Also known as gypsies of the sea, Tanka people are local fishermen traditionally living in fishing boats or floating houses in Ningde City. The history of this floating fishing village goes back to the Tang Dynasty, around 700 AD when the Tanka people settled on their fishing boats to avoid wartime tumult on the mainland. Today, there are still around 7000 local fishermen refusing to settle on the land. Over time, the Tanka people built wooden houses and seafood farms.
Local fishermen settled in their vessels in order to avoid the chaos of war on the land during the period of the Tang Dynasty.
The Tanka people’s floating fishing village holds the longest coastline in Fujian and the largest mudflat in China.
