海南省
China's tropical island — beaches, rainforest and coconut country
Why this place
Hainan is China's only tropical province, an island the size of Belgium with beaches at Sanya, rainforest in the centre, and a completely different food and pace from the mainland. Li and Miao minority cultures are in the interior, and the island has become the country's winter holiday destination.
What to see
- Sanya's beaches and Wuzhizhou Island, for swimming and diving
- The Yanoda rainforest and the Li and Miao villages inland
- Haikou's Qilou old street and the volcanic geopark
- Danzhou's thousand-year-old salt fields, and the Dongpo Academy
What to eat
- Wenchang chicken rice — the ancestor of the Southeast Asian versions
- Coconut chicken hotpot, coconut rice and tropical fruit
- Seafood, cheap and excellent along the coast
How to plan
Five days: Sanya three, Haikou or the interior two. The island has a ring railway and good highways.
Best time
November–April; avoid the Spring Festival week and typhoon season
Cities 4
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