10 things you may not know about Hainan

Since May 2018, visitors from 59 nations can enjoy 30-day visa-free entry to the whole of Hainan.

Yet do not book your holiday just yet. If you are among the lucky ones, you still have to submit your application via a state-approved Hainan travel agency at least 24 hours in advance.

However, the government suggests giving them up to 48 hours’ notice to ensure the application goes smoothly. Then you can fly to Hainan with your registered passport and be granted a free visa.

Visa policies may change as the government says it is looking to ease visa procedures for international travellers.

For the latest visa information go to Hainan’s official tourism website, ExploreHainan.com

Hainan’s round-the-island high-speed rail is arguably the best way to explore it, allowing visitors to travel all the way around in about three hours.

The railway – which stretches 653km (405 miles) and includes 30 stops in 12 cities and counties around the island, including the two airports – became the world’s first island-looping high-speed track when it was completed in 2015.

Trains can travel at speeds of up to 200km/h (125 miles per hour), with the journey from Sanya to Haikou taking only 1.5 hours compared with car trips that last four hours.

The railway also allows travellers to explore off-the-beaten-track cities such as Wenchang – home of the famous Hainan chicken – and Wanning, a local surfers’ backwater.

Among the “four great dishes of Hainan” – Wenchang chicken, Dongshan goat meat, Jiaji duck, and Hele crab, Wenchang chicken is the most common dish found on the province’s menus.

Hainanese people even have the saying: “A meal isn’t complete without chicken.” The locals’ obsession with chicken is likely to have inspired the creation of the globally renowned “Hainan chicken”. The dish has become a symbol of the Chinese diaspora, connecting the nation’s people living around the world.

The chicken-and-broth-boiled rice dish, which actually originated in Southeast Asia, was invented in the 1920s by Hainanese immigrants as a comfort food to cure homesickness.

Many people believe the idea was based on chickens from Wenchang, on Hainan’s eastern coast, known for their lean skin and delicious flesh, which are reared on banyan tree seeds and coconuts – another Wenchang delicacy.

The most common way to serve Wenchang chicken is by blanketing its skin in salt before dunking it in boiling water. The chicken is then chopped and paired with different condiments and rice.

Another popular Hainan chicken dish, coconut chicken hotpot, sees diners dip meat and vegetables into a sweet, refreshing broth made of coconut juice and chicken.

Dongshan goat meat, a Wanning delicacy usually served with the skin of the animals fed with partridge tea leaves on the rugged slopes of Dongshan (East Mountain), is known for being lean and full of flavour.

Jiaji duck – a foreign breed imported to the city of Qionghai by returning Hainanese in the Qing dynasty (1644–1911) – features an inviting thin layer of fat between the tender meat and the firm skin.

The other not-to-be-missed dish is Hele crab, which live in Gangbei Lagoon and are served when full of bright orange crab roe.

“Located in the South China Sea – a stone’s throw from Southeast Asia’s marine biodiversity coral triangle – Hainan was once a breeding ground for marine turtles. But increased hunting and trading has hit the number of sea turtles in the area in recent decades.

Yet the Hainan-based, non-profit organisation Sea Turtles 911 is working to educate the public about sea turtle conservation and bring the gentle animals back to the island. It is working with hotels, such as The Ritz-Carlton Sanya and Sheraton Hotels and Resorts to create shelters for sea turtles.

Towering 108 metres (354 feet) above its base, the Buddhist Guanyin of Nanshan, on the southern coast of Hainan, is the world’s tallest Guanyin statue.

It is about four times the height of Hong Kong’s Big Buddha and 15 metres taller than New York’s Statue of Liberty.

The statue, situated next to Nanshan Temple in Sanya, which took six years to build and opened to the public in 2005, is adorned with gold, diamonds and other gemstones.

The Guanyin has three aspects – each one with a figure holding a treasure suggesting a different virtue. A lotus flower signifies peace, a Buddhist sutra or text refers to wisdom, while prayer beads represent mercy.

The base of the monolithic statue features a 15,000-square-metre (161,000-square-foot) Yuantong Treasure Hall, a temple for Guanyin, which is also the largest of its kind.

Running 22km along the coast, Haitang Bay arguably has been the most popular stretch of beach in Hainan in recent years.

At least 15 luxury international hotel brands, including Rosewood and Atlantis, have opened properties in Haitang Bay. But this number will soar to 36 within the next three years, making it the place with the highest density of international hotels groups in Asia.

One of the biggest travel attractions is the 120,000-square-metre Haitang Bay Duty Free Shopping Centre, Asia’s biggest duty-free shopping centre, which is home to about 300 international brands.

With the opening of at least five international yacht marinas, including Serenity Marina and Shimei Bay, Hainan has become a world-class yachting destination.

The Agile Clearwater Bay Marina, with 299 berths in use and a potential capacity of up to 780, will be the largest marina in China when complete. Earlier this year, the government implemented a new policy to grant temporary access for yachts from Hong Kong and Macau to enter the waters of Hainan Island. It allows yachts from Hong Kong and Macao to sail in designated routes and dock at one of the appointed marinas after going through one of the five border control ports. In March, Hainan hosted its 10th Round Hainan Regatta, a nine-day sailing race around the island.

Laoba cha, or “Old Daddy Tea” – a shared passion among local Hainanese – is more than just a meal: it has become part of the island’s lifestyle.

The tradition began when Hainanese sailors and migrant workers – mostly fathers – returned for holidays, and met at tea restaurants to share local gossip over tea, peanuts and other snacks.

Stretching from dawn to dusk, locals have continued the laidback and affordable pastime.

Some popular laoba cha dishes include noodle soups, various types of brioche (spare-rib brioche is a must-try) and assorted dim sum.

Laojie Wenhua Chaguan, a market with dozens of food stalls near the historic Qilou area of Haikou, is where you can experience laoba cha. A hole-in-the-wall tea house, Renmin Dong Li Laoba Cha is another local favourite that offers visitors an authentic experience.

Travellers can also enjoy getting lost in the alleys of Haikou’s old town area where they will discover laoba cha stalls, too.

Hainan has invited a number of big-name golf course designers to turn the island into a golf haven, including the first China project by retired US golfer-turned-gold-course-architect Tom Weiskopf – the Dunes at Shenzhou Peninsula in Wanning.

Sanya Begonia Bay Peninsula Golf Club offers enthusiasts unbeatable sea views while playing golf.

Mission Hills Haikou, created in partnership between the Mission Hills Group and The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Group, is Hainan’s biggest golf resort – a 10-course complex designed by golf course architects Brian Curley and Lee Schmidt.

“Imagine yourself in an air-conditioned room with beautiful sunlight and an endless lawn – that’s how it feels playing golf in Hainan in winter,” Edmund Ko, a golf enthusiast and chairman of the Marriott International Hainan Business Council, says. “But you can play golf in Hainan all-year-long.”

Hainan also provides golfers with enviable holiday experiences. Mission Hills Haikou is also home to the largest mineral springs resort, according to Guinness World Records. The spa includes 90 treatment facilities, several beauty and wellness facilities,168 hot and cold springs water features and an aquatic theme park.

Thanks to the high quality of its air and water – and possibly its stress-free island lifestyle – Hainan was one of the world’s few places to be declared a World Longevity Island by the International Expert Committee on Population Aging and Longevity in 2014.

More than 1,500 centenarians were living in Hainan – with more than 280,000 residents older than 80 – according to a 2018 report by Xinhua, China’s state-run news agency.