August 17, 2016 - In Bama County, Guangxi, China, living past the age of a hundred isn't just commonplace, it's become a tourist attraction. People from big cities flock to villages like Longhong to meet the centenarians and try to learn the secret of their longevity.
A self-proclaimed 118-year-old has adopted a flexitarian (or semi-vegetarian) diet. "He doesn't eat much meat," says his 87-year-old son.
One Chinese researcher suggests that several geological factors there contribute to longevity, including a karst landform, a higher than normal magnetic field, and a nearby fault zone.
Bama County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China
The proportion of people over 100 years-of –age in Bama County is nearly seven 7 times that of the rest of China.
<Pan Qifang
Chief researcher, Bama Longevity Research Institute>
There is the hereditary factor, the cultural factor, but most important, it’s the environment here that makes people generally live longer.
But Bama county’s clean air is also bringing in tourists keen to escape smoggy Chinese cities
<Chen Xisong Villager>
If there are more tourists, the economy here may get better, but the air will probably be polluted. There is both gain and loss.
For one poor Bama village, so far untainted by the influx of tourists, a change is about to happen
<Huang Zhongkang 72 year old Long Hong Villager>
A plan under way to turn this village into a place for health and ecological.
<Huang Zhongkang 72 year old Long Hong Villager>
For more than 30 years I have gone fishing everyday. I like fishing, this lifestyle is carefree.
My son works in Nanning city. He asked me to go live with him.
But I’d rather live in the village than in the urban area. It’s too hot there—and overpopulated. The air is horrible, and it affects my appetite. I feel dizzy and sick
VO
A short drive from Long Hong is Chang Shou village. Once a poor farming community now reinvented as a tourist destination. It’s attraction - centenarians.
<Huang Yingchun Villager>
The secret to our longevity is very simple. We eat what we plant. The meat, too, comes from what we raise ourselves.
At 118 years old, Huang Buxin claims to be Bama’s oldest person.
<Huang’s 87-year-old son>
My father eats corn, peas—all sorts of vegetables—every day. He doesn’t eat much meat.
He and other centenarian’s in the village bring in much needed income to the impoverished region
Up until recently Bama County was one of China’s poorest county’s
Pan Qifang
Chief researcher, Bama Longevity Research Institute>
Bama now has 83 centenarians out of a population of about 278,000. The proportion of centenarians here is the highest in China.
The sunlight here is rich in far infrared. It improves the immune system and quickens the metabolism.
Bama is located in a geological fault zone. On one side there is the karst landform; on the other there are undulating hills, therefore the magnetic level is pretty high here. A higher magnetic level helps people sleep and improves the immune and nervous systems.
Along with the sightseers a new breed of Chinese health tourist is on the rise here, seeking refuge from China’s cities
Yao Xuchu suffered from heart disease and a stroke three years ago.
Yao Xuchu,
Health migrant AGE
Every day I come here to sing very beautiful songs.
Four years ago, I can’t speak. But here, I can sing aloud.
Back in Long Hong village tensions are rising. Tourists have started arriving and they are starting to impact the village.
Some young people come here to take wedding photos, which is fine, because this village is very scenic. But there are tourists who come here to swim or come here for picnics, leaving garbage behind. That’s what we’re afraid of.
Chen Xisong
Village Butcher
I notice that the health of the elderly seems to be declining. Old people start to have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, and signs of strokes.
There weren’t so many of these cases before. There weren't so many of these cases before.
Before old people would just go down to the farmland and work. That's their way of exercising. Maybe it's because people don't need to work that much anymore. Maybe it's because tourism has already brought pollution to this place.
Huang Zhongkang
Long Hong Villager
This is a paradox. Tourism will bring us more income and make our lives better. In that regards, it keeps us healthy.
This village was so poor that there wasn’t even a proper road. The road was bumpy and muddy. People didn’t have opportunities to go out to work. As long as tourists don't litter here, we welcome the development. If we have more income, we'll have better health.
VO
A new eco resort is now planned for the village.
Huang Zhongkang
Long Hong Villager
I just hope I live long enough to see the resort completed.
VO
In Bama, that could be a very long time.
