Has China's Hainan cracked the secret to longevity?
In Hainan, more than 200 of its 560,000 residents are aged a 100 over. This might not sound a lot, but it remains one of the highest ratio in the world. There are at least three centenarians –a term used for people aged over a 110 – in which there are less than 400 worldwide.
Residents in Hainan do not live a life of luxury. They live in shanty houses and survive on few dollars a day, it is mainly a simple life with a simple diet. This is perhaps the secret to their long lives. Farmers are the main profession in Hainan and residents claim that most of them do not exercise regularly as farm work is their ‘exercise' of the day. Researches have been conducted on the demographic in hopes of revealing the secret to longevity. They found that it is a combination of diligent, simple-minded and magnanimous lifestyle as well as a heavy vegetarian diet and eating sensibly. Of course, the classic idiom early to bed, early to rise applies too.
An active social life is key as well; men and women socialize daily in public parks – sipping tea and chit-chatting while listening to opera recordings. The locals claim that their regular consumption of alcohol is a contributory factor to living long. Their local grain spirit named Three Coconut Sprint is a famous choice of alcohol. A daily ritual, many of the older folks sip a shot of the spirit daily to keep warm. Combined with good climate and the soil which is naturally high in selenium, it can be said that Hainan possesses the right combination to an extra-long and fruitful life as it lacks the normative stress and environmental population that seems to be besiege most cities.