The hometown of overseas Chinese on Qidu Island

Qidu is an island town in Lucheng District, just across the river from Wenzhou City, with a permanent population of over 9,000 and overseas Chinese15,000. It is a famous hometown of overseas Chinese. Income depends on foreign exchange: the per capita annual income on the island is not high, only 6 166 yuan (statistics in 2004), but the living standard is not low, and overseas remittance has become the main pillar of their lives.

ATM: Apart from rural credit cooperatives, China Bank is the only state-owned commercial bank on the island. The ATM of the bank was cancelled because it was neglected for several months. 20 1 1, 24-hour ATMs and deposit machines were re-established. The explanation given by the bank staff is that it is too difficult to persuade the elderly who are almost illiterate on the island to use bank cards!

Exchange foreign currency for daily necessities: there is a saying that an old lady who can't read newspapers and TV is quite familiar with the exchange rate between euro and dollar. When she had no change, she exchanged euros for eggs, 1 euros for 15 local eggs. The foreign currencies commonly used on the island are mainly US dollars, euros and Canadian dollars. There used to be lira, francs and Dutch guilders.

Summer vacation is more lively than Spring Festival: because people can't travel freely without a green card, many adults can't go home for the Spring Festival. On the contrary, many children come back from abroad to attend summer camp every summer vacation. Perhaps the word "going home for the New Year" means little to these children, but it is an unforgettable dream for their parents.

Qidu bridge

On February 28th, 2005, 65,438, Wenzhou Qidu Bridge with an investment of more than 400 million yuan broke ground. It is understood that this is the largest municipal public bridge in Wenzhou history. This incident has once again aroused people's attention to Qidu Island. Close observation of this hometown of overseas Chinese, known as "Wenzhou Island United Nations", makes many stories of overseas immigrants of Qidu people come alive. The southwest end of Qidu Bridge (Nancha Bridge) is connected with Xueyuan East Road across Jiang Bin Road, and the northeast end is connected with Qidu Island. The main bridge is about 2.07 kilometers long and 34 meters wide, with six lanes in both directions and a design speed of 60 kilometers per hour. It is estimated that the project will be basically completed in June 20 12 and officially opened to traffic in February 20 12. Qidu Bridge (North Branch Bridge) is currently actively carrying out preliminary work. According to the project proposal, the bridge starts from Qidu South Branch Bridge in the south, crosses Oujiang River, and connects to National Highway 104 through Wuniu Interchange. The length of the main bridge is 1.75 km, and the design standard is the same as that of the south branch bridge.

The influence of typhoon

Ordinary Wenzhou citizens' understanding of Qidu seems to be reported in the news of the safe evacuation of island residents on the eve of typhoon every year. In fact, apart from being vulnerable to typhoons, it is the only hometown of overseas Chinese in Wenzhou.

Every student with a local hukou studying at school may be a future immigrant. They are like kites. The other end of the rope is in the hands of relatives across the ocean. When the monsoon blows, they fly in the direction of the rope.