whole thing is melting.
I'm exploring this island of Hainan
to document the local fishing culture
and explore its hidden underwater world.
Known as the Hawaii of China,
Hainan is 20 kilometers off
its southernmost tip.
It's a major tourist destination
with over 55 million visitors a year
drawn to its beaches, tropical climate
and underwater beauty.
I didn't know that China
had an island like this,
and I'm really excited
to explore what's out there,
beyond what the tourists see.
But I need help to get there.
So I'm teaming up
with Zhang Lidan, or Dou Dou,
a freediver,
and one of China's top explorers.
She's been on extreme adventures
across seven continents,
four oceans and over a hundred countries.
She travels the world to raise awareness
about wildlife protection.
Dou Dou's role as an ambassador
for maritime conservation
fuels her passion for diving.
And she has a special connection
to this island.
Dou Dou and I are going to
document the local fishing culture
and explore the offshore islands and reefs
that tourists never get to see.
Wow!
-Look at this view.
-Yeah.
How did you get into free diving?
When I was a kid, my dad would
take me out in a boat
every day after school,
and we'd spearfish for dinner.
I've heard a lot about Dou Dou.
It's great to meet her.
She's friendly and fearless,
which are great traits to have
in an adventure partner.
We are heading to Caotang Village
on Hainan's east coast
where fishing has brought sustenance
for the people here
since the 14th century.
This village is home
to multigenerational families
who free dive to catch fish
in a very unique way.
I'm keen to learn an ancient technique
and document it,
and Mr. Peng, a local fisherman,
is the perfect teacher.
Mr. Peng is searching for a local root
that is used to
make a potion to stun fish.
When I first step into the jungle,
I'm impressed by the fact that
there's real tropical terrain here.
I came to Hainan thinking about the ocean,
and not thinking
about what I'd find on land.
There.
Stem.
So it's kind of like a vine.
The three-leaf derris is found
in China's tropical southern provinces.
It contains rotenone,
a natural chemical compound
used by local peoples
of the old world to catch fish.
Okay, so it's down there.
How much of the whole thing?
All of the vine as well?
Just cut here.
It's interesting, because it looks like
every other plant out here.
I'm kind of nervous.
I've heard of people doing things
that are actually toxic for the reef,
but this is coming from a plant.
I don't think it'll be toxic,
but I'm curious to see if it works,
and especially curious
to see the fish wake up afterwards,
like he says they will.
Mr. Peng is taking us out in his boat now
to show us how to use the fish potion.
I'm excited because this is
an opportunity for me to photograph
some traditional fishing knowledge
that's not used very much anymore.
We are heading out just
10 kilometers offshore to find a reef.
This will be my first dive in Hainan
and I'm feeling curious.
I hope that the visibility
in the water is good,
so I can capture Mr. Peng in action.
Well, I'm ready.
Yeah, me, too.
I'm excited to get out of this heat,
into the water.
Yes, we can go.
I always have these strange nerves
before I get in the water.
It's another world,
and you never know what it is
that you're gonna see
the moment you pass into it.
Freediving is diving
without any breathing apparatus.
It's been practiced by humans
for at least 8,000 years.
With one breath, you dive down
and don't surface
until you run out of air.
Having a dive buddy is crucial for safety.
As soon as my face touches the water
and I can see under the surface,
I always relax.
And this beautiful feeling
of freedom overcomes me.
I'm floating now
and I can glide around the reef.
-Ben, let's go over there.
-Okay.
It's not easy to find fish,
but at last we spot some.
There's a large boulder underwater
that Peng has put a fishing net
all the way around.
He's swimming around it,
squirting this fish potion
into the cracks and crevices of the reef.
And slowly but surely,
you start to see its effect take hold.
I grew up spearfishing,
where you go out, you select a fish
and then you take just that fish.
This method affects the whole reef.
and I'm not sure how it affects
the environment as a whole.
But since it's a traditional method
that's been passed down for generations
and it's made from a plant that's
found right here on Hainan island,
I do think it's important to document it.
Thanks.
Fish?
Yeah, I know that in Chinese.
Lobster.
A goatfish is a Haili?™
-Butterflyfish is Yabu?
-Yabu?
I'm glad to see
they're all swimming around.
So the potion doesn't kill them.
-It knocks them out.
-Now it's wake up.
So were heading back to shore
after seeing how the fish potion works.
It's interesting to learn some new skills
and a traditional way of fishing.
-Wait, what?
-Danjia.
-Danjia, okay.
-Yeah.
Are they the people that live
in a village built out on the ocean?
I always wanted to see that to photograph.
That'd be cool.
Yeah.
This is a floating town in Hainan,
southern China.
It's home to a close-knit community
of over 19,000 Tanka people,
also known as the Danjia.
For generations, they have lived a life
physically connected to the sea.
Dou Dou and I are going fishing
with a large family
who live and work on the same boat.
Mr. Li has lived his whole life
on this 30-meter-long vessel.
It is so clean in here.
-Yeah.
-Not what I expected.
Is this all his family?
-Eighteen.
-Eighteen?
-Yeah.
-Do they all live here on the boat?
I'm gonna practice my Chinese.
Yang Jing Ying.
Oh, yeah? Nancy?
Nice to meet you, Nancy.
-I think I scared her.
-Yeah.
Legend says,
the Tanka are descendants of people
driven to the waters
in the late Eastern Jin Dynasty
over 1,600 years ago.
They were forbidden to live on land
and over time, were forced
to adapt to a life at sea.
They traditionally live
in extended families
on board their boats or floating houses.
Where does everybody sleep?
-Oh, here?
-This cabin.
We walked through this
and I had no idea it was rooms.
Wow, this is tiny.
I don't think I could lay flat in here.
You can try.
This is tiny.
No bed.
Yeah, no bed.
I think I have to have my knees bent
just to lay down.
The boat is much bigger than I thought,
and there are even larger cabins upstairs.
-He lives in this room.
-Yeah.
Yeah, he's got the comfy room.
-Wow, check this out.
-Wow.
Seriously, it feels like a home.
Everything here is just like a house
that you'd have on land somewhere.
-You've got plants, laundry.
-Yeah.
I've always dreamed of living on a boat,
but I can't imagine having
18 family members on a boat with me.
Why didn't you decide to move onto land?
So their whole lives
have been on the boat.
It's different,
but it's an amazing way to live.
Yes.
Every year, China enforces
a fishing ban of almost four months
to allow populations to replenish.
And Mr. Li's family has a small window
of time left to earn their livelihoods
before typhoon season hits
and the fishing ban starts.
We are going to help them fix their nets
before we set out to fish.
-So you're holding it with your toe?
-Yeah.
-Looks hard work.
-Yeah, looks technical.
Need the same size.
-Right.
-Yup.
I think I'm starting to understand.
When I'd heard about a family
that lives on the ocean in a boat,
I imagined something
more like a houseboat.
But this was a fishing boat
that had been made into a home,
not the other way around.
Tonight, I'll get to learn
more about their livelihoods,
as we sail for a night-fishing adventure.
Mr. Li and his family are heading out
to fish off the coast of Hainan,
southern China.
Joss paper, or spirit money,
is thrown for good luck
and to ensure smooth sailing.
It's a common offering
used in traditional Chinese
ancestral practices.
This overnight trip is a chance
to learn and document
how Tanka people earn their livelihood.
My photography career
was built on ocean conservation.
And oftentimes,
the fisherman is the one
that gets the bad rap in the story.
As I sit and talk to Mr. Li
and the other fishermen,
it gives me an opportunity
to see the industry
more from the individual's perspective.
Their parents and their grandparents
were all fishermen,
and this is the way
that they've been taught.
It's also how they feed their family
and provide an income.
While the men are hard at work
preparing for their night fishing,
the Tanka women
are preparing a unique meal.
Wow, pufferfish for dinner.
Is this a normal meal? Pufferfish?
Special meal.
They're showing me this pufferfish
and I'm thinking to myself,
I'm not sure if I would try this
in a restaurant with a certified chef.
Pufferfish are supposed to have
this incredibly powerful toxin,
and if you eat it,
it shuts down your ability to breathe.
But then they tell me that it's not
actually not the poisonous pufferfish.
Now, I know they spend every day
out in the ocean, and know their fish,
but I'm having a hard time believing them.
So it's ready now,
or she's just doing this for the spikes?
Just the spikes.
There was a lot of meat on that fish,
and she's going to add it
to a rice porridge called congee.
We all just sit on the deck for the meal.
It is good. I like it, yeah.
How important is it to you
your children carry on
traditions of the Danjia?
It's always interesting to see
how a culture has evolved
throughout the years,
and to see where it's going.
It's important for me to document this now
to show that there's a way of life
that these people have been living
for hundreds of years.
After 10 hours, Mr. Li is still hunting
for the perfect fishing spot
by using a sonar-based fish finder.
But night is when the ocean comes alive,
and that's the best time to fish.
It's 2:00 a.m. The crew is all asleep.
We're waiting for the captain
to give word that the fish are here.
When that happens,
it's gonna be absolute chaos.
Everything's gonna
start moving really fast.
So now, we're just waiting for the fish.
This is the moment
everybody's been waiting for.
Everybody's on deck, working.
The big boat's turned off its lights.
There's a small boat
in the center with lights.
Then the big boat is now circling
around it, dragging the net.
Everybody seems to be where they need
to be at exactly the right time,
and everything seems to start to flow.
It's incredible that this many people
can stay organized
and get the 800-meter net
off of the boat all in one go.
By projecting light
at the surface of the water,
we begin to create
a natural food chain reaction
by attracting smaller prey,
which in turn will draw out
a large number of fish.
This is a great opportunity for me
to capture their night fishing action.
But it's high risk.
It's always dangerous
being in the ocean at night,
and to be working on a fishing boat
in this dark, out in the ocean,
with big swell rocking the boat
back and forth,
it takes it up to another level.
If you were to go overboard,
there's a good chance
nobody would ever find you again.
It's incredible to see the efficiency
with which they work,
and to think it's a family operation.
The nets are filled up
with hundreds of kilograms of fish.
It's chaos, so I stand off to the side
and try to document it from a distance.
Last night we caught
over 300 kilograms of fish.
It's been a great experience
being with the Tanka people.
I get to learn about fishing,
but it's more than just a tough job.
This family has hundreds of years
of cultural connection to the ocean.
Mr. Li knows all the islands
offshore of Hainan.
He's the perfect person to suggest
somewhere remote that we can explore.
So he said Jiajing Island is a good place.
-That's what we're looking for.
-Yeah.
Jiajing Island is about
three kilometers away from Shimei bay
and far from the main
tourist destinations,
so I'm hoping to capture
the untouched beauty of Hainan.
Well, it looks like
it's about average eight meters depth,
between us and there.
We are going to paddleboard there,
camp on the island,
and explore the reefs.̣
-So it'll take most of the day.
-Yeah.
On the northern end of the island,
it looks shallower.
-Probably where we'll find the reef.
-Yeah.
That would be a good place to land,
probably find some shelter
and a good place to camp.
-This is gonna be fun. Real adventure.
-Yeah.
We are going to stand on a board
while using a long paddle to move,
a cross between surfing and kayaking.
This sport is called
stand-up paddleboarding, or SUP.
About to paddle out to Jiajing Island.
It's uninhabited,
so if anything were to happen out there,
we'd be a long way from any help.
The island is within sight,
but it will take us
a few hours to get there
and start our underwater adventure.
Dou Dou and I are on an expedition
to explore the reefs off
Hainan's uninhabited islands.
We've been paddling for two hours
and we're both pretty tired.
This wind kicking up,
it's making it choppier.
Yeah.
Nice to get there before
the storms or wind picks up more.
Hainan, off China's southern tip,
has more than 200 tropical islands
with reefs that are home
to over 800 marine species.
And I can't wait to explore
its underwater world.
-I think we're about a kilometer away.
-Yeah.
You see the right side have beach, right?
Yeah, yeah.
Well, we're almost there.
Let's finish this.
Yeah. Let's go.
We finally made it to Jiajing Island
and this place is untouched.
Now we've just got to set up camp.
What's your plan for dinner?
Spearfish. It's the only way I know.
You get to select the one fish
that you need and not affect everything.
Right around here, there's a spot
where I saw some boulders,
and that's where we'll find bigger fish.
This coral out front looks too shallow.
Freediving is a tricky sport,
and breath-holding techniques
take a lot of training.
We swim past the rocks
and take a few deep breaths in and out
as we warm up.
During the day, these fish will be hiding
in a cave under the reef
or perhaps under the coral somewhere.
To find them, you have to go down
and stick your head in a hole
and wait for your eyes
to adjust to the darkness.
After they adjust a little bit,
sometimes you can see a fish
hiding in the back.
When you finally see a fish,
you don't want to go straight at it
because it'll swim away.
You just have to sit there
and wait for the right moment.
It's important to hit it in a place
where it kills it instantaneously.
Finally, he just squeaks out
into the light a bit,
and I can see that I have a good shot.
I pull it out, and it's a good, clean hit
and I know that we're gonna
have dinner tonight.
-Today is good job.
-Yeah?
-It looks good.
-Yeah.
I'm excited to try that.
Today was an amazing experience.
Paddling with Dou Dou
and getting to catch dinner
on these beautiful islands
that people just don't get to visit.
I can't wait for us to dive again
and take some photographs tomorrow.
How deep do you think it is?
I think three or five meters,
not too deep.
Hopefully get some good shots
of the coral.
Dou Dou and I
will look for offshore reefs,
and document the underwater world
of Hainan island.
But with strong tides kicking up sediment,
there's not much visibility.
Free diving has always
felt like the most natural way
to explore the underwater world, to me.
When you're free diving,
you're part of it.
It feels like flying.
You can go in and out of the reef
and just glide through the water
in a way that you could
never experience wearing tanks.
We have to swim towards the channel
to find a reef to photograph.
But it's not easy.
-It's a little bit murky.
-Yeah.
But let's dive down, see what we can see.
-Yeah.
-May be some fish at the boulders.
Okay.
Sunlight is what makes coral reefs thrive.
You can find them all over the world,
close to the equator in shallow depths.
They are a crucial part
of our ocean's ecosystem,
and a key indicator
of the health of our seas.
Let's go down and see how deep it is.
Maybe we'll find some fish down there.
Be cool to see what's at the bottom.
Dou Dou and I can hold our breaths
for around three minutes.
At the new site,
we dive down about five meters
and we find our reef.
This area's got quite a bit of life.
The coral here is a lot more prominent
than it was in the shallower water.
I think, perhaps,
it's because it's a little bit deeper,
but the coral has definitely
grown much more here.
Yeah, I saw it,
with the really long spikes.
You know, if the sea temperatures
change just a few degrees,
their larvae won't survive.
I saw some starfish down there, too,
so I'm gonna go down
and take a few more photos.
We swim further along
and take in its beauty.
Taking photos underwater
can be really difficult.
Red light doesn't penetrate the water
like blue light does.
So the deeper you go,
the more blue your picture's gonna be.
I'm shooting with a small housing
so I can free dive
and move quickly around the reef.
To get a good photo,
I have to stay near the surface
so that those reds
penetrate into the water.
In this shallow coral reef area,
the colors really start to show through.
Coral reefs can be
some of the most colorful places,
between the fish
and the different types of coral,
starfish and all the amazing animals
that live in this environment.
Underwater, it seems like it's
an advantage to have bright colors,
and everything on this reef
is just glowing.
This expedition
has been a real eye-opener.
I got to free dive on a coral reef
off of an uninhabited island,
something I never thought
I'd have the opportunity to do.
My Hainan adventure
has been unforgettable.
This unique local fishing culture
has taught me a lot about
the hard work it takes
to survive and thrive
in this oceanic environment.
And with Dou Dou's help,
I've discovered an underwater paradise
I never knew existed.
On my next extreme adventure in China
That was a cool little route.
I explore the largest group
of sinkholes on Earth
That is a lot bigger than I imagined.
rappel deep down
This is intense.
to an amazing underground world
-This looks like
-Heaven.
and venture into the hidden depths.
This is tight.
Oh, my God.