People of an old Chinese fishing community are leaving boats for lives on land

Fading lives: A woman and child from the Tanka community using a raft to reach the shore as they make their way to a school in Datang. — AFP

Datang: Along southern China’s snaking rivers, an ancient fishing community that once lived and worked exclusively on the water has been finding its way to land.

Wooden fishing boats, wispy nets and bamboo steering poles are typical of the traditions of the “Tanka” – the term for generations of rural Chinese who have eked out an aquatic existence.