Spot 1: Haikou Haikou is really kind of a dump. I went there on my way to Sanya because I got a really sweet a…
Once dubbed “the Gate of Hell” by a former Tang dynasty prime minister exiled to the island, most travelers now head to Hainan for Sanya’s beaches, seafood, swimming and luxury hotels. This former gate o’ hell has been dubbed “the Hawaii of China”. For China’s city dwellers, Hainan provides a 300 km spread of beaches, mountain scenery and the ultimate short-escape destination as its easy-acces airport make it convenient as a weekend getaway.
Hainan Island (Hainan Dao) perched off the mainland in the South China Sea, is famous for having the best beaches in China, palm trees and clear water for swimming and body boarding. The island was once a place of exile for disgraced officials, now the island is mainly a hotspot of tourism. That being said, travelers rave about the quiet beaches and laid back atmosphere. Between March and November are ideal times to visit to get hotel discounts and beat the tourist rush. Hainan’s main popularity is as a winter vacation destination due to its frequent typhoons in summer.
Made up of the largest island in China, a few small islands and over 200 mini islands, Hainan is China’s southernmost and smallest province and has one of the smallest provincial populations which lends to the relaxed beachy atmosphere.
While the beach is the obvious main draw, the island also offers some excellent and challenging hiking through dense tropical forests. The island is large and there is a lot of unexplored territory, so don’t just stick to a couple kilometers of sandy beach.
While the capital is the port town of Haikou which organizes commerce with the mainland, it is mainly a transit point to get to the beach capital, Sanya, is far more well-known for it’s beautiful Yalong Bay. While not much is going on in Sanya city, the southeast beaches are where it’s at.
Haikou has a certain rundown colonial quaintness with its palm-tree lined Sino-Portuguese architecture mainly clustered around Xinhua Lu and a few temples and historical buildings
Travelling south along Hainan’s east coast from Haikou to Sanya, you pass through Wenchang, Qionghai, Wanning, and Lingshui. This area, known as the Typhoon Corridor, gets an abundant amount of rainfall that bathes Hainan’s east coast in tropical greenery. The east coast of Hainan boasts hot springs, beautiful beaches, coconut plantations and nature parks. Adventurous travelers take advantage of Sanya’s body-surfing, hiking the island’s highest mountain Wuzhi Shan, visiting Monkey Island, the waterfall at Baihua Shan, driving through a Miao village on the back of a motorbike or a visit to a coffee plantation in Xinglong.
Whatever you choose for your Hainan itinerary, be sure to try some of the island’s famous dishes: Wenchang chicken, roasted duck, mountain goat, juicy crab and wash it sucking through a straw of a headless green coconut and dessert on fresh-picked mangoes, bananas and sugar cane.
