Introducing Hǎinán
It’s taken more than 2000 years, but the Chinese have finally started to see Hǎinán Dao (Hainan Island) as more than a ‘gate of hell’, a place to which recalcitrant officials were banished to a fate marginally better than death. Indeed, the rehabilitation of Hǎinán’s reputation has been so fast and so complete that a visit to ‘China’s Hawaii’ has become a status symbol in itself.
Feeding directly off China’s booming economy, the country’s smallest province now sees about 80% of its income washed ashore by tourism. But it’s not just middle-class Chinese wearing Hawaiian-style shirt and shorts combos who are coming. London travel agencies are now offering Hǎinán packages alongside those to the Costa del Sol, and a growing number of independent travellers are finding that a side trip to China’s best beaches is a wonderful way to punctuate a trip to this vast country.
Hǎinán is in many ways more like Indochina than the polluted skies, freezing winters and two billion elbows that are often hard to escape on the mainland. And as a traveller, it’s hard not to appreciate that this is one of the few places where you can engage with Chinese unashamedly kicking back and having a good time.
Of course, it’s not all falling coconuts and tanning oil, and the more adventurous will find their trip much enhanced by a little exploration into the central highlands, which have moderate temperatures, thick canopies of forest, and Li and Miao villages. Prices are generally higher in Hǎinán, but avoid the winter rush for some very attractive discounts on hotel accommodation.
Activities in Hǎinán
Sānyà
Of all the newly developed tourist meccas in China, Sānyà is arguably the most complete of the lot – it exists solely for tourism.
Hǎikǒu
Hǎikǒu means ‘Mouth of the Sea’, but while sea trade remains relatively important, the buzzing provincial capital at the northern tip of Hǎinán is most notable for its booming economy.
Hǎinán destination guides
Around Hǎikǒu
Hotels in Hǎinán
Budget Hotels & Hostels in Hǎinán
Apartments in Hǎinán
Around Wŭzhǐshān
Need to know
Entertainment in Hǎinán
Seven Fairy Mountains
Shopping in Hǎinán