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.
