Amused tourists granted front-row seats to China’s latest Fire and Fury

The buzz of holiday cheer and selfie-snapping is punctuated by the roar of explosions as projectiles shoot into the sky, eliciting oohs and aahs from the surprised tourists.

Visitors to Pingtan Island, a popular tourist destination with sparkling seas and reefs that draws thousands of visitors each summer, have been granted a front-row seat to China’s recent anger at Taiwan.

The unprecedented military drills come in response to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the self-governing island this week, which Beijing sees as a major provocation.

The closest point in mainland China to Taiwan, some 125 kilometers across the strait, is Pingtan on the front line.

Tourists in shorts, t-shirts and hats brave the 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit) temperature and crowds on the eastern tip of the island.

But afternoon beach fun is quickly interrupted by the thunder of rocket fire across the Taiwan Strait, turning tourists’ heads.

Their cameras quickly switch from documenting family fun to the latest geopolitical writing between Beijing and Taipei, and turn to gaze at the azure sky to catch projectiles erupting from military installations just a few miles away.

“It’s all a bit worrying… come on, let’s go,” a woman, carrying an umbrella to protect herself from the sun, told her friends as other worried tourists left the camp.

A little later, another group of tourists arrive to find out what all the hustle and bustle is all about.

“We suddenly heard a huge noise. That surprised us at the time!” a student, who came with friends and introduced himself as Jack, tells AFP.

“What if we were scared? Not at all,” says the young man, smiling.

Chinese military exercises, taking place in six sea areas around Taiwan, began Thursday noon (04:00 GMT) and will continue until Sunday noon (04:00 GMT).