Feature Report Hainan – China's tropical state secret
Hainan – China's tropical state secret
The time has come for Hainan, China’s tropical island province, to stop hiding its considerable charms, writes Andrew Starc.
‘Oh, you’re going to China,’ said my taxi driver on the way to the airport in Sydney. ‘Are you going to see the Great Wall?’
The cabbie has just summed up what most people expect on a trip to China, but I wasn’t headed toward the traditional tourist mecca’s of Beijing or Shanghai, but to Hainan Island, China’s little known island province just south of the Mainland.
The Chinese have a way with keeping things secret, and Hainan is one of their best kept ones. Largely unknown outside of Asia, this South China Sea island about half the size of Taiwan, bejeweled with an endless coastline of sun-drenched beaches back-dropped against a mountainous rainforest interior, presents a picture far removed from the traditional view of China.
Touching down in Hainan’s southern resort city of Sanya, the drive from the airport showcases a landscape painted in completely different strokes to those of the Mainland, the only major similarity – the burgeoning skyline. Like its Mainland counterparts, the city of Sanya, located on the southern tip of the island, is growing rapidly. The landscape has changed dramatically from ten, even five years ago, such is the rate at which tourism is growing here.
Twenty years ago, the sight of a resort tower was as alien as a foreign visitor, even visitors from the Mainland, but now, the skyline presents a far different landscape to what was once a mere collection of fishing villages. Spreading all around the far reaching cape of Yalong Bay, cranes sitting atop scores of half-built resort towers can be seen busily adding to a soon to be looming skyline, the signs of a thriving tourist industry with expectations of a wave of future visitors.
Standing astride a busy intersection in Sanya’s bustling city centre, you get the feeling it isn’t a typical Chinese city. The cacophony of traffic, enterprising locals hawking their wares by the palm-tree lined roadside, the sight of tut-tut’s weaving in and out of the errant flow of island-style traffic paints a scene more akin to somewhere in Vietnam or Thailand, and it’s little wonder why the Chinese refer to Hainan as their piece of South-East Asia.
Sanya is situated on three major coastlines; Yalong Bay, Sanya Bay and Dadonghai Bay, Hainan’s most stunning ocean views and pristine beaches the strict monopoly of this triumvirate of coastline marvels. Walking only minutes from the city centre, the full view of the South China Sea vista presents another major departure from the Mainland stereotype – clear blue skies. Hainan’s skies are almost permanently blue, nearly 300 days per year are cloudless where the closest hint of pollution was some 400 kilometres north while flying over China’s southern Canton region.
The island has been dubbed “China’s Hawaii”, the mountainous tropical inland rainforests that spill into the gleaming coastline are some of the major hallmarks warranting this comparison. But there’s one major difference between the beaches of Maui and those of Sanya – tourist crowds are almost non-existent.
Next to secluded beaches, fresh seafood is Hainan’s most valuable commodity, served in the distinct flavor of the locals with influences from all regional schools of Chinese cuisine. Walking through the city’s streets, local merchants offer their own taste of Hainan’s seafood – prawn skewers, oysters, abalone, lobster – accented with the tantalizing spices and flavors of the island.
Most of the tourists here are Chinese, but there’s a clear slant in favor of a future of Western arrivals to Hainan’s shores. Noticeable are the shop and road signs in both Mandarin and English, local merchants who upon introduction deliver their best rendering of the language and the hospitality of the city’s resorts, always spearheaded by an English speaking reception.
For an Australian tourist, one of the most welcoming aspects of Hainan is the lack of jet-lag. The time difference between Sydney and Hainan is a body-clock friendly two hours. After a nine-hour flight, it’s refreshing to arrive somewhere and not spend the first two days stumbling around in a zombie-like trance.
Another advantage for the Australian traveler is the exchange rate. One Australian dollar buys approximately five and a half Chinese Yuan’s, and not only that, the cost of living on the island is comparatively far cheaper than it is in Australia, hence eating out here costs far less than it would back home.
Once you can eventually prize yourself away from Sanya’s selection of secluded, white-sand beaches and sumptuous seafood banquets, exploring the numerous cultural and natural attractions within and surrounding the city provides for a series of unique experiences that you truly can’t get in any other single destination in the world.
In terms of tourist drawcards, one of the biggest is the Nanshan Buddhist Cultural Zone. Encompassing more than 50 square kilometers of untouched rainforest, the site features tourist accessible Buddhist temples, gardens and an impressive 108 Buddhist metre statue, the fourth largest statue in the world. Located about 40 kilometers from Sanya, it’s one of Asia’s most important Buddhist sites and provides visitors with a rare insight into traditional Buddhist culture.
Even those with little understanding of the religion can enjoy the tranquility of the location, the sampling of vegetarian cuisine and the more than impressive grand statue of Guan Yin, a venerated Buddhist deity, that sits majestically on the coastline, its distinct form juxtaposed against the gleaming South China Sea vista, casting a truly ethereal, otherworldly sight.
Nanwan Monkey Island is another of the unique tourist sites like no other found in China. Located about an hours drive from Sanya, it’s a unique jungle habitat unto itself. The only ocean-side natural monkey reserve in the country, it is home to over 1,500 monkey’s, living in a vast jungle wilderness, unshackled by the confines of the traditional zoo setting Australian’s so usually associate with the species. While the name might be slightly misleading (it’s actually a peninsula) it almost perfectly encapsulates the destination as a whole – a tranquil sanctuary where hundreds of free-roaming monkey’s swing from tree to tree, live to their own set of rules and enjoy a peaceful cohabitation with us human visitors.
Sanya is also known for its golf courses. PGA greats such as Tiger Woods and Colin Montgomorie have played regularly on the island’s range of expertly designed courses, with professionals and weekend hackers alike now rapidly flocking to what is becoming an Asian golfing mecca.
Returning to Sydney with tales from China that don’t involve the Great Wall are hard to come by. A Chinese experience that tells of lazy day’s sun-baking on the beach, taking in the warm sea breeze, popping open a bottle of champagne before watching an amber tinged sunset introduce the star-filled night sky over an endless coastline are even harder to find. While you might still possibly have trouble finding Hainan on the map, it’s the simple value of the promise of care-free days at the beach that, the island’s tourist attractions notwithstanding, provide the biggest drawcard for the Australian traveler. Soon enough, not even the tight-lipped Chinese will be able to keep Hainan’s considerable charms secret.
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