HAIKOU, China, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- The 2018 Route Book Sailing Race concluded in Tanmen, south China's island province of Hainan on Saturday, with the team of Qingdao Tianze claiming the title.
Started on Thursday, this year's event attracted 11 sailing teams to vie for the crown. Through the race, all of the teams need to cover some specific routes which were recorded in "Geng Lu Bu", and use the traditional navigational tools such as compass and nautical chart.
This sailing race was launched in 2017 in memory of "Geng Lu Bu", a bible for fishermen in South China Sea in ancient times.
Geng Lu Bu, which was taught from generation to generation among Chinese fishermen, was a navigation guide of South China Sea. It not only records the features and oceanic conditions of the islands in the area, but contains the history of the sea, names and locations of the islands, shipping lanes and even the ship building technology.
It was with this book that Chinese fishermen had reached the Nansha and Xisha islands to make a living.
Handwritten copies of the book have been handed down since the Yuan Dynasty (1271 - 1368). Some old fishermen still keep the copies although new navigational aids have been adopted.
