Geng Lu Bu, navigation guide for South China Sea passed down for generations

Wang Zhenzhong (L) and Wang Shubao arrange copies of Geng Lu Bu at a museum in Qionghai, south China's Hainan Province, July 22, 2025. Geng Lu Bu, manual of sea routes created by Chinese fishermen more than 600 years ago, was a navigation guide for the South China Sea and was passed down from generation to generation. In 2008, it was inscribed on China's national intangible cultural heritage list.

Wang Zhenzhong is the curator of the museum alongside Tanmen Port, a millennium-old fishing harbor in Qionghai. He inherited a Geng Lu Bu from his father Wang Shubao, who spent four decades as a seafarer, along with compasses, antique maps, and porcelain salvaged from ancient shipwrecks. With these family heritages, Wang established the museum so that more people can know about the culture, traditions and stories of the South China Sea. Since opening, the museum has attracted visitors from far and wide. (Xinhua/Cheng Tingting)

Wang Shubao (R) introduces exhibits to a visitor at a museum in Qionghai, south China's Hainan Province, July 31, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhang Liyun)

Wang Shubao arranges copies of Geng Lu Bu at a museum in Qionghai, south China's Hainan Province, July 22, 2025. (Xinhua/Cheng Tingting)

A drone photo taken on July 22, 2025 shows the Tanmen Port in Qionghai, south China's Hainan Province. (Xinhua/Zhang Liyun)

People visit a museum in Qionghai, south China's Hainan Province, July 31, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhang Liyun)

Wang Shubao (L) introduces exhibits to a visitor at a museum in Qionghai, south China's Hainan Province, July 31, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhang Liyun)

A visitor compares a compass with an exhibiting old compass at a museum in Qionghai, south China's Hainan Province, July 31, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhang Liyun)

Wang Shubao (3rd R) introduces exhibits to visitors at a museum in Qionghai, south China's Hainan Province, July 31, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhang Liyun)

Wang Shubao sits in front of a museum in Qionghai, south China's Hainan Province, July 22, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhang Liyun)

Wang Zhenzhong (L) and Wang Shubao stand on a boat at Tanmen Port in Qionghai, south China's Hainan Province, July 22, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhang Liyun)