As the head of the migrants association in a suburban community all but taken over by snowbirds, Mr. Zhao spends much of his time coordinating meetings and music rehearsals. “Before, we thought retired life would be very dull, just sitting on little stools in the sun and shriveling up and growing old,” said Mr. Zhao. We had no idea that after coming here we would be so happy and have so many friends.”Not everyone is happy with the presence of Sanya’s snowbirds. They find peace only in the off-season summer months, when the snowbirds retreat to their homes up north to escape the sweltering temperatures and monsoon rains. Others say the goal is instead to attract high-spending vacationers to boost local tourism, already one of the city’s main industries in addition to agriculture.

Source: New York Times December 09, 2017 09:56 UTC