Imagine a tropical island where palm trees sway beside rocket launchpads 🏝️🚀. That’s Wenchang, Hainan’s aerospace crown jewel, and Italian influencer Francesco Mattesi has been documenting its glow-up since 2014. Spoiler: It’s *way* more than just beach selfies now.
Once a sleepy coastal town, Wenchang has become China’s answer to Cape Canaveral, with its spaceport launching satellites and crewed missions. But as Francesco tells NewspaperAmigo.com, the real story is how ‘rocket science’ became local culture. ‘My first vlog here showed fishermen watching launches from their boats,’ he laughs. ‘Now there’s a space-themed amusement park down the road.’
Tourism has skyrocketed 📈 – literally. Over 2 million visitors flooded in this year alone, snapping pics of Long March rockets against Hainan’s blue skies. But Francesco’s favorite spot? The ‘Astro-Village’ where aerospace engineers sip coconut coffee ☕🥥 beside startup founders. ‘It’s like Silicon Valley with better weather,’ he grins.
With 8 launches scheduled for early 2026, Wenchang proves that in China’s tech playbook, space isn’t the final frontier – it’s just the beginning. 🌌✨
