Hainan Travel Guide for Independent Travelers

Hainan is an island full of exotic charm. Located in the tropics, it enjoys a mild climate year-round. Hainan Island boasts rich tourism resources, attracting a large number of tourists from home and abroad every year. Here’s a travel guide for independent travelers to Hainan in 2017.

In the past, traveling was simply about leisure. Now, there’s an added layer of exploration and discovery. The world is so vast, we shouldn’t just take pictures, but also use our eyes to see and our hearts to experience.

This summer, I embarked on a journey across the Taiwan Strait and mainland China. My first spontaneous trip took me to the ends of the earth, to the southernmost point of China. I couldn’t help but give myself a silent thumbs up.

Although summer isn’t peak season for Hainan, it has its own unique charm. Crossing nearly 30 degrees of latitude, standing on tropical soil for the first time, even the sky felt different. The sky was so blue, the clouds so low, the coconut trees straighter than telephone poles, the ocean bluer than the sky, the beaches more golden than gold, truly a taste of the south.

Passing through Shenzhen, although not far from Hainan, offered a different vibe. There were coconut groves, but not as robust and lush. There was blue sky and white clouds, but not as close at hand. What Hainan lacked was the organized prosperity and towering buildings.

Ultimately, even today, when modernization has homogenized most cities, each city retains its own unique character.

The details are endless.

【About Culture】

In Hainan, I, who had never left the country, could vividly imagine the charm of Thailand and Malaysia. In Shenzhen, it was a leisurely experience of Guangzhou and Hong Kong’s customs.

Every city, due to its formation, historical evolution, and modern development, is unique despite its similarities. Hainan has towering coconut trees, fallen bananas, electric cars flowing endlessly, and large clouds gracefully covering the sky. Shenzhen, having started later and developing quickly, has a relatively complete plan and well-landscaped streets. Tianjin, on the other hand, has the Haihe River running through it, later divided by colonial powers, creating a group of natives who don’t know north, south, east, or west.

I always unconsciously compare Shenzhen with Shanghai. Both are large cities, but I never considered comparing them to Beijing. This is the style of a city. Similar in nature, different in habits.

I visited the museum to see the history of Shenzhen’s development, especially the contrast between 20 years ago and now. It’s truly a world of difference.

Worlds Apart

Then and Now

I lingered in front of this set of photos for a long time. Many Shenzhen residents would search the pictures for traces of buildings, pointing out where the World Trade Center was and where the current stadium is. There was an old lady, who must have been older than the city by many years. I guessed that she might have been a villager here before, might have moved here with her children early on, or maybe… The only certainty was that she had deep feelings for this city.

In fact, Shenzhen is a city that is open and inclusive. In the museum, I saw a “Top 10 Shenzhen Ideas,” the last one being: “Once you come, you are a Shenzhen citizen.”

【About Transportation】

Hainan has eighteen strange things, I only know one: “Old ladies climb trees faster than monkeys,” but I haven’t seen it myself. I looked it up on Baidu after returning and none of the others happened, the only one I still believe is “Motorcycles block the door and drag people.” Motorcycles and electric scooters in Hainan are really numerous, and they are even licensed, have points, and fines! If you happen to encounter a large group of motorcycles crossing the street, it’s a spectacular sight, reminiscent of the “Young and Dangerous.”

Electric scooters in Shenzhen, like Tianjin and Beijing, are virtually non-existent. But the bus lane is on the traditional bike lane, so bikes have to squeeze onto the sidewalk with pedestrians. Another detail is that the pedestrian traffic lights are half-lit, saving waiting time and preventing danger from left-turning vehicles.

The only downside is that when crossing a major intersection, cyclists either have to go up two steep slopes or take a big detour on the road. But I think there are not many cyclists in Shenzhen, maybe that’s why they’re squeezed onto the sidewalk?

Used to crossing the street Chinese style, I found that Shenzhen people are very law-abiding when crossing the street. Shanghai also has strict zebra crossing rules, and traffic officers maintain order. But Shenzhen is less urgent and more relaxed than Shanghai, and I think the sidewalks are a little further from the road in Shanghai.

I didn’t take public transportation much in Hainan, the most I took was the train. To be honest, Sanya is really the most developed city in Hainan, ahead of the provincial capital, Haikou, by many years. Not only in terms of buildings and streets, you can see it even in taxis. In Sanya, I never had to wait more than two minutes for a Didi, while in Haikou, if you want to go to the airport, it’s best to book a few days in advance to be safe.

As for Shenzhen, the seemingly ordinary buses are varied, some have human ticket sellers, some have self-service coin machines, some are flat fares, and some charge by mileage. Driving is also a mix of dedicated lanes and expressways. Fortunately, I had my phone to check which stop to get off at, otherwise I would have been left stranded on the road.

The Shenzhen subway fully embodies the city’s openness and inclusiveness. Every station announcement is made in Mandarin, Cantonese, and English. By the way, the distance between each stop on the Shenzhen subway is quite long, otherwise it wouldn’t be enough to finish the announcement.

The only regret is that I didn’t take a taxi in Shenzhen. I feel that to fully experience a city, you need to try all three modes of transportation. Hainan didn’t have a subway, of course, if they had one.

【About Food】

Hainan and Shenzhen are not far apart in terms of distance, but their customs are quite different. Hainan is closer to Southeast Asia, while Shenzhen is right next to Guangzhou and Hong Kong.

I didn’t really pay attention to food in Hainan, the seafood was good, and it was definitely cheaper in Haikou than Sanya.

I saw a lot of fruits I didn’t recognize, too many names to remember, but I only tried starfruit and rambutan. Coconuts are indeed drinkable, but not as cheap as some guides say, usually 8-12 yuan for one is normal, tourist attractions are another matter.

Cold Coconut and Sizzling Roasted Meat, All Eagerly Peck at

I enjoyed two slow-paced meals in Shenzhen. Looking back, I realized they were one Hong Kong-style and one Cantonese-style, perfect!

Actually, Hong Kong restaurants are everywhere, and Cantonese restaurants are also common. But there’s a difference in experiencing them locally. First, they are genuinely more authentic, maybe I just stumbled upon two good places. Second, the dining atmosphere is different, half the people speak a language I don’t understand. Finally, the eating habits are different. During the dim sum meal, I didn’t understand why they used a large glass bowl for tea, and in the end, I just stuck to using a cup.

At the Hong Kong restaurant, the menu was all in characters I couldn’t read, so I couldn’t remember the dish names after I came back. At the Cantonese restaurant, there were two small squares at the back of the menu. In my hometown, they are usually for small portions and large portions, or half portions and full portions. But I didn’t see any markings on those squares. After asking, I learned that one checkmark meant one portion, two checkmarks meant two portions… I silently asked myself, what if it’s three portions?

Could someone help with the translation?

Food is a topic that could be discussed for three days and three nights, and I didn’t have enough time to delve deeply into it, so I could only taste a little. The culture of food is vast and profound, and it’s not something that can be fully explored in a few short days. It’s enough to experience something new and keep a memory of it.

This short trip was just a glimpse, a fleeting glance, not deep enough, not the essence. However, for a mere tourist passing through, it was more than enough.

To truly experience the rhythm of a city, it would take a month or more. To fully feel the pulse of a city, it would take a year. To integrate into the bloodline of a city, it would probably take a lifetime.