Blessed by palm-fringed beaches and balmy weather, Hainan is drawing masses of retirees fleeing the biting cold of their hometowns.

得益于棕榈树环绕的海滩和温暖舒适的天气，海南吸引着大批躲避家乡严寒的退休人士。

Between 600,000 and 700,000 elderly descend¹ on Sanya every winter, almost doubling its population, said Huang Cheng, a sociologist² at Sanya University. Nearly half of these "migratory³ birds" come from Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning.

据三亚学院社会学家黄诚介绍，每年冬天有六七十万老年人涌入三亚，导致当地人口几乎翻倍。这些"候鸟"近半数来自黑龙江、吉林和辽宁。

The trend began in 2000 as residents of those provinces began buying Sanya apartments, opening businesses and luring⁴ friends and family to join them, creating a "snowball effect," Huang said.

黄诚表示，这一趋势始于2000年，当时上述三省居民开始购买三亚房产、做生意、劝说亲朋好友一同加入，形成了"雪球效应"。

Recreational centers with features aimed at the elderly, such as mahjong tables, table tennis, billiards⁵, chess, calligraphy⁶ and painting, have mushroomed.

拥有麻将桌、乒乓球、台球、国际象棋、书法、绘画等老年人特色服务的休闲中心如雨后春笋般涌现。

The influx⁷ has put pressure on local residents, who have to contend with surging food prices when the population doubles in winter.

老年人口的涌入给当地居民造成了压力，他们不得不应对冬季人口翻倍时激增的食品价格。

Real estate⁸ costs also have soared as some wealthier pensioners⁹ buy apartments. Hospitals are also struggling to cope with an explosion in demand from the aging "migratory birds."

随着一些较富裕的退休人士购房，三亚房产价格也已飙升。医院也在努力应对老年"候鸟"的爆发式需求。