On a bright winter morning, veteran pearl farmer He Hanyong gently pried open a silver-lipped oyster. Inside, nestled against the iridescent mother-of-pearl, lay something extraordinary — not just an organic gem, but a symbol of an unlikely marriage between ecology and industry.

"Look," he whispered, carefully extracting a perfectly formed pearl that glistened under the tropical sun on a shoreline of Hainan province. "Eighteen millimeters. The water here gives them exceptional luster," He said of the pearl's size and shine.

The location of this cluster of pearl shells is anything but ordinary. It is near the discharge outlet of the Hainan Changjiang Nuclear Power Base — China's southernmost nuclear facility — where nationally protected silver-lipped pearl oysters are now thriving in waters warmed by the plant's cooling systems.

It is an unexpected sight: one of the nation's most advanced technological installations playing host to one of its most delicate traditional maritime industries.

"This area is rich in algae," said He, who is also head of the Hainan Qianzumeiji Pearl project in the Changjiang Li autonomous county, Hainan, gesturing at the clear waters.

"Silver-lipped pearl oysters need clean water with abundant nutrition. The thermal discharge zone creates perfect conditions — stable temperature, clean water, plenty of food. Just like people, they need the right environment to thrive," He added.