Villagers Take a Stand on Wrecking Ball Beach

In a sense, seaside calm returned to the scenic Silver Beach area in Beihai on October 8, the day after national holidays ended and an estimated 200,000 tourists packed their bags and went home.

But a festering property dispute reached a new crisis level as the day dawned in this Beibu Bay community, in southern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

On the western edge of the sun-baked beach, in a little village called Baihutou, a torrent of noise shook 31-year-old Xu Yong from his sleep at about 5 a.m. He rushed to a window and saw what looked like a scene from an action movie.