China Travel Guide: Hainan

Qilou Old Street. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

South China's Hainan province is the most popular tropical resort in China, with more than 300 days of sunshine a year. A wide array of water sports and activities is on offer in Hainan, including scuba diving, deep-sea fishing, surfing and windsurfing.

Qilou Old Street, Haikou

Haikou's Qilou Old Street is perhaps the most impressive example of arcade architecture in China. The oldest building, Sipai Building, dates back some 600 years to the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). It has won the title of the first batch of "China's Famous Historical and Cultural Street".

Qilou Old Street features a stylish fusion of European and Asian architecture, with Indian and Arabic influences. Standing between two and four stories high, a Qilou has its ground floor set back halfway into the building so that it can be used as a storefront which is sheltered from both rain and sun. The upper floors serve as the living quarters, and extend over the pavement supported by columns. The exquisite carvings and decorations on the handrails, door frames and window frames are in the Baroque style.

Hainan Museum, Haikou

Located in Haikou city, the Hainan Museum covers an area of more than 44,500 square meters and its exhibition hall covers an area of 12,000 square meters. The museum is considered one of the most beautiful buildings in Hainan.

It is a comprehensive museum focusing on the history of the South China Sea, the Maritime Silk Road, marine living, mineral resources and energy.

Home to Han, Li, Miao, Hui and many other ethnic groups for hundreds or even thousands of years, Hainan has nurtured a rich and splendid island culture through integration and development of multi-ethnic lifestyles. With an exhibition theme of "south seas with fertile soil", the Hainan Museum created its own exhibition system, including "maritime civilization in the South China Sea", "Hainan's history" and "local culture and customs in Hainan".

Shimei Bay International Resort, Wanning

Shimei Bay is located 12 kilometers away from the Xinglong Overseas Chinese Tourist Economic Zone in Wanning city. Shimei Bay boasts six major natural resources: mountains, sea, lakes, forests, streams and islands.

The bay, located on the eastern coast of Wanning, features a six-kilometer-long stretch of crystal clear sea and pristine sand. By the beach is a dense Green Bark forest that ensures Shimei Bay remains cool in summer and mild in winter. The excellent air quality and evergreen scenery make it an ideal travel and vacation destination for visitors all year-round.

Riyue Bay, Wanning

Riyue Bay, or Sun and Moon Bay, located in Wanning city, is famed as one of China's premier surfing destinations.

The crescent-shaped, 5-kilometer bay features crystal-clear waters with an annual average temperature of around 26 degrees Celsius, offering year-round surfing conditions. From October to March, rolling two-meter waves crash with power and consistency, creating a six-month season ideal for both professional surfers and beginners. The bay is home to 23 surf clubs, attracting wave riders from home and abroad for competitions and leisure.

Nanshan Cultural Tourism Zone

Located just 40 kilometers west of downtown Sanya, Nanshan Cultural Tourism Zone has been deemed the most blissful Buddhist land.

With an area of 34.7 square kilometers, the tourism zone is divided into three themed parks. Nanshan Buddhism Culture Park is a window onto China's traditional Buddhism culture; Felicity and Longevity Culture Park reflects an atmosphere of peace, harmony and longevity; Nanshan Cultural Park highlights China's diverse social customs.

The zone not only boasts beautiful scenery, but also features integrated cultural ingredients covering Buddhist culture, folk customs, historic legends and landscape architecture.

Tianya Haijiao (The End of the Earth), Sanya

In ancient times, Qiong Island (present Hainan) was a barren and desolate area with few inhabitants. With poor communications, the island was very difficult to reach and became a place of exile for officials who had betrayed the rulers of the feudal dynasties. People arriving here found themselves in a place with no roads in or out and felt helpless, crying "this is truly the end of the Earth".

Here, the bluish green ocean blends into the sky as if they were one. Misty waves, spots of sails, swinging coconut trees and exotic stones all come together to form a picturesque landscape. Giant rocks inscribed with "End of the Skies", "Corner of the Sea" and "Giant Pillar in the South China Sea" standing on the shore are a part of the rare scenery of Hainan.

Wuzhizhou Island Tourism Resort

Nestled on the azure sea off the northeast coast of South China's Hainan, Wuzhizhou Island is a butterfly-shaped and 1.5 square kilometer islet offering a wide range of beach activities.

Wuzhizhou Island is famed for crystal clear seawater, white sand beaches and coral reefs. Everyone knows about the beauty of a blue sea, but the aquamarine and turquoise blue of the waters around Wuzhizhou is one of a kind. At the eastern and southern ends of Wuzhizhou Island there are linked peaks which climb up to 79.9 meters. Steep cliffs descend to the reefs of the bay where huge waves crash on to the rocks to create massive sprays of water that look like snow. The western and northern terrain gradually levels out into a bay with fine white sand.

Boundary Island

Boundary Island looks like a horse's saddle with its highest point rising to 100 meters above sea level. About 60 kilometers from Sanya city, and 180 km from Haikou, the beautiful island is the climatic boundary between south and north, and the cultural boundary between different ethnic groups such as Li, Miao and Hui.

Boundary Island provides numerous activities for tourists, including diving, sea-fishing, motor-boating and seabed sightseeing. In addition, it offers many maritime attractions such as the sole submarine for seabed sightseeing in China, the country's only dolphin cove, where wild marine aquatic animals are domesticated, a globally rare coral aquarium that shows living coral and coral specimens, and the country's biggest Sea-salvaged China Exhibition Hall that presents the history and culture of sea salvaging.

Yalong Bay Tropical Paradise Forest Park

Yalong Bay Tropical Paradise Forest Park is located 25 kilometers southeast from Sanya and surrounds Yalong Bay National Tourist Resort. It is Sanya's first forest park based on national standards.

The park provides 1,506 hectares of green land in the city. There are more than 1,500 kinds of tropical plants and over 190 kinds of wild animals in the park.

Yalong Bay Tropical Paradise Forest Park is Hainan's first holiday resort which marries natural landscape sightseeing of coastal and mountainous areas with ecological vacation services. Possessing a variety of tourism resources, the park has become a large-scale ecological tourist resort that integrates hiking, outdoor training, recreation and sightseeing, vacation services and folk culture.

FOOD

Dongshan Lamb

Dongshan Lamb, a specialty of Wanning and one of Hainan's renowned dishes, is known for its tender, flavorful meat. It can be prepared in many ways, from light stewing to rich soy-braising, and was once offered as a tribute to the imperial court during the Song Dynasty (960–1279).

Coconut chicken hotpot

Fresh coconut water, water chestnut, coconut flesh, and local free-range chicken are the primary basic components. Drink the soup first, then pick up a piece of chicken and dunk it in a little green orange sauce while eating it.

Unlike spicy hotpot, the coconut chicken hotpot does not have a lot of seasonings. It has become a popular healthy food due to its unique and mild flavor.

Wenchang Chicken

Wenchang Chicken, one of Hainan's "Four Famous Dishes", originates from Wenchang city. In Hainan, there is a saying that "No Wenchang chicken, no banquet!"

Raised free-range on banyan seeds, coconut and peanuts, these chickens develop tender, lean meat with thin yellow skin. The traditional "white-cut" method preserves its tasty flavor, served with ginger-garlic dipping sauce.

Hainan rice noodles

Hainan rice noodles are a signature Hainan food, enjoyed year-round and rooted deeply in Hainan's culinary traditions dating back centuries. Renowned for their delicate, hair-thin strands, they are typically served with peanuts, herbs, pickles and strips of meat in a light broth, though they can also be stir-fried for a different flavor experience.

Jiaji Duck

Jiaji duck was introduced to Hainan by returning overseas Chinese. They improved the breed in the town of Jiaji on the outskirts of Qionghai city, where further breeding increased the duck's numbers. The Jiaji duck's characteristics are plump flesh, smooth white skin, a thin layer of body fat and delicious sweet flavors.