Shanghai sightseers rescued at sea

Eleven Shanghai sightseers have been rescued after their rented boat broke down near the remote Xisha Islands in Hainan Province late last week, leaving them stranded for three days, local media reported Thursday.

Following their rescue, the 11 travelers, who were part of a 24-person self-organized sightseeing group, were on their way to Sansha city on Yongxing Island Thursday afternoon, said the group's leader, surnamed Shi.

"All of us are safe and sound after the Sanya division of the Hainan Maritime Search and Rescue Center sent people to rescue us," he told the Global Times.

Maritime rescuers Wednesday picked up the travelers, who hailed from Shanghai, Beijing and Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, after their boat's engine broke down on Saturday afternoon, according to a report in the Youth Daily.

"I thought the boat's crew had a lot of experience at sea, so I didn't expect something like this to happen when we planned this trip," Shi said.

The group ended up stranded on one of the Xisha Islands that is about 15 hours away by ship from the port city of Wenchang in eastern Hainan.

A maritime patrol boat supplied the stranded boat with fresh water Tuesday, and all of the travelers were rescued the next day, according to the report. Each traveler paid 8,500 yuan ($1,365) to join the six-day journey to a group of islands near the Xisha Islands.

The China Maritime Search and Rescue Center said on its official microblog that travelers aren't supposed to rent private fishing boats for sea voyages.

However, Shi said that renting a private boat is the only way for tourists to reach the islands. "I hope that the Hainan Province tourism authority can create tourist routes to these islands as soon as possible, so more people can see the beautiful scenery," Shi said.

The Hainan Province government is planning to designate cruise ship routes to islands across the South China Sea, according to the Sanya city development plan for cruise tourism.

"It's human nature to want to explore where no one else has been," said Gu Xiaoming, a Fudan University professor who specializes in tourism. "An adventurous spirit should be valued in young people. The government should think of ways to regulate those who organize these kinds of trips, rather than simply prohibiting them."

Still, Gu said that the government should impose strict qualification requirements for people who organize such trips.