Haikou Banana Hostel

Trip to Chanjiang

After some research with Google Earth we planned a trip to Chanjiang County in the west of Hainan. Chanjiang is almost shaped like a wedge that spans from the lowland coastal area to the mountains near the centre of Hainan. The coastal area is home to Qizi Bay and Changhua Town (one of the oldest settlements on Hainan). This area did not offer too much interest and we spent a minimum time exploring here. The real purpose of the trip was to head inland to explore the mountains, caves, and rivers.

Spent a few days in the south of Hainan exploring the area around Sandao town (三道镇, Sān dào zhèn). We found some new bicycle and kayak routes. The Hekou river which feeds into the Chitian reservoir was particularly fun to explore. We found old broken dams and some fun roads that lead the back way into the Yanoda Tropical Rainforest Park.

{gallery}hainan/Sandao{/gallery}

Hongqi 红旗 Village (Red Flag Village)

Location: About 30km south east from Haikou, along the 223 road (the old eastern expressway).

An Hainanese acquaintance offered to show me around the villages of Hongqi. He was sent there during the cultural revolution by Chairman Mao to work on the farms. The name Hongqi  was given to the village by Mao. The original name was Tuqiao 土桥 or Soil Bridge. My guide still knows some of the people in the villages from when he worked there and arranged for some of the village leaders to show us around. Driving from village to village we saw they farmed a variety of crops such as longyen, sugar cane, jack fruit, rubber, banana, and pepper. They also had pigs, water buffalo, goats and chickens. Some villages had plaques devoted to Chairman Mao, inscribed with his quotes. The roads and houses were in pretty good condition and the villages had been beautified to some extent. My guide put forward the idea of foreigners coming to farms to get a real local experience and perhaps even staying a night. The villagers thought this was a good idea and offered there homes for accommodation. So if you are interested in experiencing the farms and some of history of Mao let us know and we will try and help you arrange a visit.


Unfortunately I only had my camera phone so the pictures aren’t too great.

{gallery}hainan/Hongqi Village{/gallery} 

I took the inflatable kayak out on its second trip. This time it was at Haikou's Nandu River. The weather was perfect and the river was surprisingly tranquil (have a look at the pictures). My aim was to make it across to the island in the centre of the river. It turned out to be very easy. I guess it could be a lot more difficult and dangerous when the river is more fierce. I plan to find a route from the river to the beach near Haidian Dao.

{gallery}haikou/nandu-river-kayak{/gallery}

Snorkeling as been on my list of things to do for a while. I was exploring the coast of Hainan on a calm day and found a spot that looked interesting. The water had good visibility and even without any equipment I could see interesting coral and some fish. This is when I realized the relationship between water visibility and the weather. It seems very obvious now, but it did not occur to me before. Visibility is best when there are no waves or wind. Snorkeling weather is roughly the inverse to good surf weather.

In the following few days I purchased some snorkeling equipment locally (not the greatest quality, but it will suffice for now). I also kept abreast with the swell and wind forecasts (there is a link to a good forecasting web-site at the end of this page), waiting for the right conditions.

The right day came and I had a fun day exploring the area with a few friends. Visibility was probably around 2-3 metres. We saw lots of coral and quite a few small fish. Do not try to pick up sea urchins because they can fire their spikes into your hand as a friend learnt the hard way. I think there are probably many decent spots around the island to snorkel. It’s just a matter of going out and finding them. An excellent inexpensive day out.

Swell and wind forecasts:

http://magicseaweed.com/South-East-Asia-MSW-Surf-Charts/71/

Related articles (these articles describe the area we were snorkelling):

• Tonggu Ling and Yue Liang Bay
• Stone Park

North East Coast of Hainan. Closest village - Shanya, closest town -  Jinshan

Distance from Haikou 80km. Travel time 2 hours

Explored a little more of the North West of Hainan Island. The road to the coast from Jinshan is particularly bad, even by Hainan standards. The 15 or so kilometers takes ages because the road is so bumpy, it’s impossible to travel more then 20km/h. At one point we got stuck in some strange grey sand. Our attempts to dig ourselves out were failing when a couple of local villagers passed by. I was expecting them to watch and laugh at the stupid foreigners. Thankfully they were sympathetic and called a group of friends to push the van to freedom.

A large field of papaya trees caught my attention because the majority of the tree were growing horizontal as opposed to straight up. An unusual sight, I guess caused by strong coastal winds. The beach was clean except for masses of washed up coral. I think the small fishing boats break the coral. Judging by the amount of coral on the beach there must be some fairly substantial reefs out there.

{gallery}hainan/jinshan{/gallery}

Wanquan Lake / River is near Qionghai and about half way down the east coast of Hainan. The spot we decided to camp at is pretty remote and only accessible by boat, so we hired a local to take us across the lake. The area turned out to be perfect. There was a clear river running down between two mountains and thick tropical jungle on either side. The river was broken up by many waterfalls and lagoons. The water was cool and so a great escape from the hot sunshine. It was cool jumping from rocks into the deep lagoons, have a look at some of the photos. This place was beautiful.

{gallery}hainan/wanquan{/gallery} 

After the success of the last camping trip we decided it was time for another. An acquaintance offered a trip on his boat to a deserted island just off the south coast of Hainan, where we planned to camp overnight. However things didn't turn out exactly as we would have liked. The boat trip never materialized and instead of relaxing on a small island we spend the day getting lost in random towns while searching for a good spot to camp.

As sunset approached we settled for the not particularly beautiful TianYa because we had little other choice. We set up camp on the edge of a large sand dune overlooking the sea. The cacti proved to be a little annoying in the dark. It didn't take long before local villagers became aware of our presence and we took advantage of their interest by giving them a few yuan for firewood and a torch. By now it was obvious that there was a typhoon just off the coast. Every minute or so the night sky and dark ocean was lit up by great bolts of lightening. The only ambient sound was the powerful waves crashing on the beach below. There was a distinct possibility that the storm was heading our way, but it seemed to stay offshore and we experienced only occasional strong winds and brief downpours. In my now intoxicated state the weather was kind of exhilarating, thou perhaps not for everyone.

A few 20-ish year old local village lads caught a bucket of small crabs off the beach and showed us how to cook them on the fire with a stick. They didn't taste particularly good but maybe it will useful to know in a Ray Mears survival skills way. For the first time in Hainan I saw a scorpion in the sand. I quickly squashed it and threw him in the fire mainly because of fear. The list of horrible, potentially dangerous, creatures i’ve encountered in Hainan grows.

We didn't hang around long the next day partly because of the stares from the group of Hainanese women who where planting trees in the sand dune around us and partly because of the locals who were hassling us for money for them 'protecting us' through the night. Next trip will certainly be better planned.

This is an introduction to the Nature reserves on Hainan Island.

There are 9 national level reserves, they are listed below in order of area, from largest to smallest.

Hainan Bawang Mountain National Nature Reserve (海南霸王岭国家级自然保护 Hǎinán bàwáng lǐng guójiā jí zìrán bǎohù qū)

Location: Changjiang County (昌江县)
Main object of protection: Black crested gibbon and habitat
Area (ha): 29,980

Bawangling National Forest Park is located in the southwest of Hainan in Changjiang County. It is one of the best preserved tropical forests.

They are said to be over 365 kinds of animal species, including rare animals such as black crested gibbon, clouded leopard, black bear, deer, and monitor lizards. It is one of the few remaining homes of the black crested gibbon on earth.

Here is a Hainan news story about a 3 day trip through the nature reserve looking for the gibbons (Chinese language, but has many pictures): http://news.hainan.net/newshtml08/2009w4r19/505725f0.htm.

Notable bird records from Bawangling National Park: http://www.orientalbirdclub.org/publications/forktail/21pdf/Lok-Hainan.pdf.

Back in 2003 Seacology.org (a nonprofit organisation) started a program to protect the Hainan Gibbons at Bawangling Reserve. They persuaded local villages to protect the Gibbon habitat by offering scholarships to village children. Find out more info on their website: http://www.seacology.org/projects/individualprojects/CHINA_Hainan2003.htm.

Pictures of a very old tree in the Bawang park:

{gallery}hainan/Bawangling{/gallery}

Within the vicinity of the national park are some other points of interest:

Emperor cave (皇帝洞 Huángdì dòng) & Wangxia Underground Palace (王下地下宫 Wángxià dìxià gōng)

Emperor cave is a large limestone cave, 60 kilometers from the county capital Changjiang. Extending from west to east, the entrance is 60 meters wide, about 130 meters deep, 25 meters high, covering about 7,800 square meters. It can accommodate thousands of people. Inside the cave are colorful stalactites and shapes. Archaeological experts have collected Neolithic artifacts from inside the cave, some are displayed at the Hainan Museum in Haikou. Outside, the cave is surrounded by mountains, range upon range of peaks, and the Nanyao river. The Underground Palace is also a karst cave with strange stalactite shapes and colours.

Pictures of Emperor cave and the Underground Palace:

{gallery}hainan/emperor-cave{/gallery}

Nanyao River (南尧河 Nányáo hé)

The second largest tributary of the important Changhua River. Length of 41 kilometers, drainage area of ​​371 square kilometers, with a total drop of 1347 meters. Nanyao river is very scenic because it runs through a karst valley (hence the abundance of caves in the area). Part of the river is known locally as 'Mural Corridor' (十画长廊) because of the colourful karst cliffs towering over the river.

Pictures of the Nanyao River and the Hongshui Village which is a few kilometers up the river from the Emperor cave:

{gallery}hainan/nanyao-river{/gallery}

View from the road to Wangxia Village, looking towards the Daguangba Reservoir:

{gallery}hainan/wangxia-view{/gallery}

Here is a photo diary of a 4 day walking adventure through Nanyao River (南尧河 Nányáo hé), Emperor cave (皇帝洞 Huángdì dòng), and Daguangba reservoir (大广坝段 dàguǎngbà duàn). It is divided into 4 sections. Contains many nice photos that give you a good idea about the area. http://www.tianya.cn/techforum/Content/176/541290.shtml

Qicha Township Kapok Trees (七叉乡木棉 Qīcha xiāng Mùmián)

Qicha Township is just west of the national park and has many farm terraces and Kopok trees. Kapok, or Ceiba pentandra, is an emergent tree of tropical rainforests. It can grow up to 70m tall. It flowers red and orange in the spring.

Qicha Hotspring (七叉温泉)

From Changjiang head to Qicha Town. About 1 m after the fork in the road you can school the secondary school. About 50m further down on the right is a 40sqm outdoor pond. The natural spring may not be clean or suitable for use.

Also in Chanjiang County is Changhua Ridge 昌化岭 and Qizi Bay 棋子湾, on the west coast.

Changjiang news portal (Chinese): http://changjiang.hinews.cn

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Jianfengling National Nature Reserve, Hainan (海南尖峰岭国家级自然保护 Hǎinán jiānfēng lǐng guójiā jí zìrán bǎohù qū)

{gallery}hainan/Jianfengling-National-Park{/gallery}

For more photos see http://www.haikouhostel.com/hainan-photo-gallery/category/13-jianfengridge

Jianfengling National Nature Reserve is located in the southwest of Hainan, spanning Ledong (乐东县) and Dongfang (东方) counties. The geographical coordinates are: longitude 108 ° 44 '~ 109 ° 02', latitude 18 ° 23 '~ 18 ° 52'.

The main object of protection is its tropical forest ecosystem. It has an area of 20,170 (ha).

The nature reserve was founded in 1960, it was the first nature reserve in Hainan Province. In 2002 it was promoted to National Nature Reserve to protect its tropical virgin forest ecosystems. It is the lowest latitude tropical rain forest in China。

It is also one of China's most biologicaly diverse tropical forests.

Natural Environment

The protected area includes peaks, valleys, hills, and water basins. It has distinct wet and dry seasons, the rainy season is from June to October, dry season is November to May.

The average annual temperature is 19.7 ℃ and the annual average relative humidity is 88%.

Animal and Plant Resources

Notable plants include: Hainan cycads and Cyatheas

The park is home to 7 species of animal that are protected at the national level, namely Hainan Eld's deer, Hainan black gibbon, clouded leopard, peacock pheasant, the monitor lizards, Hainan Partridge, and pythons. It's also rich in butterflies, with as many as 449 kinds of species.

Jianfengling Reserve has a peak elevation of 1412 m. Vegetation varies with altitude. Below 800m you will find rain forests, above this level the forests turn into pine and alpine forests.

Infoematio source: http://www.hainan.gov.cn

Diaoluoshan Hainan Provincial Nature Reserve  (海南吊罗山省级自然保护区 Hǎinán diào luó shān shěng jí zìrán bǎohù qū)

Lingshui County (陵水县)
Tropical rainforest ecosystem
18,389

Home to the Feng Guo Waterfall (枫果瀑布), a large waterfall hidden away in the mountains.

For more info see: http://www.haikouhostel.com/places-in-hainan/95-diaoluo-mountain-area

Wuzhishan National Nature Reserve (海南五指山国家级自然保护 Hǎinán wǔzhǐshān guójiā jí zìrán bǎohù qū)

Qiongzhong (琼中县)
Tropical forest ecosystem
13,436

For more info, go here.

Dazhou Island National Nature Reserve of Hainan (海南大洲岛国家级自然保护 Hǎinán dàzhōu dǎo guójiā jí zìrán bǎohù qū)

Wanning City (万宁市)
Swiftlet and habitat
7,000

Sanya Coral Reef National Nature Reserve (海南三亚珊瑚礁国家级自然保护 Hǎinán sānyà shānhújiāo guójiā jí zìrán bǎohù qū)

Sanya City (三亚市)
Coral reefs and habitats
5,568

Tongguling National Nature Reserve in Hainan (海南铜鼓岭国家级自然保护 Hǎinán tónggǔ lǐng guójiā jí zìrán bǎohù qū)

Location: Wenchang County (文昌)
Key areas of protection: Coral reefs, geological features, tropical monsoon elfin forest, wild animals
Area (ha): 4,400

Tongguling Nature Reserve is located in the north-east of Hainan. It is on the south east coast of Wenchang county, about 30 km from Wenchang Town. The geographical coordinates are E: 110 ° 58'30 "~ 111 ° 03'00", N: 19 ° 36'54 "~ 19 ° 41'21". It is about 45km sq in size, about 30km sq of which is sea.

There are about 1000 plant species, 10 species of birds and 20 kinds of reptiles, plus amphibians and insects.

A key area of protection are the shallow coral reefs. Typical reef organisms in the reserve include: scleractinian corals, coralline algae, staghorn corals, soft corals, fish, algae, mollusks, benthic organisms and other reef organisms.

Tongguling has geological features that are rare in China including the erosion of igneous rocks by both weathering and wave erosion. This results in the formation of sea cliffs, sea caves, sea niches, etc. The area is situated near a deep fault line and so historically affected by tectonic plate movement and once was volcanic.

Source http://www.hainan.gov.cn

For more info see: http://www.haikouhostel.com/places-in-hainan/26-tonggu-ling-a-yue-liang-bay

Stone Park is area of the Tongguling Nature Park. This is where the most interesting rock formations are, hence the name. There is a short article on the stone park area here: http://www.haikouhostel.com/places-in-hainan/32-stone-park

Dongzhaigang National Nature Reserve, Hainan (海南东寨港国家级自然保护 Hǎinán dōng zhài gǎng guójiā jí zìrán bǎohù qū)

Qiongshan City (琼山市)
Mangrove forests and habitats
3,337

For more info, go here.

Mangroves are a unique woody plant community of inter-tidal coasts in the tropical and sub-tropical zones. Due to their unique physiology and ecology, mangroves provide optimal breeding areas for many kinds of fish and shrimps, as well as feeding habitats for resident and migrant water birds. Furthermore, mangroves protect fresh water resources against salt water intrusion, they protect the land from eroding waves and winds and stabilize the coastal land. The mangroves can be considered as a natural barrier protecting the lives and property of coastal communities from the frequent typhoons occurring in southern China.

http://www.ramsar.org/cda/en/ramsar-documents-wurl-plans-ramsar-site-management-22018/main/ramsar/1-31-116-163%5E22018_4000_0__

Rare, an international environmental conservation organization, today invited a group of leaders in business, government and the environment to the mangrove forests of northern Hainan. The Dongzhaigang Nature Reserve is home to critical wetlands and highly endangered species, representing natural and cultural treasures that Rare has been striving to preserve throughout China over the past eight years.

http://www.rareconservation.org/article/rare-reaches-new-heights-hainan

Datian National Nature Reserve of Hainan (海南大田国家级自然保护 Hǎinán dàtián guójiā jí zìrán bǎohù qū)

Dongfang City (东方市)
Hainan Eld's deer and habitat
1,314

Provincial level Nature Reserves:
 

Jianling Ridge Nature Reserve 尖岭森林自然保护区

Near Wanning town.

Limu Mountain Nature Reserve

This is a google map of Hainan. Points of interest are divided in to categories.

Notes:

• Use the right-hand side bar to control the information you see on the map.
• Click on folder icons to open/close the folders to see the contents of each category within the side bar.
• Tick/untick the check-boxes to display the item position icons on the map.

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The Discovery Channel's TV series 'Man vs Wild with Bear Grylls' filmed an episode in late 2009 about survival in the Southern Chinese jungle. Although never mentioned in the episode, it was actually filmed in the central area of Hainan. Central Hainan is the least developed part of the island and some areas are still thick with jungle and rainforest. The episode can be found on a Chinese video sharing website here:

http://www.56.com/u25/v_NTM0NTY0OTQ.html

Watch the video if you want to see some of Hainan's jungle.

The mountainous centre of Hainan is certainly worth exploring. Travel to the centre of Hainan and you can find beautiful rural landscapes, mountains, waterfalls, small towns, and minority villages.

The 3 main towns in the centre are:

• QiongZhong
• WuZhiShan
• BaoTing

If traveling from north to south, QiongZhong (137 km from Haikou) is when you really start to enter the centre of Hainan. Travel on to WuZhiShan (a further 75 km south) and perhaps try some trips into the surrounding mountains and villages. BaoTing is an attractive town further south. The nearby hot springs at Seven Fairy Mountain make a good relaxation place after a hard days cycle. Each of these 3 towns have cheap Chinese hotels to stay at.

Map of Wuzhishan Town (五指山)

Map of Qiongzhong Town (琼中)

QiongZhong town map taken from the QiongZhong Government website  

Map of Baoting Town (保亭)

It is possible to camp in Hainan both on the beach and in the countryside.

I haven't seen any campsites, but from my personal experience it is possible to camp pretty much where ever you like. It is certainly possible to camp outside of the tourist areas. Most of Hainan, outside of Haikou & Sanya, is undeveloped and rural. So it is not too difficult to find an empty (apart from a few local fishermen) beach or attractive countryside to camp at. 

It is possible to rent or buy tents here if you don't already have one.

The Hainan Travel blog section of this website contains some experiences i’ve had camping in Hainan.

Hainan island is characterized by a tropical climate, a relaxed pace of life, and plentiful beaches. Outside Haikou, the capital city, Hainan is relatively undeveloped. Travel a short distance outside the city and you will find villages where people lead a traditional farming way of life in lush green countryside. Around the coastal regions are many beaches. Adventurous travelers who explore can find many unspoilt, natural beaches, unpopulated by tourists. For those looking for beach resorts check out Haikou and Sanya areas. These offer many facilities including Jet-skiing, scuba diving, para-gliding etc. The inner area of the island features jungle and mountains and are good areas for hiking and mountain biking.

Haikou city has many faces: Palm tree lined streets; modern skyscraper city scapes; traditional chinese Hutongs; bustling fishing ports/markets; and long beaches. As a major city, it has all modern facilities including bars, night-clubs, banks that accept foreign cads, and good transport links. Have a look the Hainan pages of this web site to find out more.

Hainan Island FAQS

Q: Is it possible for a foreigner to rent a car in Haikou?

A: Yes it is possible to rent a car in Haikou. Prices start from around 150 RMB per day, with a deposit of around 3000 RMB. If you want a driver, expect to pay atleast an extra 50 RMB per day. It is sometimes possible to rent a car even if you don't have a Chinese driving license. There is a car rental shop a few hundred metres from the Haikou Banana Hostel on San Dong Lu (3 East Road).

Q: I want to rent a motorbike and drive around Hainan, is it possible?

A: Yes. However, it is normally easier to buy a motorbike rather than rent one. You could buy a second hand motorbike from around 800 RMB. You can ask at motorbike repair shops for second hand motorbikes. A new motorbike would start from around 3000 RMB. You could try to sell the bike after your adventure. Various guests from the hostel have done this.

Hainan Island General Overview

Hainan Island is the second-largest island in China, after Taiwan. As Hainan Island is not heavily industrialised, its greenery, together with its beautiful beaches, clean air, and tropical climate, make it a popular tourist attraction. The island is accessible through ferry links with Guangdong province, as well as air and train links. There are two airports, Meilan Airport in Haikou, and Phoenix airport in Sanya city.
 

People and Population

Provincial capital: Haikou
Population: 7.87 millions (March 2001)
Ethnic groups: Han nationality--totaling 84.1 percent of the population--and the rest are the Li, Miao, Hui and other minority nationalities. The Li nationality has a population of 980,400 people, and the Miao, 45,600.
Major Cities: Haikou, Sanya
 

Geography and climate

Its topography is low on four sides and high in the center from which radiate the island's rivers. 20 percent of the island is mountainous,15 percent hilly and 65 percent is plain and tableland. Two major ports, Haikou and Yulin, are along its 1,440-km coastline. The province has an area of 34,000 sq km.

More than 300 days of a year are sunny days. Hainan has more than 4,000 species of plants, accounting for 15 percent of the country's total, and 600 of them are native to the island. It is estimated that 344 species of birds and 77 kinds of animals dwell in Hainan, of which gibbons, pangoins, rhesus monkeys and civet cats have been put under state protection. The province also boasts 50 types of minerals.
 

Economy

Since the 1980s, Hainan province has been a Special Economic Zone of China. Hainan Island is largely untouched by industrialisation and there are few factories. The economy is not subject to the policies of the mainland. Its nominal GDP for 2004 was 76.94 billion yuan (US$9.55 billion), making it the 4th smallest in all of the PRC and contributes just 0.5% to the entire country's economy. Its GDP per capita was 8,270 yuan (US$998).

Nantian Hotsprings

This hot spring resort is situated about 40 minutes by bus north of Sanya. It claims to be the best hot spring resort in China, and it just might be. I paid 160 rmb per person including a return bus from Dadonghai in Sanya (I booked through the Pearl River Hotel in Dadonghai, it costs more if you pay on arrival). It is a little expensive but after the trip I felt it was money well spent. Nantian hot spring resort combines a variety of different outdoor hot spring pools, a swimming pool and attractive landscaping. One of the highlights is the ‘fish therapy’ pool. The pool contains lots of small fish. Once you relax in the pool the fish slowly approach and begin gently nibbling away the dead skin on your body, giving you a natural exfoliation. The tickling sensation takes a few minutes to get used and provides a unique experience. I would recommend Nantian hotsprings if you don’t mind spending a little money. You could spend most of the day at Nantian if you wanted to relax and lounge around. Take some food or you can buy from the restaurant. You will need a extra 200 rmb for deposit.

Official website:

http://www.nantian-hot-spring.com/

Tong Luo Ling & Yue Liang Bay

Tong Luo Ling (铜锣岭) is the name of a small mountain. Yue Liang Wan (月亮湾) translates as Moon Bay.

This is an area of natural beauty. Ascend Tong Luo Ling mountain and you are rewarded with spectacular views of the surrounding beaches, sea and coconut forest. The sea is clean and clear and the beaches stretch as far as you can see. Wander down to the beach and you will most likely have your own 10km beach, apart from the occansional local fisherman. This place is largely undeveloped and I felt like I was the first foreigner to ever come here. It is a great contrast to the developed beach resorts of Sanya. For me, this place is what Hainan is all about. Don't expect to find any signposts to this spot; to find it I used a combination of map, compass, asking locals, and trial and error.

Tong Luo Ling is situated in northeast Hainan and is a 2 hour (100km) drive south-east from Haikou. This makes it an ideal day trip from Haikou. To get there head east from Wencheng for around 50km. The road starts in good condition and slowly deteriorates into a dirt road as you approach the coast. Trips can be arranged from Haikou Hostel.

Coconut Island (Dongjiao Yelin)

This is a beautiful area to the south east of Wencheng.

The area consists of miles of nice beaches, small villages, dense green tropical vegetation and attractive winding pathways.

Most of the area is undeveloped, but you can find some small beach resort areas. The beach resorts have medium priced accommodation, or some much cheaper guest houses can be found nearby.

Direct buses for Dongjiao leave from Haikou East and South stations, thay cost around 18 RMB and take a couple of hours.

There are 3 main ways to get to Hainan Island: plane, train & bus. There are frequent flights from all major Chinese cities and Hong-Kong to Haikou airport. Trains and buses are much cheaper and can be taken from the Guandong province and all over the Chinese mainland. These are loaded on to ferries to cross over the sea to the island.

This page gives information about the transport options availiable within Hainan Island for travellers, backpackers and tourists. For information on getting to/from Hainan see the 'Getting To Hainan' page.

Within cities/towns/villages you can get around by bus, taxi, motorbike, motorised tricycle, and pedal tricycle. There are good roads linking the major towns, but these turn into bumpy dirt roads in less traveled areas (these roads are often the most beautiful, surrounded by tropical scenery and small traditional villages, leading you into the unknown).

The main way to travel around Hainan is bus and the high speed Haikou-Sanya train.

Map of Hainan Roads and High Speed Rail Line

Haikou to Sanya High Speed Rail Timetable

The high speed rail connection between Haikou and Sanya opened at the beginning of 2011. It connects Haikou and Sanya along the east of Hainan. It is the quickest way to travel across the island.

Some of the trains stop along the way. Here is a list of all the stops and their prices in RMB.

Major roads in Hainan

There is a western expressway linking Haikou to the towns along the western coast and to Sanya in the south. The eastern expressway heads south from Haikou and along the south-east coast, all the way to the southern most tip, Sanya. There is also the Haiwen expressway that links Haikou and Wencheng on the north east coast. Through the mountainous middle of Hainan island runs the Haiyu middle Highway. This passes Qiongzhong town and the Five Finger mountain (Wu Zhi Shan) area and on to Sanya. This highway is slower, but more scenic than the east and west expressways.

Haikou long distance buses (within Hainan)

There are buses from Haikou to most areas of Hainan island. Haikou has 3 main bus stations; the south, east, and west bus stations (there is also the bus station at XinGang passenger port for buses to the Chinese mainland). The south station opened in 2005 and is the new main station. Below are the timetables for the stations. We cannot guarntee these are still exactly correct, but they will atleast give you an indication of destinations and frequencies. Unfortunatley we don't have a full timetable for the south station yet.

Haikou to Sanya:

Frequent buses run from Haikou to Sanya from both the south and east stations. The journey takes 3 hours and costs around 78 RMB for an express deluxe bus, 64 RMB for air-con, or 48 RMB for an economy bus.

Taxis:

Taxis are plentiful in Haikou and Sanya and are an easy way to get around, but not as cheap as the mainland. Don't expect drivers to speak English. The metered fare is 10 RMB for the first 3km and 2 RMB per additional km. It is common, particularly in Sanya, to haggle the price with taxi drivers. Doing this should enable you to get a fare below the metered price, but you need some idea of what the price should be. For shorter distances it is cheaper (and more fun) to take a motorbike/trike or pedaltrike. Expect to pay 2 RMB per km.

Haikou local Buses:

Haikou has a well developed network of air-conditioned local buses. There is a flat fee of 1 RMB for all local journeys. This makes the local buses a very cheap and easy way to get around.

Info on bus routes (chinese): http://haikou.8684.cn/

Here is a link to an article written by an expat about living in Haikou, Hainan's capital. In a sense it can could be considered an historic document since the author authenically describes the highs and lows of the now defunct old private buses.

http://internationalliving.com/2007/05/01-16-06/

Xinhua.net (a Chinese news website) published an article in June 2010 concerning Visas for foreigners in China. It is most likely to be of importance to expats living in China.

Basically, it is now possible to apply for a 2 year residence permit. However it is aimed at only certain groups of people. From the article it applies to the following groups of people:

• Foreigners and their foreign spouses aged 60 or above, without immediate family outside China, to live with their immediate family in China.
• Chinese with foreign nationalities aged 60 or above, their spouses and children with foreign nationalities, who have purchased real estate in China.
• Chinese with foreign nationalities aged 18 or above, staying in China to look after their parents aged 60 or above without other descendents in China.
• Children under 18 with foreign nationalities of Chinese parents with foreign nationalities or with foreign permanent residence, who are fostered in China.
• Spouse, parents and children under 18 with foreign nationalities of Chinese citizens and foreigners with permanent residence.
• Foreigners and their foreign spouses aged 60 or above, without immediate family outside China, to live with their immediate family in China.
• Chinese with foreign nationalities aged 60 or above, their spouses and children with foreign nationalities, who have purchased real estate in China.
• Chinese with foreign nationalities aged 18 or above, staying in China to look after parents aged 60 or above without other descendents in China
• Children under 18 with foreign nationalities of Chinese parents with foreign nationalities or with foreign permanent residence, who are fostered in China.

Have a look at the following link for the full article: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/video/2010-06/04/c_13333853.htm

Sanya is the second largest city, after Haikou, in Hainan. It is situated on the southern most tip of the island. Central Sanya has a population of around 150,000. If you include the surrounding area the population is more like 400,000. This population includes Han, Hui, Miao, and Li nationalities.

Sanya is the main tourist area on Hainan. Sanya was host to the Miss World competition from 2003 to 2005. It was also host to the 2006 World Strongest Man competition. You can divide Sanya into 3 areas: Sanya city, Dadonghai Bay, and Yalong Bay.

Yalong Bay

This is a beautiful semi-private bay and home to the most expensive hotels. The hotels here tend to be 4 and 5 star. Even if you are not staying at one of the posh hotels, it is worth coming to this area and having a stroll around the beautifully landscaped beach front resorts. However there are no restaurants, shops or bars here apart from the hotel ones.

Dadonghai Bay

Dadonhai is not as attractive Yalong, but there are many cheaper budget hotels, including a youth hostel. You can get a room in the cheaper hotels for 80 RMB. One advantage of Dadonghai is that there are many restaurants, shops and bars here. There is a bus that runs between Dadonghai and Yalong every 30 minutes. It costs 5 RMB. You can also get a taxi which should cost no more than 35 RMB if you haggle

Water Activities

You can take part in many water activities in Sanya including jet-skiing, sailing, snorkling, paragliding, and scuba diving. The waters around Sanya are very clear and there are coral reefs with many tropical fish and so is a good place for diving. You can do a half hour beginners scuba dive with your own instructor (Chinese speaking) for around 250 RMB. There are also a few companies that do full PADI courses.

Other Attractions

• Monkey Island
• Wuzhizhou Island
• Tianya Haijiao
• Luhuitou Peninsula

This hot spring resort is situated about 40 minutes by bus north of Sanya. It claims to be the best hot spring resort in China, and it just might be. I paid 160 rmb per person including a return bus from Dadonghai in Sanya (I booked through the Pearl River Hotel in Dadonghai, it costs more if you pay on arrival). It is a little expensive but after the trip I felt it was money well spent. Nantian hot spring resort combines a variety of different outdoor hot spring pools, a swimming pool and attractive landscaping. One of the highlights is the ‘fish therapy’ pool. The pool contains lots of small fish. Once you relax in the pool the fish slowly approach and begin gently nibbling away the dead skin on your body, giving you a natural exfoliation. The tickling sensation takes a few minutes to get used and provides a unique experience. I would recommend Nantian hotsprings if you don’t mind spending a little money. You could spend most of the day at Nantian if you wanted to relax and lounge around. Take some food or you can buy from the restaurant. You will need a extra 200 rmb for deposit.

Official website:

http://www.nantian-hot-spring.com/

Wenchang 文昌 is located in the north-east of Hainan, about 65km south-east of Haikou. Wenchang is the capital of the Wenchang County.

Wenchang Confucius Temple

Chinese: 孔庙; pinyin: Kǒng miào

600 years old.

Photos of Wenchang Confucius Temple

{gallery}hainan/Wenchang_Confucius_Temple{/gallery}

Map of Wenchang Town

Tonggu Ling (铜鼓岭) is the name of a small mountain. Yue Liang Wan (月亮湾) translates as Moon Bay.

This is an area of natural beauty. Ascend TongguLing mountain and you are rewarded with spectacular views of the surrounding beaches, sea and coconut forest. The sea is clean and clear and the beaches stretch as far as you can see. Wander down to the beach and you will most likely have your own 10km beach, apart from the occansional local fisherman. This place is largely undeveloped and I felt like I was the first foreigner to ever come here. It is a great contrast to the developed beach resorts of Sanya. For me, this place is what Hainan is all about. Don't expect to find any signposts to this spot; to find it I used a combination of map, compass, asking locals, and trial and error.

Tonggu Ling is situated in northeast Hainan and is a 2 hour (100km) drive south-east from Haikou. This makes it an ideal day trip from Haikou. To get there head east from Wencheng for around 50km. The road starts in good condition and slowly deteriorates into a dirt road as you approach the coast. Trips can be arranged from Haikou Hostel.

{gallery}hainan/Tongguling{/gallery}

This is a beautiful area to the south east of Wencheng.

The area consists of miles of nice beaches, small villages, dense green tropical vegetation and attractive winding pathways.

Most of the area is undeveloped, but you can find some small beach resort areas. The beach resorts have medium priced accommodation, or some much cheaper guest houses can be found nearby.

Direct buses for Dongjiao leave from Haikou East and South stations, thay cost around 18 RMB and take a couple of hours.

{gallery}hainan/dongjiao{/gallery} 

Location: East of Wenchang, Hainan Island.

This is an area I recently found through a trip with some local people. The area is geographically interesting due to the combination of massive rock formations, small beach coves, green countryside, and hilly terrain.

{gallery}hainan/stonepark{/gallery}

I just took a van full of people to an outdoor activity centre based on Wanquan River. There is a Chinese company who provide several outdoor adventure activities such as abseiling and rafting. I wasn't sure what to expect from the organisation but it turned out to be an excellent day.

The area is fairly remote and the river is surrounded by tropical jungle, lots of Betel Nut plantations and small mountains. There are also a number of waterfalls feeding into the river.

The guides were friendly and seemed to be having fun themselves. We took a boat upstream and followed a steep trail through the jungle. We abseiled down a crevasse into the stream below and worked our way down the stream. This involved a combination of jumping into lagoons, floating/swimming through pools and sliding down wooden poles. We arrived at the top of a large waterfall. It looked even higher when peering over from the top. Abseiling down through the waterfall was an excellent new experience for me, pausing half way down to look around and take in the moment. Everyone was buzzing from the mixture of adrenaline and picturesque tropical environment.

After a late lunch we rafted for an hour or two down the river. The river was fairly calm so this certainly wasn’t white water rafting. However it was livened up by the water-fight with the group of random Chinese who happened to be rafting at the same time.

I would certainly recommend this day-out to anyone who wants to participate in some outdoor activities and wants to see a bit more of Hainan Island. Click here to find out more.

Wanquan outdoor activity centre.

Here you can expect to see a beautiful inland area of Hainan. You will be taken along the river to a spot in the jungle where you will abseil down waterfalls, swim in lagoons, and jump from rocks into the deep pools below.  You can also raft down the river past minority villages, dense tropical jungle and Betel Nut plantations.

{gallery}hostel/rafting{/gallery}

Have a look in the Hainan Travel Blog section for a description of a trip here.

Wanquan River Rafting Company 万泉河漂流

Website 网站:

http://www.hnwqh.com

Contact Details 联系:

Pinyin: Wuzhishan

Chinese: 五指山

English: Five Finger Mountain

Wuzhishan is the highest point in Hainan. It reaches 1867 metres. It is situated in central Hainan, about 30km from Wuzhishan Town. The name comes from its five peaks.

It is a protected nature reserve and contains primitive rainforest. It costs 15 RMB to enter the area.

To get to Wuzhishan by public transport you first need to get to Wuzhishan Town. From the main Wuzhishan Town bus station you can get a bus to Shuiman Village (about 10 RMB). Then you can get the shuttle bus from Shuiman to the mountain (5 RMB).

Map of Wuzhishan Town, Shuiman Village, and Wuzhishan Mountain.

Climbing Wuzhishan Mountain

It took me about 4 hours to climb to the highest peak and 2-3 hours to get back down. Near the start of the trail is a junction.

The left trail along the stream is quite short (about a 30 minutes stroll) and will take you to a waterfall. This trail is perhaps the most scenic part of the mountain and is worth exploring even if you don't want to climb the whole mountain. It is a good short trail to experience some of the rainforest.

The right hand trail leads to the top of the mountain. The climb is fairly steep. I often needed to use all 4 limbs and there are a few ladders. Most of the trail is tree roots and there are a few potentially dangerous parts that have steep drops off the side. Depending on the weather, you may get excellent views from the top. Unfortunately, there was a lot of rubbish dumped on the trail. This ruins the natural environment to some degree.

Official Wuzhishan website (only Chinese language, no English)

http://www.hnwuzhishan.com/

Wuzhishan Rafting (五指山漂流)

There are two companies that provide rafting in Wuzhishan.

Here is the website of the Wuzhishan Tianhu Rafting Company:

http://www.dxgpl.com/

Telephone 电话: 0898 8655 9288 

Photos of Wuzhishan Mountain

{gallery}hainan/Wuzhishan{/gallery}

Located south east off the coast of Wanning town 万宁市 Wàn níng shì, Dazhou Island is Hainan's biggest coastal island. It is also the last undeveloped islet in Hainan. It consists of 2 islands; the smaller north land mass and a bigger southern area connected by a 500 metre sand bar.

• Total surface area of Dazhou island is 4.36 sq km.
• It has 3 peaks, the highest being around 290 metres.
• Just 5km off the the coast of Wanning county.

Getting there:

From Haikou city catch the bus to Wanning from the east bus station. Buses are every 30 minutes between 08:00 and 19:00. Ticket prices range between 20-40 RMB. At wanning bus terminal take a minibus to Wuchang town 乌场镇 Wū chǎng zhèn, ticket price 2 RMB. Then, rent a boat from locals to Dazhou Island. A fast boat will cost about 300 RMB return, while a ordinary boat would cost about 250 RMB return.

You can also get a bus to Wanning bus terminal from Sanya (bus every 30 minutes between 07:00 and 18:00, ticket price around 25 RMB). Then follow instructions as above.

Food and Drink:

Follow local fisherman on the island to find food. There are some small food stalls selling some unusual seafood.

Accommodation:

The best option is to bring your own tent. It may be possible to persuade fisherman to allow you to sleep in the simple shacks.

Notes:

You should bring enough drinking water.

Photos:

{gallery}hainan/dazhou-island{/gallery}

Translated from: http://baike.baidu.com/view/478252.htm

The swatch Girls Pro World Longboard Competition was held in hainan between 26-30 October 2011.

The competition was hosted by Wanning Local Government. The surfing took place at Riyue Bay on the south east coast of Hainan in Wanning County.

Pro surfers from around the world competed in the event.

For more info see: http://www.swatchgirlspro.com/

Another nice beach. One of the most popular places for surfing.

{gallery}hainan/shimei{/gallery}

Diaoluo Mountain (吊罗山) is located in Lingshui County in the south east of Hainan. I believe part of the area is a protected nature reserve. As the pictures show, it is a lush rural landscape. The road fron Diaoluo Mt to Qiongzhong is one of the more remote roads in Hainan.

The final picture is of Fengguo Mountain Waterfall (枫果山瀑布), which is next to Diaoluo Mt.

{gallery}hainan/Diaoluo shan{/gallery}

Name in Chinese: 海南热带野生动植物园. Pinyin: Hǎinán rèdài yěshēng dòng zhíwùyuán

Located in Dongshan Town, Xiuying District. It is about 30km from Haikou City. 园址：海口市秀英区东山镇（海榆中线27公里处）

The park is divided into a section explored by car/bus and a walking section.

Ticket Price: around 100 RMB.

How to get there:

Fucheng to Dongshan minibus passes the animal park main entrance. You can catch this minibus on Nanhai Avenue (南海大道) at the bus stop opposite the South Bus Station. The bus ticket is 7 RMB.

府城--东山的中巴车经过动物园大门口,在南海大道或南站对面公交站点乘坐即可，车票7元.

If you are driving yourself, take the Central Highway (also known as the 海榆中线 Hǎiyú zhōngxiàn, or G224 Road) 27km straight south from Haikou. You will see a large sign on the left hand side. Turn left at the sign and continue for 3 km and you will arrive at the park entrance.

There is also an exit for the park on the eastern expressway. The park is 12 km from the exit.

自驾车往海榆中线(G224道)直走27公里,在27公里处有路牌指示,再往左手边转3公里就可以看到景区大门口.或走东线高速,从十字路出口下高速,有路牌指示.

{gallery}hainan/Tropical-Wildlife-Park{/gallery}

Video of the Zoo

Map of Hainan Tropical Wildlife Park and Botanical Garden

Contact Details:

Headquarter of the company: Rm. 1602, Section B of Depath Bldg., Guomao North Rd., Haikou City, Hainan Province

Business Dept.: （ 0898 ） 65567999 65568588

Ticket office: 65567888 13368999199

Dining room: 13368999179 13368999699

Emergency call: 65569366 13368999099

http://www.hntwzoo.com/english/e_contact_us.asp

We were surprised to learn that Danzhou in western Hainan will be hosting an international marathon. The planned date is 18 Dec 2010. Danzhou is certainly not a very international place, so it will be fun to see how the competitors from around the world get on.

Story on Hainan Government website:

http://en.hainan.gov.cn/englishgov/LifeCulture/201008/t20100811_61599.html

When: 7-8 Nov 2010

Where: Riyue Bay, Wanning County, Hainan Island.

The 3rd annual Surfing Hainan Competition was bigger then ever with full support of the local government. Together they created the first Hainan surf festival.

{gallery}surfinghainan/open-2010{/gallery}

After the success of the first event, our friends over at surfinghainan.com are holding the Second Surfing Hainan Open.

Venue: Riyuewan, Hainan
Date: November 6th, 7th and 8th, 2009

 Check out their website for full details:

http://www.surfinghainanopen.com/

Hainan’s east coast, approximately 200 km long, is well positioned to receive typhoon swells, as well as the northeast swells that wrap around China’s coast and bring their energy to the local shores. The surf season lasts from fall into early spring. While this isn’t Hawaii or Indonesia, it is easily the best and most consistent surf in China proper.

 
According to some sources, Hainan was first surfed in 1986 by a group of visiting surfers from Hawaii and California. The past few years have seen an increasing number of visiting surfers from Japan and Hong Kong. Yet Hainan’s surf remains largely untapped. As most surfers would agree, standing on the sand of a tropical island, staring out at completely empty waves, is one of the most beautiful sights to behold. And while people are increasingly growing wise to what Hainan has to offer, there will be plenty of empty surf to be had for many years to come.

We recommend that you get in touch with Brendan at  www.surfinghainan.com . They can provide boards and wetsuits, and arrange transportation to Hainan’s best breaks.

Links:

www.surfinghainan.com
720 china surf open

Article about a surfer's first trip to Hainan: http://www.coastalwatch.com/news/article.aspx?articleId=7946&display=0&cateId=3&title=South%20Of%20The%20Sea.%20Surfing%20China%27s%20Hainan%20Island.

The 2009 International Cycling Tour of Hainan begins on November the 11th.

Here is the basic route:

Nov 11, Sanya-Lingshui-Baoting
Nov 12, Baoting-Xinglong
Nov 13, Xinglong-Wenchang
Nov 14, Wenchang-Dingan-Haikou
Nov 15, Haikou-Lingao-Chengmai
Nov 16, Chengmai - Danzhou
Nov 17, Danzhou - Dongfang
Nov 18, Dongfang - Sanya
Nov 19, Sanya Cruising race

Hainan Bike Tour Map: 

Official website:

http://www.tohcr.com/en_index.php

Hainan is well suited to bicycle trips, especially if you enjoy rural landscapes and natural beauty. Away from the heavy industry of mainland China, Hainan has a pleasant environment for cycling. Hainan offers beaches, mountains, jungle, coconut plantations, waterfalls, minority villages, and a couple of cities for exploring. 

Hainan hosts atleast one professional cycle competition, the 'Tour de Hainan' every year.

Bring your own bike to Hainan or rent one from a bicycle shop in Haikou or the Banana Hostel. Haikou has a fairly good bike shops where you can rent good quality bicycles for reasonable prices. Alternatively, you could buy a decent bike for around 2000 RMB.

Cycle trips can range between 1 day to 3 weeks. It would probably take atleast a week to get a general view of Hainan. To see all the best parts of the island at a relaxed pace plan around 3 weeks.

Road conditions around Hainan vary widely, from bumpy mud tracks to good modern asphalt roads. 

There are many possible cycle routes. A shorter cycle trip would be from Haikou to the coconut plantations of DongJiao near Wenchang (distance 100 km one way). This could take from 1-3 days depending on fitness and time constraints. Another route would be Haikou to Sanya through the centre of Hainan (250 km). The central road is in good condition and passes through very beautiful rural landscapes and mountains. Venture off the central road and find waterfalls and minority villages. Arrive at the beaches in Sanya.

The following section gives the elevations and distances of some of the major roads in Hainan which should be useful for cyclists and perhaps bikers too.

Elevation & Distance of Hainan's Central Highway (G224)

The graph below shows the central highway is fairly mountainous. The biggest incline/decline is just north of Wuzhishan Town. Maximum elevation is just over 900m and the total length is 280km.

Road to Wuzhishan Mountain

To get to Wuzhishan Mountain you need to exit the central highway and take the road to Shuiman Village. There are 2 possible routes: take the turn at Maoyang Village, or the turn off just south of Wuzhishan town. Either way it is approximately 30km to Shuiman. The elevation graph below shows the road to Shuiman has some significant inclines/declines.

Elevation & Distance of Hainan's Eastern Highway (G223)

Note: Hainan has both an Eastern Highway (the G223) and an Eastern Expressway. The highway is older and the road surface is not always good. The expressway is newer and more direct, but not for cyclists, it is basically a high speed motorway. The graph below shows that Hainan's eastern highway is mainly flat and about 300km long.

Elevation & Distance of Hainan's Western Highway (G225)

Again, Hainan has both an western highway (G225) and a western expressway. The expressway is a motorway and not for cyclists. This graph shows the western route is also quite flat, but is the longest, at around 400km.

Cycling Distances Between Hainan Towns

224 国道 Middle Highway

223 国道 East Highway

225国道 West Highway

East Expressway 东高速公路 

Haikou 海口 - Sanya 三亚 260km
Lingshui 陵水 - Sanya 三亚 69km
Lingshui 陵水 - Qionghai 琼海 108km
Qionghai 琼海 - Haikou 海口 87km
Haikou 海口 - Wenchang 文昌 65km
Haikou 海口 - Dongfang 东方 212km
Dongfang 东方 - Sanya 三亚 148km

Bicycle rental in Hainan

The Haikou Banana Hostel has bicycles for rent. We have several good quality mountain bikes that are suitable for cycling around Hainan.

Mountain bike rental price:

• 50 RMB per day (discounts avaliable if you rent for 1 or 2 weeks).
• Deposit is 1000 RMB per bike.

We also have 2 Giant touring bikes. These are also 50 RMB per day, but the deposit is 2000 RMB each.

If you just want a bicycle to cycle around the city of Haikou, then we have several older, low grade, bicycles that can be rented for 20 RMB per day with a deposit of 200 RMB.

If you don't want to rent a bike from Haikou Banana Hostel, you could consider the bike shops in Haikou and Sanya listed below.

Bike Shops in Haikou

Hainan Giant Bicycles
Address:  40 East Jiefang Road, Haikou City, Hainan
地址:  解放东路40号
Phone:  0898-66238675, 13086012878

Hainan Giant Bicycles, Jinmao
Address:   D03 Hongjie Plaza, 26 West Jinmao Road, Haikou City, Hainan
地址:  海口市金贸西路26号红街广场D03
Phone:   0898-68658568

0898 Bike
Address:   88 Shuangyong Road, Haikou City, Hainan
地址:  海南省海口市双拥路88号
Phone:   0898-6862-0871, 13976996799

Giant Bicycles, Western Seacoast Repair Shop
Address:   Western Seacoast, Binhai Road, near Shuangyong Road, Haikou City, Hainan
地址:  滨海大道与双拥路

There is another bicycle rental shop near Century Bridge on Longkun North Road, near the junction with Binhai Road.

Bike Shops in Sanya

Hainan Giant Bicycles
Address:  15 Mejing Huayuan, Hedong Lu, Sanya Shi, Hainan
地址: 三亚市河东路丽景华园15号铺面（老师一中旁）
Phone:  0898-88986150

Cycling Routes in Haikou City

Banana Hostel to the Old Town Centre

Haikou's old town centre is about 1km south of the hostel. To get there head south down Renmin Road and cross the bridge. It can be fun cycling through the small decaying alleys and getting lost in he process. You can find many small real temples. If you're lucky maybe there will be some kind festival at a temple. The area is set to be renovated, but this is happening very slowly. This is an easy ride except for the bustling bikes and people to steer around!

Banana Hostel to Fishing Villages Cycling Route

If you want to visit some real life traditional fishing villages, consider this route. The fishing villages are in the north-east of Xinbu Island. This is a short 13km route. Could be done in a short morning or afternoon trip. You will see the range of development in Haikou. Beaware fishing villages are in reality quite dirty, smelly places!

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Banana Hostel to Holiday Beach

This route will take you to Holiday beach. Take a diversion at Evergreen Park and cross the bridge into the new marina area. You can also take a detour into Changming Village.

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Banana Hostel to Farming Villages

This cycle route is about 50km there and back. Cross the big red bridge over the Nandu River and you have left the city and entered the farming villages, fish farms, and paddy fields. You could take a break at the 5 star Crown Spa Resort or relax on the beach before heading back.

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Hainan Bicycle Trip Reports

Here is a bike trip report from a guest at Haikou Banana Hostel. They took the G223 (old eastern highway) from Haikou to Sanya in Sept 2011.

Bike trip to Sanya

I just did this ride with my girlfriend. Buy a map of the island (only in Chinese but you can copy English names onto it from the map at the front desk). Xinhua Bookstore sells the maps. We followed the G223 all the way to Sanya. If is well marked and it has kilometer markers and tenth of a kilometer markers. Only in the cities does it get confusing. We did the ride in 3 days although I'd recommend 4days. In total it is about 330-350K based on where you start + end.

Route:

Head to the East Train Station, go just beyond it and at the "T" go left and you are on the G223.

Day 1

Once on the G223 follow it with a bike lane out of town through several small towns on smooth roads for 115K to the town of Qionghai. There is a nice cheap hotel on the right on the main street.

Day 2

Follow the main road out of town and look for the G223 sighs to let you know you are on the track. Bike about 60K and relax in Wanning after a short day.

Day 3

Wanning to Lingshui: you encounter the first mountain pass at 50K not too long or steep. Lots of cheap hotels everywhere, cheap food too. 

Day 4

Lingshui to Sanya is around 70K with one pass around 50K and a big downhill into Sanya 40 of the 70K, the road is in bad condition, it will be slow and dusty.

Summary

Follow the G223; water + food are plentful along the way as you pass a lot of towns. Bring a big shade hat + sun scream --- there's not much shade.

** Bike can be taken on the train for the return!

Hainan Bike Tour Companies

www.unrealasia.com - Supported bicycle tours around Hainan.

Hainan Directory: General Introductions

Features a small collection of links that give a general introduction to Hainan. A 'general introduction' can mean many things, ranging from general outlines of geographic location, history, government, economy, and culture to general impressions to hard factual presentations of its trade and economic situation.

Hainan from the 1911 encyclopedia

Before you read anything else about Hainan, check out this entry from the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica. Although almost 100 years old, it provides fascinating and detailed background that will pave the way for better understanding the more modern descriptions. http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Hainan

Hainan (Wikipedia)

Introduction to Hainan, with some interesting information: History, administration, geography, economy, demographics, culture, tourism, miscellaneous, links. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hainan

Hainan - Does this Name Strike a Bell?

Two articles from 2001: Hainan - Paradise Island in the South of China, by WeeCheng Tan, and Hainan Island, by Tom Mitchell (from the South China Morning Post), comments on Hainan province written at the time of the US-China standoff over the US spy plane. They are such illustrative pieces that I've decided to put them here, ahead of all the sober articles about the Hainanese economy, etc.

http://www.bellybuttonwindow.com/2000/china/hainan_does_this_nam.html

Hainan (China Internet Information Centre)

A collection of detailed pages on Hainan, all from a rosy governmental point of view. Gives name of governor, government address and phone number, and general geographical information. http://www.china.org.cn/english/features/43578.htm

China Guide: An Introduction to Hainan Province.

The introduction covers the geography of the island (and the Xisha and Nansha islands, disputed territory that is included in Hainan province). There is a map, the same as that found on some other sites. Special sections cover the Tourist Submarine, the Train Ferry that links Hainan to the Mainland (covered in considerable detail), Five Fingers Mountain, the Nansha Islands, and River of Ten Thousand Springs (Wanquan River). The perspective and to a lesser extent the language are very Chinese.

http://www.china-guide.de/english/a_profile__of_china/hainan_province/index.html

Hainan Directory: Photos of Hainan

There are a surprising number of photos of Hainan to be found on the web. Some are conventional personal snapshots, which I've mostly omitted here unless they have some intrinsic interest, but many show something more than just a succession of poses by the author or his girlfriend. There is some inevitable overlap with the Tourism Experiences page.

Photos of Scenery and People

An Eye on Hainan Photo stock by Dennis Cox. These are top rate professional photos (copyright), mainly featuring scenes from around Sanya but with a few from Haikou and Li and Miao girls.

Photos of Hainan Professional photos by Saundra Sturdevant (2002). The Potter and her Village (an old potter in an isolated Li village); On the Water; San-yueh-san (the ethnic festival held on the 3rd day of the 3rd lunar month); Forest Lumber; Ramadan.

Mingfang's photos of Hainan (at TrekEarth). By a Beijing photography student. "Fishermen", "Motorcycle lady's summertime", etc. Sophisticated photos that one would expect from a student of the craft.

Hainan Island (ChinaPictures.org), largely standard types of photo (by which I mean beach scenes, tourist spots, etc., 25 pictures and counting. Also Haikou (6 pictures) and Sanya (21 pictures).

Hainan 2005, by corvin_89 at Photobucket. 138 pics, many personal.

Judith Farber stayed with an affluent Chinese family in Hainan in November/December 2001and also visited a Hlai (Li) village. Some nice photos of real life in Hainan. Hainan photos, Li village visit photos, gallery of photos.

List of photos of Hainan by Flickr's members -- literally run into the thousands!

Pbase database of photos: Hainan Galleries -- tens of photos.

Friedman's Road to China: An American teaching English in Beijing comes to Hainan for a break in January 2004. Apart from a few photos from Tianya Haijiao in Sanya and the Maoan Miao Tourist Village, he has a nice page of Photos showing the less touristy side of Hainan, particularly fishermen.

Photos of the Miao One photo is of a Miao woman in Hainan.

Hainan Photologue: Intro

The Hainan Photologue is a collection of photos by the authors. The photos embody the notion that there is more to Hainan than what is presented to the average tourist. They thus tend to concentrate on lesser known sights, or if covering well known sights, attempt to show them in a different perspective. Somewhat unavoidably, they present a rather personal or idiosyncratic view of Hainan. They are not necessarily superior to what most tourists get to see -- merely different. We hope that they may in some small way help to pique a wider interest in the various aspects of Hainan.

If you are interested in more attractive photos of Hainan, you can't do better than go to the Photos section of Hainan Directory. Personal tourist snapshots which present Hainan through the eyes of some of the many visitors who come here can be found at the Travellers' Tales section of the Hainan Travel Directory.

Hainan Girls

Young women from many parts of China can be seen in Hainan nowadays. This page is a modest monument to the local young women. http://www.cjvlang.com/Photos/hainangirls.html

Arcade Houses in Haikou

'Arcade house' (骑楼 qílóu) is a term used for buildings where the front half extends out over the footpath or sidewalk. A row of such houses creates a long shaded arcade along the side of the street where pedestrians can walk sheltered from the elements. From a distance qilou bear a resemblance to the diaojiaolou (吊脚楼) of western Hunan, where the rear part of the house is built over water.

The arcade house is a particular style of building combining the characteristics of European and Southeast Asian architecture. This subtle blend of architectural elements has its own peculiar style and cultural atmosphere.

The existing arcade houses in Haikou were largely built by Hainanese returning from overseas during the 1920s and 1930s and are concentrated around five old streets: Bo'ai Lu, Zhongshan Lu, Xinhua Beilu, Deshengsha, and Changti Lu. This area remains one of the liveliest commercial districts of Haikou to this day.

(Photos are copyright of Peggy Pei. Text by Peggy Pei and Greg Pringle)

The old commercial quarter has whole streets of arcade houses, intact and still in use.

Qizi Bay

A trip to see the beautiful coastal scenery of a little-visited part of western Hainan. http://www.cjvlang.com/Photos/qiziwan.html

Volcano Village

13,000 years ago, northern Hainan was the scene of extensive volcanic eruptions. The rich volcanic resources left by these eruptions gave the area its fertile soils, the strange shapes of its volcanic remnants, its lava caves, its precious igneous rocks, its abundant tropical ecology, its comfortable climate, and its sweet spring water. This geologic event was critical in moulding the scenery and culture of the area today.

Around the Ma'anling volcanic crater of Shishan Town, a park has been created to showcase the area's culture, its ecological forests, and its unique architectural forms. Scattered over an area of several tens of square kilometres are volcanic landscapes and old villages in manifold shapes and forms. With its simple bucolic scenes, its delicious goat meat, and its tropical fruit, the park has turned into a new leisure and tourism zone close to Haikou.

Below is a collection of photos testifying to the uniqueness of this area.

(Photos are copyright of Peggy Pei. Text by Peggy Pei and Greg Pringle)

{gallery}hainanworld/volcanic{/gallery}

Housewarming in Lingao

These photos show a housewarming party held by the Wang family near Hesha Town (和舍镇) in Lingao. The local language in this area is Lingao dialect, and traditions and customs are shared in common with the rest of Lingao district.

{gallery}hainanworld/housewarming{/gallery}

Lingao and its Naze

http://www.cjvlang.com/Photos/lingao.html

A Hlai House in Tongzha

Thanks to Hainan government policies, traditional Hlai (Li) houses have become a rarity in Hainan. This section features shots of a few Hlai houses, just near Tongzha (now known as Wuzhishan), which I managed to visit in October 2003.

Taking the photos was a somewhat hurried affair. I told a Chinese friend that I wanted to see some authentic Hlai housing. He said that there were a few remnants still around Tongzha, and promptly took me there. After taking a few external shots, we rather unceremoniously asked the owner if we could look inside his house. He was most obliging, and the photos below are the result.

I am rather apologetic at putting these photos up. Due to the rather rushed nature of the visit and the fact that three years have passed since the photos were taken, I can't comment very much about the objects and scenes I was privileged to see. Nor am I very clear about the exact layout of the house that we did see. Still, they may be of interest to people, so I am posting them here with a few rudimentary comments.

The houses in question could be seen from the road. There were not a large number, as is clear from these photos.

We had a look inside the largest of the houses, with the owner's permission of course.

The interior was dark and space was quite confined. (I was told that West coast houses are larger, but am unable to confirm that).

The house had an extremely lived-in feel about it, as can be seen from the presence of clothing and utensils everywhere. This is also quite obviously a farmhouse, as can be seen from various farming implements leaning against the walls in some photos.

I was told that the family owning this house would have been considered quite well off in their day.

Looking at these photos, one can appreciate why the authorities feel these houses are primitive and backward, and should be replaced with modern housing.

Nevertheless, one wonders why a little more thought could not be put into 'modernising' the traditional Hlai house rather than destroying them wholesale and replacing them with nondescript blockhouses. Hlai houses are said to be very tough in typhoons and cooler than brick housing.

{gallery}hainanworld/lihouses{/gallery}

Baoding: A Hlai Village in Western Hainan

http://www.cjvlang.com/Photos/baoding.html

Chieu Ung Pagoda and Chua Ba Assembly Hall in Hue, Vietnam

http://www.cjvlang.com/Photos/hue.html

Quite a few people have visited Hainan and posted a record of their experiences in words and photos on the Internet. They run the gamut, from overseas Chinese to Brits, Americans, and Russians. They reflect some vastly different experiences. Here is a sampling (it's good right to the very bottom).

The granddaddy of all visits to Hainan is Tan Wee Cheng's fascinating chronicle of his trip to his ancestral homeland:

Hainan: The Island of Paradise And Hell - My Own Family Saga
Eastern Hainan: The Vicious Empress And Women Soldiers
Sanya & South of Hainan: Edge Of The World, No More
Wuzhishan: Faux Tribals & Being Politically Incorrect
Wenchang: Chicken Rice In Land of The Revolutionary Sisters

In My Very Own Glob {Curiosa Felicitas}, another Overseas Hainanese from Singapore visits his ancestral homeland. Quite amusing in its depiction of the difference between Hainanese in Singapore (the older and younger generations) and modern-day Hainan.

Short the distance: Hainan, Part One
Together the people: Hainan, Part Two
The Xinglong Overseas Chinese Farm: Hainan, Part Three
Village People: Hainan, Part Four

A Fruitful Journey in Hainan, The Mythical Village by Patric Chang (Bay Area Family Travel site). Story of a visit to his mother's hometown in Wenchang by a Malaysian Chinese. A nice story on a nicely-done webpage.

A Year Abroad in China The Story of a Young Canadian Flight Attendant. This is not just a simple tourist adventure. Sherry Mallory tells of her experiences working for Hainan Airlines in 2002-2003. (If you have ever flown Hainan Airlines, you may have met one of the 30 Canadian flight attendants working alongside their Chinese colleagues. This is their story).

Three pieces (with photos) from 2007 by JABAROOTOO, an Australian living in Chongqing:

The Subtle Invasion of Paradise (Travel China Guide) An essay about a visit to Sanya at Chinese New Year. A very interesting and detailed picture of what it's like.

Surprised by a Big-Eyed Chicken (Travel China Guide) A further essay about the sights of Sanya. Unlike most visitors, Jabarootoo goes and has a look at the fishing port, with some interesting observations. The Big-Eyed Chicken refers to the eyes on the Hainanese fishing boats.

The Little Light of Lingao Jiao (Travel China Guide). Description of a trip to the "Lingaojiao" (in the northwest of Hainan) specially to see its lighthouse. Well written and interesting.

Bear's page on China's Sanya Leigh Kirkood on his visit to Sanya in December 2003. Leigh is travelling with a Chinese and 'goes with the flow'. Hainan as seen from the point of view of a good-natured, middle-aged Canadian. Has photos and comments. Separate pages on Yalong Bay, Tianya Haijiao, Nanshan Dongtian, Boao, Miao Ethnic Village, Longtou, and Scuba Diving.

Friedman's Road to China: An American teaching English in Beijing comes to Hainan for a break in January 2004 and finds the place extremely and aggressively touristy. Includes visits to the Tianya Haijiao in Sanya and the Maoan Miao Tourist Village. Photos show the less touristy side of Hainan.

World is Round: Trip to Hainan by Song Feifei (December 2004) mostly photos with comments. Covers many of the usual tourist traps, which makes it quite useful.

Judith Farber stayed with a fairly affluent Chinese family in Hainan in November/December 2001and also visited a Hlai (Li) village. This collection of pages includes both her observations on China (fairly superficial, she did not really have time to develop deep insights) and some nice photos of real life in Hainan. Hainan text, photos, Li village visit text, photos, gallery of photos.

The Journey for Genevieve The story of Jeff and Julia Bellinger and their trip from the U.S. Midwest to Hainan to adopt a little girl. Also includes some sightseeing and plenty of photos.

Haikou City -- Hainan Province A short-lived (July-August 2004) weblog by Eddie Mills of the International Education Exchange Association. Eddie has over 11 years in Hainan and has a story to preach about what is expected of you if you want to come and teach in China -- which may be why his blog ended up so short!

Stephen and Mr P A joint blog by an American teacher and an American student in Haikou. 'Giving you a funny point of view of the life of two homie's living in Haikou City, Hainan, PRC'. Content is more American than Chinese, but it gives a picture of what a long-term stay is like.

Haikou (Hainanese Hai How, pronounced "High How"), is the largest city and major administrative, business, and cultural centre of Hainan. Although pleasant enough with its palm-lined streets, Haikou is in some ways a rather nondescript sort of city.

However, it does have an undiscovered old-style colonial quarter with bustling streets and lots of little shops selling all kinds of things. There is also a bar street for those who enjoy imbibing in a Western-style atmosphere.

Haikou is the site of Hainan University and other institutes of higher learning, which give it a slightly more intellectual atmosphere than the rest of Hainan.

Haikou has now absorbed the neighbouring city of Qiongshan. Haikou is a sister city of Darwin, Australia and of Perth in the UK.

General

Tropical China - Haikou (Femalefirst.co.uk): An excellent rundown on Haikou, its atmosphere and its attractions. Written from an intelligent and interesting point of view, and in terms that non-Chinese can understand. Definitely the first page to look at.

The Government of Haikou City has a tourist site with information on transportation and accommodation, a map of sights, as well as entertainment, etc. Sections of the site include:

Transportation - quite a useful page:
* Sea Transportation (Major Passenger Ports and Ticket Offices, with phone numbers, Routes of Passenger Liners in Xingang Port, Routes and Ships);
* Road Transportation (Travel Bus Ticket Offices, Buses from Haikou to Other Provinces, Buses from East Haikou Station, Buses from West Haikou Station, with phone numbers)
* Rail Transportation (Train Ticket Offices, with telephone numbers)
* Airlines (Airline Ticket Offices, with telephone numbers).
Accommodation - A List of Star-rating Hotels in Haikou, with addresses and phone numbers.
Shopping - features "Bustling Shopping Streets with Fair and Faithful Peddlers", "Addresses and Directory of Major Stores".
Flavours - Native Flavors, Tender Boiled Wenchang Chicken, Jiaji Duck, Dongshan Lamb, Hele Crab, and Native Snacks -- just the usual rundown, no names or addresses of restaurants.
Entertainment - "Catering Entertainment and Recreation Facilities", "A List of Recreation, Leisure, and Sports Facilities", including Museums, Beauty Salons, Saunas, Massage, Recreation, Sports, Cafes, Music Bars, Tea Houses, Bars, Discos, and Cinemas.
Products - Hainan Coffee, Hainan Peppers, Four Famous Traditional Chinese Midicines, Tropical Fruits, Aquatic Products, Baisha Green Tea, and Freshwater Pearls.

Haikou translated from the Chinese - information dates back to 1988!

Haikou sights

Wugong Temple (Temple of the Five Officials)

Wugong Temple (Five Officials' Temple) (Travel China Guide). Background information on the temple and its history.
Wugong Temple (China Travel Tour Guide) Chinglish, describing loving details like: 'The crooked roof, black tilt, red pillar, and the green trees add pleasure to each other'.

Wugong Temple Brief but helpful.

Five Ministers Memorial Tower (Chinaetravel): Brief, with photo.
Temple of the Five Dignitaries; Wugongci (Planetware): Pretty brief, no photo.
Memorial Temple of Five Lords (china.org.cn): Nice introduction, but rather at odds with the facts (especially this sentence, which is completely incorrect: 'The group is comprised of temples, gardens and the houses of five famous ministers of the Tang and Song dynasties').
Temple of the Su Shi / Monastery of the Golden Millet; Sugong Ci / Jinsu An (Planetware): Also inside the Wugong Temple. This kind of article is useful as it helps disentangle the disparate elements that have been brought together on one site.
Temple of the Two Dignitaries; Ergongci (Planetware): Located inside the Wugong Temple. Brief.

Tomb of Hai Rui (a Ming-dynasty official widely admired for his uprightness).

China Guide: Hai Rui Tomb: a fairly detailed explanation of the tomb as well as events in Hai Rui's life, including "Hai Rui Dismissed from Office" and "Hai Rui rebuked the Emperor".
Tomb of Hai Rui (Travel China Guide): Good length, detailed information and background, with photos. Also at this site, Tomb of Hai Rui: Brief text, three photos.
Tomb of Hairui (China Travel Tour Guide) Chinglish but nice and reasonably detailed. Explains why Hai Rui was buried in this particular spot.
Tomb of Hai Rui (China.org.cn) Gives usual factual background, no photo.
Tomb of Hai Rui (China Planner): Very brief, very poor photo.
Tomb of Hai Rui; Hai Rui Mu (Planetware): Brief, mentions Cultural Revolution afternote, no photo.

Qiongtai Academy

Qiongtai Academy (China Travel)

Ma'anling Crater (Shisan Volcanic Cluster Geopark)

National volcanic geopark opens in Hainan -- photos and story about the Shisan Volcanic Cluster Geopark -- has a good aerial photo of the volcano (Chinese government site).
Novel park provides exciting experience (about the new Geopark, China Daily, March 2006)
Volcanoes tell story of earth's evolution (People's Daily, March 2006): About the Shisan Geopark.
Volcanic Crater also mentioned here (magazine article)

Red Forest Nature Reserve ahem, a slight mistranslation, refers to the Mangrove Forest Reserve at Yanfeng.

New tropical bird park in Ding'an (a little distant, going South along the Central Mountain Route).

Holiday Beach (Ctrip) Brief and reasonably informative, with photo.

Wenchang (Hainanese Ven Sio, pronounced "Vun Syo"), to the east of Haikou on the northeastern corner of the island, is the centre of Han settlement and the place where standard Hainanese is spoken. It is also one of the main sources of Hainanese migration overseas. The Soong sisters were born here.

Dongjiao Coconut Forest

Dongjiao Coconut Forest (Ctrip) General information.
Coconut Plantation (China Tour Travel Guide) Lovingly written, with some background info on coconuts.

Wenchang Confucius Temple (Ctrip) Relatively detailed.

Copper Drum (Tonggu) Mountain.

Dining (Ctrip) General but useful.

Shopping (Ctrip)

This area, centred on the city of Qionghai (Hainanese Heng Hai, pronounced "Heng High"), is emerging as a rival to the Southeast Coast (namely Xinglong Hot Springs), siphoning off some of the tourist traffic (especially Chinese tourist groups) that makes its way single-mindedly from Haikou to Sanya.

Boao (Hainanese Bak Ngao, pronounced "Buck Gow") wins a lot of local traffic on the strength of its role as permanent site of the Boao Forum for Asia. Recognising Boao's distinctive dynamic, the Hainan provincial government has now more than doubled the area of the "Boao Aquapolis", expanding it southward to take in the coastal beaches of Wanning city. However, development of this area will take many years yet.

Hainan East Coast Introduction (Ctrip) Nice overview; includes area from Wenchang down to Lingshui in 'East Coast'.

Eastern Hainan: The Vicious Empress and Women Soldiers This travelogue by Singaporean of Hainanese descent, Tan Wee Cheng, coming home to his ancestral island gives lots of fascinating background that the bland tourism sites pass over completely.

Boao

Simple map of Boao (from Sunnysanya.com)
China Guide: Qionghai -- almost completely devoted to "Bo’ao (Newly-Built Tourist Attraction) - The Permanent Venue of the Bo’ao Forum for Asia" and "The Bo’ao Forum for Asia will bear a series of important responsibilities". Content may be imagined :)
Boao Forum for Asia and Surrounding Attractions. From Chinasanya.com. With photo of the conference hall interior, but the language is Chinglish.
Boao Town Comments and photos by Canadian tourist Leigh Kirkwood. Leigh has seen Boao exactly as thousands of Chinese tourists see it every day.
BFA brings about local all-round progress Chinese news item on the role of the Boao Forum for Asia in bringing progress to Qionghai.

Guantang Hot Spring

Guantang Hot Springs (Ctrip) Helpful and honest.

The Southeast, often simply called the East Coast, covers Xinglong with its hot springs, botanical gardens, local coffee, and Indonesian theme park (and many young women plying their trade, a fact that tends to be glossed over by the guide books), Lingshui, Dongshan Range, and Nanwan Monkey Island. The area's promise has been blighted by haphazard tourist development, but it still has mountainous, forests, and coasts that are worth checking out.

Dongshan Range

Dongshan Ridge (Ctrip): A good description and useful.
Dongshan Mountain (China Travel Tour Guide): Poetic but Chinglish.
Dongshan (Chinaetravel): Pretty general, with photo.

Xinglong (World66) General comments about Xinglong.

Xinglong Hot Springs (Ctrip) General but useful information.

Nanwan Monkey Island

Monkey Island (Travel China Guide) Quite a long entry, although much of the content will be more appreciated by Chinese than Westerners. (A sample: "Guides all wear uniforms, and are always courteous. They offer the most circumspect, original, novel zoology free service and will guide you to play with the monkeys to experience the harmony between human beings and nature.")

Pearl Farms (Xincun) (Ctrip) Good description.

Sanya (in Hainanese, Tam A, pronounced "Dumb Ah") is the tropical resort at the southern end of Hainan that everyone seems to be going to. Its image was recently boosted by the holding of the Miss World contest. If you like gorgeous beaches and tropical weather, it's a great place to go. Don't forget, there is a lot more to Hainan than Sanya...

Sanya Weather Forecast (Weathercity)

General

Sunnysanya.com is a site run by some English-speaking guides in Sanya. It offers an absolute wealth of information on getting there, getting around, things to do, hotels (with detailed descriptions and appraisals of Yalong Bay hotels), beaches, day tours, etc. -- lots of nitty gritty that is extremely helpful to tourists. Some of their pages appear as links below.

Free Sanya is another site that has sprung up with Sanya's explosive growth in popularity. Lots of stuff here: Hainan island, How to get there, Resorts, Travel, Meetings and events, Entertainment, etc.

Sanya Introduction (Ctrip) General all-round introduction.

Sanya (Wikitravel): From the people who brought you Wikipedia. Spotty, but with useful information.

Sanya: Planning Your Trip, Introduction (Frommers) Getting there, getting around.

The Subtle Invasion of Paradise (Travel China Guide) An essay about a visit to Sanya at Chinese New Year by JABAROOTOO, an Australian living in Chongqing. A very interesting and detailed picture of what it's like. 2007.

Surprised by a Big-Eyed Chicken (Travel China Guide) A further essay about the sights of Sanya by JABAROOTOO. Unlike most visitors, Jabarootoo also goes and has a look at the timeless fishing port, with some interesting observations. The Big-Eyed Chicken refers to the eyes on the Hainanese fishing boats.

China Guide: Nanshan. Despite the name, covers not only Nanshan Temple but Sanya in general. Quite long. Sections include a detailed introduction to Sanya, Longevity Valley, "Gold Jade Buddha in Sanya", "Nanshan Culture Tourism Resort", "Remains of Monk Jianzhen's Fifth Time East Sailing", "Yalong Bay". Perspective and language tend to be quite Chinese.

 

Sanya Expat "The Best Sanya Information on the Web". Life in Sanya, Sanya Restaurants, Sanya Hotels, Sanya Real Estate Property, Insider Tips, Reviews and Recommendations.

Sanya Lifestyle: This is the English section of a Chinese-language site (and navigation on the site itself is often in Chinese rather than English!) The site appears to be of a commercial nature.

The West Coast of Hainan is one of the least travelled places on the island. Poor and left behind by development on other parts of Hainan, somehow it occurs to very few people to come and have a look. Which is all the more reason you should want to! Western Hainan is inhabited mainly by the Hlai (Li) minority and has its own brand of natural beauty, including some of Hainan's only remaining virgin forests.

The area covered by this section extends from the Nanshan Temple area to Dongfang and Changjiang a little beyond it.

Hainan's West Coast Introduction (Ctrip) - General.

Jianfeng Ridge and Forest Reserve (Ctrip) - general.

Qizi Bay (Ctrip) - general.

Bawang Nature Reserve (Ctrip), home of the Hainan gibbon.

This covers Danzhou (locally known as Nada), Lingao, and Chenmai.

The most prominent attraction is the ancient Dongpo Academy of Classical Learning, established in memory of the celebrated Song dynasty Chinese poet Su Dongpo, who was exiled here by the government. The main language spoken in much of this area is Linggao, not Hainanese.

Botanical Gardens (Ctrip) -- Rezuo Liangyuan Botanical Gardens near Danzhou.

Lanyang Hot Spring (Ctrip) -- An introduction to this popular hot spring near Danzhou.

Cloud Moon Lake (Yueyun Hu) (Ctrip) -- A brief introduction.

Dongpo Academy

Dongpo Academy (C-trip). Short but useful.

A brief Wikipedia article on the Dongo Academy of Classical Learning

Cape Lingao (The Naze of Lingao)

Lingao Cape (Ctrip) A description of the cape and its attractions ("fantastic spot for snorkelling and swimming"). The second article appears to be a ripoff of the first.

The following information comes from an excellent website called The World of Hainan. Unfortunatley the website has been taken offline. The website contained a lot of interesting information about Hainan that can't be found in other places. So we decided to make the information available here for you. We make no claim to any of this information and full credit goes to the original website. Spend some time exploring these pages and you will learn about the real Hainan.

A tropical island the size of Taiwan, Hainan is located in the South China Sea. Like islands everywhere, it is a compact unity in itself, a small world of its own away from the grand scale and shifting boundaries of the continent. Like many islands it is a comfortable sort of place, isolated from the currents that have periodically raged in the centres of power.

For a long time Hainan was remarkable only for its intractable indigenous inhabitants and its role as a destination for exiled politicians from the Chinese Mainland. For many people, including many who live there, Hainan is nothing more than a Sun Belt location where life is easy and doesn't make too many demands on the intellect. The concept that Hainan has its own culture or history fails to make much impression in the indolent atmosphere of the tropical resort.

But culture (or rather, cultures) it does have, and history, too, even if these pale beside the grand cultures and histories of the world's great metropolitan centres. Hainan has also made its own unique contributions to the world.

• The superior weaving techniques of the Hlai helped establish the Mainland Chinese textile industry, now the undisputed powerhouse for the entire world's garment industry.
• Hai Rui was a Hainanese-born official of the Ming dynasty widely respected and admired for his fairness and uncorruptibility. A play about Hai Rui is said to have precipitated the Cultural Revolution.
• The Hainanese who left to seek their fortune in Southeast Asia did a lot for the places they settled in, including such immortal contributions as Singapore's national dish, Hainan Chicken Rice, and that world-famous cocktail the Singapore Sling.
• Hainan is the ancestral place of the Soong sisters who played such contrasting roles in the making of modern China.
• Hainan is the home of the Red Detachment of Women, who fought so valiantly against the Japanese. The Red Detachment of Women has passed into the national mythology of modern China.
• More recently, Hainan has put itself on the map for forced landings by US spy planes and events like Triathlons, the Miss World Contest, and the Boao Forum for Asia.

Chinese name: 美郎双塔 Měiláng shuāng tǎ.

Location: Meilang Village, Chengmai County, Hainan Island.

The twin pagodas were built in the early Yuan Dynasty, dating back over 800 years.

They were built to commemorate a local villager's two daughters. One of the daughters married and the other become a Buddhist nun.

The pagodas are beautifully carved, decorated with Buddha, lotus petal, elephant, lion, unicorn, tiger, unicorn, horse and auspicious patterns. They are both around 13 metres tall. They  are amongst the best preserved Yuan Dynasty towers in Hainan and protected at the state level.

Map

Sources:

http://www.nlc.gov.cn/newgtkj/wbty/gjz/201109/t20110923_52062.htm