The decline of Sanya's status is also reflected in the election of mayor here. Wang Luobin served as mayor here in the past. After Wang Luobin transferred Lingao to become the chairman of the Senate, the mayor became Tang Menglong.
Of course, Tang Menglong was the first veteran to leave Lingao and serve as the leader of a region - even though his jurisdiction was just a coal mine. But it can be considered a very old qualification. But at the level of the Senate, he has not held a very important position since he left the Jiazi Coal Mine. Before taking over as the mayor of Sanya, his experience was as the county director of several counties in Hainan. He has experience as a local chief executive. However, these counties are all small counties with sparse population and almost no industry and commerce. The so-called county directors have little work to do and no construction tasks. Naturally, Tang Menglong didn’t achieve any political achievements either.
He came to serve as the mayor of Sanya. One can imagine Sanya's actual status in the Senate now.
"Lao Tang is probably depressed enough himself." Xu Yanliang thought to himself. At any rate, with his qualifications, it would not be considered unworthy of him to go to Guangdong to become the mayor of a provincial city, but to be here guarding the blue sky and the sea. I don’t know how long this special city’s title will last.
However, if it is really a good place, I am afraid that Nanyang Company will not be able to stay.
Xu Yanliang somewhat understands the psychology of the people around him. Whether it's Lingao or Guangzhou, they are just one of countless departments and companies competing for resources. The benefits may not be many, but being stared at and observed with a magnifying glass is certain.
When you come to Sanya, it feels like you are outside the Three Realms and not among the Five Elements. The vast world has a lot to offer.
Moreover, Sanya also has an advantage, and that is infrastructure. Because it was designated as a "special city" and had a blank sheet of paper to draw pictures on, although the infrastructure situation is not as good as that of Lingao, it is comparable to other counties in Hainan. Much better.
Moreover, there are preferential tax policies here. Many businessmen who have long-term trade relations with the Senate have set up "branch companies" locally or set up separate signboards and branches to avoid taxes. Although the "semicolon" here is mostly just an office and a brand, these short institutions will become "entities" as long as they are profitable.
The key is how to attract these wealthy people to Sanya.
Xu Yanliang was thinking about it when the guard beside him whispered: "Director Xu, Mayor Tang is here."
Xu Yanliang took a closer look and saw a modified Dafa boat approaching the Anleyou Pier at the entrance of Dadonghai Bay, with Tang Menglong's veteran flag flying on it.
"It came really slowly." Xu Yanliang thought to himself. He remembered that someone complained that Tang Menglong had been a local governor for several years and had not achieved much in terms of political achievements, but he had a lot of children. Almost enough for one class.
But having a local leader like him would at least make it easier to cooperate. If you really want to be strong and assertive, Nanyang Company will not be so easy to get along with in Sanya.
With this thought in mind, he went down from the tower and waited at the dock for the arrival of Bailihou.
Although the mayor of Sanya is getting older, he is still in good shape. He quickly stepped down from the boat very nimbly and waved enthusiastically all the way over.
"Director Xu!"
Xu Yanliang hurriedly greeted him, and the two held hands tightly. Those who didn't know better might have thought that they were comrades who had been separated for many years. In fact, they were just acquaintances in the Senate. If we hadn't met him once during the senate meeting, he would have been a complete stranger.
For Tang Menglong, Sanya has become a corner forgotten by the Senate since the Tiandu Mine came into formal use. Even the navy veterans stationed in Yulin were transferred away, except for the occasional technicians who were brought in due to mechanical issues. Besides, there is no other elder in Sanya.
Of course there are many naturalized citizens here. There are also many "knowledgeable" and "interesting" people among them, but after all, they are residents of this time and space. They know very little about the experience, thoughts, and culture of the elders, and they cannot talk freely.
It's okay to deal with government affairs at ordinary times, but once I have free time, it's really boring.
He was tired of seeing the beautiful scenery of Sanya Bay and Dadonghai. Drinking too much coconut water will make you feel tired. As for women, Tang Menglong used to think about having three wives and four concubines, but when he actually had three wives and four concubines, he realized that it was not so wonderful. As the number of maids and children continues to increase, family conflicts are also increasing. Thinking of the four maids and seven gourd babies he left in Lingao gave him a headache. So now he is quite Buddhist in terms of food and sex.
Now that a veteran has finally arrived, and many more seniors will come to stay permanently, Tang Menglong's enthusiasm is not surprising.
"I'm so happy that your company can choose Sanya as its base." Tang Menglong said with a smile, "I've always dreamed of you coming."
"No, it's such an exaggeration." Xu Yanliang was a little surprised by his enthusiasm, "This is a special city. Isn't it normal for our company to come here to look for development opportunities?"
"Everyone is in a hurry to go to the mainland now. Who still remembers that there is a special city here." Tang Menglong shook his head repeatedly with a lonely look on his face, "Come on, I will take you to visit."
Xu Yanliang said yes repeatedly. Although he has learned a lot about the specific situation in Sanya through reading materials, it is better to see it with his own eyes, not to mention that it is best not to live up to the hospitality of the local landlords.
"The place you are at now is the Anleyou Terminal - the current dedicated output terminal of the Tiandu Mining Bureau." Tang Menglong said, waving his hands around, "To be honest, it's quite a sight to have such a thing on the coast of the East Coast."
The small town of Anleyou City has long been changed beyond recognition. This is the seat of the management department of the Mining Bureau Terminal. Rows of red brick buildings serve as offices and dormitories. Huge silos and various loading and unloading machines are lined up along the dock. The huge yard is filled with piles of iron ore and other ores and stones screened from the concentrator.
Like all similar mineral terminals, it is dusty, with black dust and sewage everywhere. More than a dozen steam engines spat out black smoke and white steam. Xu Yanliang has already fully enjoyed the pollution here from the observation deck.
"It's nothing. When the iron ore in Tiandu is mined, it will naturally turn into a resort and hotel." Xu Yanliang said, "Speaking of it, this is the lifeblood of the steel industry."
"The environment here is too bad. Let's cross the sea to Yulin Fort opposite."
The two immediately boarded the traffic boat and crossed the Dadonghai Sea. Xu Yanliang noticed that there were very few ships on Anleyou Pier, most of them were ships carrying ore, and he was relieved.
"There are not many products here, and there is not much business. How can there be so many ships." Tang Menglong said, "Iron ore is the biggest export product here."
They soon arrived at Yulinbao. Yulin Fort underwent a large-scale expansion during the development of Sanya. It is now a fortress with two defensive walls, 10 convex corner forts and 12 towers. The fortress was designed to house a full infantry battalion. It is now the largest military base of the Army in southern Hainan Island.
The battalion commander of the 2nd Infantry Battalion stationed in Yulinbao was already greeting Xu Yanliang at the door. Originally, when the elders arrived, the garrison had to go through some red tape such as "inspections" and "reviews" as usual, but Xu Yanliang had already notified them in advance not to do this. So only the garrison battalion commander and main officers came out to greet them.
Xu Yanliang accepted their respect, said a few more polite words, and commented on the situation of the local garrison. The commander of the 2nd Infantry Battalion is the garrison commander here.
The garrison battalion commander was transferred during the "army expansion and reorganization" of the mainland strategy not long ago. This reorganization replaced more than 80% of the veterans in the second camp. Now it is basically a brand new team.
"...Now only the light infantry company is made up of mostly veterans. The rest are basically new recruits. The veterans have all been promoted to sergeants." the battalion commander reported.
"How is the local security situation?"
"There is no large-scale fighting, mainly counter-insurgency operations."
There are many Li villages scattered in the southern part of Hainan Island, some of which are very close to Tiandu. Although many villages were gradually "organized into households" through their means of preaching, trading, recruiting soldiers and workers, and delivering medicines, small-scale riots were not uncommon. Whenever there was a disturbance, the 2nd Battalion would be dispatched.
"... Riots were very common in the early years. Even the local Tiandu Mine was attacked many times, and lone workers were killed and robbed. In recent years, the situation has improved a lot." The battalion commander said, "There are also local incidents. Several slave riots, however small in scale, were suppressed.”
"That's good." Xu Yanliang's biggest concern is of course the public security issue. He suddenly thought of a question, "Are there any pirate attacks here?"
"Not in recent years," the battalion commander said. "The Coast Guard is relatively clear about specific pirate attacks on ships. But pirates have never had a landing battle."
“Coast Guard—There’s no navy stationed here?”
"There is a special agent boat squadron stationed at Luhuitou Base. There is also a local Coast Guard patrol boat squadron. They are currently under the command of the naval commander."
Another sign of Sanya's declining status is that the navy has lost interest in the area. In order to compete for Yulin's military dominance, both the army and the navy were jealous of each other. The Navy has also compiled a large-scale naval construction plan for Yulingang. The Nanyang Fleet, the Naval Academy... and the Navy General Hospital were also planned to be moved here. Elder Hong once even wanted to build a joint service sanatorium.
Of course, these are still plans.
Tang Menglong took him around Yulin Fort. The coastal plain of the Dadonghai Sea was very small, and there were no large residential areas except Anyu City and Yulin Fort. There are only a few fishing villages and a few camps used for "purification" of laborers. It can be said to be quite desolate.
"Where is the industry here?" He became confused.
"Industry and commerce are all in Sanya," Tang Menglong said. "There is too little land here to carry out construction."
