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Monkey Island
In the most southern part of China, in the South China Sea, lies Hainan Island, the smallest province in the People's Republic of China. On Hainan Island is the tropical paradise resort of Sanya, and near Sanya you will find Monkey Island. It's not actually an island though, it's a peninsula because part of it is connected to Sanya, so it's not totally surrounded by water.
There is a legend about Monkey Island that goes something like this:
During the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), there lived a village of Li fishermen in Lingshui County, (40 min from Sanya). One year, the village was hit by a mysterious pestilence, causing great numbers of the villagers to go blind and forcing many families to flee for their lives. Among the villagers was a young man named Yanan, known for his great fishing skills. One day, he heard a tale that told of black pearls which could cure the villagers. He immediately ventured out in his boat to search for the pearls, but soon encountered a ferocious storm which capsized his craft and endangered his life. To his great fortune, a group of mystical monkeys, following the instructions of the Monkey King, Sunwukong, were passing by on a raft, heading for an enchanted island marked by a stone likeness of a monkey.
Today, the "island" is a state-protected sanctuary for around 2,500 Rhesus Macaque monkeys and a place where they can live safely and play safely without any restrictions or cages. As soon as you step out of the cable car you can see monkeys walking around everywhere and playing in the trees, and it's so great to be able to walk around in their environment and being so close to them that you can reach out and touch them....although that wouldn't be wise! The only negative part of the island is the touristy commercial side, which is to be expected anywhere like this. Shows are put on throughout the day where the monkeys are dressed up in tutus and ride round on bicycles etc., although some may find it entertaining, personally, I don't, but that said, it is still a really great place to get up close and personal with monkeys and I would love to go back there and take more photographs.
Rhesus Macaques, often just called Rhesus monkeys, have a lifespan of around 25 years. It was the Rhesus Macaque that also became the first "monkeynaut" when a couple of them were sent into space during the 1950s and 60s by the USA. Studies have shown that macaque monkeys and humans share 93% of the same DNA sequence, and that we shared a common ancestor with them around 25 million years ago.
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Monkey Island
