[Ms. Miao’s Memoirs] — Me and the Sea Series （1）

My First Encounter with the Sea (Hainan)

By Miao Huiqiong

For someone born and raised on the plateau, the first sight of the sea on television in childhood carved a quiet but enduring longing into my wish list for distant journeys. The impulse to go to the sea took root early and never truly faded.

After I started working, holding my very first month’s salary—293.5 yuan—the thought that occupied me most was this: once I saved enough money, I would go and see the sea.

One summer, two colleagues and I boarded a plane to Hainan and landed at Haikou Airport. We got onto the tour bus, listening to the guide’s nonstop commentary about Hainan’s climate, environment, transportation, culture, customs, and local products. Outside the window, coconut trees flashed by one after another, and fleeting slivers of sea and sky appeared and vanished in between. The guide’s voice gradually dissolved into optional background noise. In my mind, I searched for all the words, images, stories, and songs about the sea that had once moved me, letting my thoughts drift freely between the sky and the ocean.

Like puppets on strings, we checked off attractions, toured, shopped, and followed the routine of three meals a day. Over five days, the actual time spent by the sea was pitifully little. So many times the ocean was right within reach, yet remained unattainable, as we hurried on to the next stop. It wasn’t until Yalong Bay—where the guide generously allowed forty minutes—that my two companions and I finally had the chance to kick off our shoes and dash toward the sea without hesitation. I still vaguely remember the joy and excitement of that first closeness to the ocean. But thirty years have passed, like waves washing away almost all the details of that moment. What remains is a single sensation: standing barefoot on sand freshly soaked by seawater, the gentle coolness and warmth traveling from the soles of my feet straight to my heart, soft as cotton, fine as silk.

Before I could even take in the sky and the sea properly, we rushed back to the guide’s designated meeting point—and were still late. Back on the bus, we were met with a round of sarcasm and mockery from the guide. I was filled with displeasure. I didn’t want this kind of travel. Next time, I told myself, I would go to the sea alone.

Written at dawn, February 3, 2026, in Bangkok