Hainan Crash Course
If you have been looking for that perfect place that is still basically undiscovered by the Western World, with miles of pristine white sand beaches, a near perfect year-round climate, an indigenous culture that still has a strong influence, volcanic mountains and steamy rainforests, wildlife and beautiful
It has been said Hainan is the Hawaii of the Orient, but it also has the investment potential of Florida or California because of its proximity to burgeoning mainland China. With the opening of China to the world, Hainan, virtually unknown to the West until recently, is starting to receive the recognition and attention it has avoided all these years, but is still decades behind similar global hot spots that are now dying of overkill. I hope but strongly doubt if Hainan developers will learn from environmental degradation caused by smog, expressways and towering skyscrapers that developed in Hawaii, Florida and California.
Hainan Island - the Gem of Southern China
On the same latitude as Hawaii, Hainan, a tropical resort island off the southern coast of China in the legendary South China Sea, appears to prop up and balance the map of China. Hainan is an island province covering an area of 34,000 square kilometers, and with a population of around eight million people.
Hainan is now poised to offer year-round travelers an excitng and exotic destination in direct competition with such places as Hawaii, the Caribbean, the Canary Islands and even Thailand. Within its 850,000 acres of green mountains and serene rainforest live with more than eighty species of animals, including
Stroll along unspoiled beaches stretching for miles as you feel the white powdery sand padding the soles of your feet. Bask in the warm sunshine with a year-round temperature of about 75 F. See rare birds and animals play in the many wildlife reserves on the island, including the black crowned gibbon, deer, ocean birds and rhesus monkeys. Visit the exciting undersea realm of Hainan's Sea World, the 3rd largest of its kind in the world. Gain insight into the traditions and customs of the island's indigenous, the Li and Miao people, by visiting their homes and joining in their exciting festivals. Relax with a round of golf one of several championship golf courses. Watersports abound several resort hotels in the two principal locations on Hainan, Haihou, the largerst city, and Sanya, the ocean playground at the far south.
To the west of Hainan is the Gulf of Tonkin. With Hong Kong less than 300 miles in the northeast, Philippines in the east, Malaysia and Brunei in the south, Vietnam, Thailand and Singapore in the west, and mainland China only twenty two miles across a strait to the north, Hainan is right in the center of all major travel destinations in Asia.
Hainan's history
Crossing over from China's mainland in several waves were the Hlai or 'Li' starting in the third century BC.
The Qin unified China while the Nan Yue controlled Hainan until 111 BC by the Han dynasty, and stayed under Chinese control for several hundred years. The Chinese continued to populate Hainan, especially in the northwest part.
Hainanese ancestory were fishermen from Fujian who populated the northeast part of the island during the Siong dynasty a thousand years ago. The Hui are actually fishermen who were blown off course from Champa (Vietnam). In order to defeat the Hlai, in the eighteenth century, the Miao from Guangxi province moved to Hainan.
Hainan has been under some control by China for a long time, however, the control was spotty. It wasn't until
Although Hainan, unlike Taiwan, has been under Chinese control of some kind for a very long time, the process of incorporation was slow and sporadic. Hainan often featured a classic colonial frontier situation in which settlers from the mainland met fierce resistance from the unpacified Hlai, until they were defeated in a decisive battle in the 18th century, forcing the Hlai into the mountains. One settlement still seen today was on an island in a river, seeking protection from the Hlai and Japanese pirates.
Much of Hainan's relationship to China for centuries had to deal with using the island for political prisoners.
The Mongol Khans used about 15,000 Hlai to try and conquer Vietnam in 1287 because of their tough tactics and their ability to stand the heat and humidity.
It wasn't until the 19th century that Western man started appearing in Hainan, subjecting the population to the cruelties of colonialism and missionaries. Hainan was used as the port for supplies and cargo destined for much of the southern mainland, especially Macau. The following is from Encountering Macau (Geoffrey C. Gunn, 2005):
Macau, along with Beijing and Nanjing, served over a long time as a diocese of China answering to the archbishop of Goa and endowed by the Portuguese crown with a sum of 1,500 dollars per annum. The Diocese of Macau actually comprised the provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi and the island of Hainan. ... Yet, writing in 1822, the British Sinologue, Sir George Staunton, observed that the number of Christian converts at Tonkin (200,000) was greater than that in the whole of China (170,000).
Not only Catholic but Protestant missionaries also came, and they put Hainan as the most important part of China, and not Peking (Beijing today). Hainan has always had strong relations with South East Asia, due to its close proximity. In fact, some South East Asia trading nations gave Hainanese traders special privileges that they wouldn't give to Chinese mainlanders.
During colonial times, many Hainan people emigrated to South East Asia to escape the colonialists, though they seemed to arrive a bit later and in fewer numbers than their mainland counterparts. They still emain, though many return occasionally to visit relatives or they repatriate money. the hainanese people have done a lot wherever they move, endowing schools, starting temple funds and making beautiful gardens.
During the most recent history, Hainan suffered under the brutal Japanese occupation, the resisted the communists after the Second World War, and were the last place in China consumed by communism in 1950.
In 1988, Hainan became officially China's smallest province and a Special Economic Region, and was finally separate from the Province of Guangdong and to became China's smallest province. The investment capital has been pouring in because of tax incentives. Hainan came under the global spotlight recently when an American reconnaisance plane was forced to land in Hainan, causing a stand-off between the US and Chinese, but it was eventually resolved. With China finally opening its economy and tourism in full force to the outside world, Hainan is sure to gain significantly by these advances.
Hainan's geography
Hainan, or also called the Province of Qiong, is in the South China Sea, off the shore from the most southern point of mainland of China. Qiongzhou Strait is 25 km. wide separating the mainland fro Hainan (the Peninsula of Leizhou on Guangdong). The island is accessible through ferry links with Guangdong province, as well as air links.
Formerly Hainan was administered through the Guangdong province, it became a province in its own right in 1988, as well as a 'Special Economic Zone' (SEZ). Hainan is China's smallest province yet its biggest SEZ. Hainan, the biggest island controlled by the PRC (People's Republic of China).
Though eighty of the montains on Hainan are more than a kilometer meter above sea level, most are in the 500 to 800 meter range. Mt. Wuzhi (Five Fingers) rises to nearly 1900 meters above sea level with Mt. Yingge (Parrot) standing at its very center, Hainan Island has a staircase-like topographic structure descending step by step from towering mountains to flat tablelands and plains at its coasts.
The coastal regions consist of plains, low hills, and volcanic terraces. Nearly all rivers on Hainan start in the central highlands and 154 rivers radiate out like spokes of a wheel draining into the surrounding ocean.
China claims Hainan is not just one island but about two humdred reaching far south into the South China Sea, giving the Province of Hainan a lot of water but little land. The southern demarkation is the James Shoal, which Malaysia is also claiming as an extension of their continental shelf. Dense thick forests make up the inland mountainous reaches of the main Island of Hainan.
Climate
Hainan is considered is considered warm and maritime, windy much of the year, with dry winter and springs and wet summers and falls. The furthe northeast you travel the wetter the climate. Temperature averages a comfortable 24C on a year-round basis. About 60% of the time, days are sunny. Hainan has quite a few typhoons and tropical storms.
Hainan's economy
Hainan has not kept up with the development of China's mainland southern coast, but that may reflect well on its newest economic activity, tourism, which it is pegging a lot ofm its hope. It also hopes to attract light industry, cash crops, tropical agriculture, oil and gas and minerals.
With such natural beauty and dense, lush highlands, beautiful beaches and very interesting culture, Hainan is slowly getting global recognition as an up and coming tourist destination. The tourist industry tends to be located on the beautiful and drier south coast in the area around Sanya (est. pop. 155,100).
China made the 'wild west' province of Hainan a 'Special Economic Zone' during the 1980s. There is little industrialization or factories, and with the new policy, they are not subject to the regulations of mainland China. It still contributes little to the Chinese economy, to the tune of one half of one percent. Its gross domestic product is only a thousand dollars per person.
By far the greatest type of agriculture on Hainan are grain crops such as several different varieties of rice, sweet potatoes, wheat, cassava, maize, taro, millet, Chinese sorghum and beans.
Hainan's warm climate yields is the only region of China that has an abundance of tropical crops such as sugarcane, hemp, pepper, tea, peanuts, sesame, cashew nuts, carambolas, longans, litchis, jackfruit, pineapple, longan, litchi, banana, citrus fruits, plantain, watermelon, mango, and carambola. It has an amazing variety of vegetables, with over a hundred different types. As well, they grow very profitable crops in large growing areas such as betal palm, oil palm, lemon grass, sisal hemp and cocoa. It produces two billion pounds of bananas every year, most sent to the mainland. Many gourmet coffee connoisseurs are starting to agree that Hainan coffee rivals that of Columbia, for richness and full-bodied flavour. Hainan is also the home to a variety of Chinese medicinal herbs.
Though forestry makes up for nearly half of Hainan's output in agriculture, rubber and coconut farming are also important.
Being a Special economic Zone within China, it managed to attract a lot of foreign investment, and underwent considerable economic growth during the 1990s. Though things were looking good for a time with plenty of light industry being located outside of Haikou, and rubber, food, electronics and textiles, things have tapered off and many construction sites remain half complete.
With 300,000 sq.km of fishing grounds, am long fisj=hing season and rich waters encouraging a short growthy perios, Hainan does very well. Included in eight hundred sea products are six hundred species of fish eith forty of these are commercial. There are also about 25,000 hectares of fish farming along the coasts.
China gets much of its salt from Hainan, where the water is extremely salty, and long open areas are flooded along the coast from Dongfang to Sanya, the water evaporates, and the sea salt remains, it looks like white powder sand from a distance.
Hainan has a lot of oil and gas potential with something like 60,000 sq.km under serious exploration by the big gas companies. Hydroelectricity is also another sourse of energy with so many mountains rivers racing down stepp slopes to the sea. They estimate there is potential for a million kilowatts of electricity. Under the earth is about two and a half billion cubic meters of ground water which is exploitable. Other options are ocean currents, wind generators, and even bio-electricity.
There are a lot of rich mineral deposits in Hainan, particularly copper, bauxite, tina and iron ore. China recognizes the arenaceous quartz and iron ore deposits as the most important resources; natural gas, nitrogenous fertilizer rock, zirconium and gems are second; they put titanium third; and fourth is oil-shale.
Hainan's demographics
Hainan has a population of about eight million, 11.3 percent of which belong to the indigenous Li nationality. Another important minority nationality is the Miao. The province's capital, Haikou (406,000, 1996), is situated on the north shore of Hainan, and there are several autonomous counties and townships mainly concentrated in the middle of the island and on the south coast.
In 2000, Hainan's population density was 232 persons per square kilometer, which ranks 17th in the country. The increase in population density was more rapid in Hainan Province than in the country as a whole: 80% of the population are rural residents; population density is higher in urban than rural areas; the northern and eastern parts of the province are more populous, while the central mountainous areas are sparsely populated. The population is increasingly distributed from the central mountainous areas to the coastal areas. Hainan is home to 38 ethnic minority groups who are located mainly in the south-central mountainous areas.
Hainan's tourism
Hainan has so much for the visitor to see and do. There are about eight hundred kilometers of beaches, most gentle sloping into the ocean hundreds of meters wide, flling up and moving out with the change in tides. There is lots of sun, and the water is warm, and partially clear, and pretty good for checking out the variety of fishes while snorkeling. The beaches are useful for swimming and othe raquatic sports year-round. You'll enjoy sitting in he cooler air under the shade trees. The earstern coastline between Sanya and Haikou have several developed tourist destinations.
Protecting the animals and rare birds are several wildlife sanctuaries used in mant cases for reproduction of the animals and domesticating.
The Island of Hainan is covered in beautiful mountain streams, with waterfalls, deep pools, ponds and fast running streams covering the rugged countryside adding to the natural beauty of the island.
the island of Hainan has many craters left over from volcanic eruptions, some quite scenic. there are also a number of karst caves where the cave is formed in solution with the water in a water soluable rock such as limestone.
There are several hot springs all over the island, and because of the high mineral content, and scenic locations, many resorts have sprung up for vacationers, curative therapy, sightseeing and science research.
Hainan has a lot of historical sites, tombs, monuments, war time memorial statues, temples, learning academies, ancient towns, and old structures reaching back as far as the first century.
Sanya City, a tropic seashore city, and one of the most beautiful tourist attractions in China, is located on the southern-most coast of Hainan province. Sanya takes the lions share of Hainan tourism. It is famous for it's abundant sunlight, fresh air, unique beach, fine climate and splendid scenery.
You will find many ethnic groups, such as the Li, still living on Hainan. Their unsophisticated living habits and traditions make their culture interesting and understandable.
On the seedier side, Hainan Island has traditionally carried a reputation as one of Asia's primary destinations for sex tourism. Because the government winks at law enforcement, thousands of girls from the Chinese mainland have traditionally come here to earn money the old-fashioned way. Hainan welcomes young ladies, has basically legalized prostitution and gambling, and even instructs the police to protect and defend these young ladies. In fact, the police are fined if they hassle the ladies. So now, imagine a place where the local taxi drivers are honest, the city streets are clean, the night air is warm, and the food is wonderful ... a single man's dream. With its relatively open policies on prostitution, Hainan may have already seen its heyday as something of a mecca for sex tourism. Prostitution has started to become ubiquitous on the mainland and many of the attractive girls who would formerly have found their way to Hainan now go where the pickings are better, but as
Ecotourism
Hainan is second to none in China as far as attempting to reach minimum standards of eco-awareness. Noise pollution has been reduced in the cities, water both fresh and sea, in urban and rural areas has acheieved a reasonable level of quality, they have put several environmental monitoring stations with about three hundred personnel throughout the island, and there are sixty five nature reserves spread over Hainan.
Hainan's entry requirements
before leaving for China you need to get a visa from your nearest Chinese embassy or consulate. If you try to enter without a visa, they'll fine you and turn you away at your own expense. Some host organizations say they will get your visa, but several fail in their attempt so don't count on them. Recently the Chinese have started conducting personal interviews with certain applicants. If you are American, be careful thinking you have multiple entry opportunities with you visa, even though the Chinese signed an agreement with the US to this affect. They may only limit you to a single entry.
Tourist Visas
A tourist visa, issued to aliens who come to China for sightseeing and visiting relatives, is marked with "L" in the many kinds of Chinese visas. Visa L is characterized by a short duration of stay, usually 30 days, no more than 90 days, and could not be extended upon expiration.
Group visa, another kind of tourist visa, is applied to foreigners traveling in tour groups (10 participants). Group visa is not issued on the passports, but on a separate paper, which requires the group members enter and exit the Chinese border together.
Safe and healthy travel in Hainan
There low standards of public hygiene resulting in most of the health problems that accompany travellers in Hainan. If you do get sick, medical facilities in Haikou and Sanya are moderately adequate, but are not up to international standards that most of us are used to. For small ailments, I prefer to go directly to the pharmacy in every town, and explain my problem, skipping the need to see a doctor. I haven't been steered wrong yet. Every town has a pharmacy and you may find yourself being treated in both traditional Chinese or Western techniques. A Chinese/English dictionary is almost essential, or take a bilingual person.
Hainan is considered tropical or subtropical. It is hot and humid during summer from May to October, and comfortably warm during the rest of the year. Don't forget the sunblock, stay in the shade, and UV sunglasses.
Watersports such as parasailing, sea-doing, diving, even boating in Hainan pose a danger because of weak government controls, often causing injury or even death. Expect little or no training from watersport staff before beginning with your shoddy or even broken equipment.
If you are new to travelling, or even if you have travelled the globe for years, I strongly recommend you check out the following link for some very interesting and informative reading about safe travelling in Hainan, and the Third World in general. It is an accumulation of original thoughts and experiences of several worldly travellers, just go to Safely.travel. It was written with the Third World in mind, where travelling disasters are around every corner, and a pre-emptor to what we may all expect someday in the First World as populations increase and desperate people become more brave and sophisticated in their survival techniques. It will make you aware of all sorts of scams, how to check into a hotel, advice for single lady travellers, advice for single men travellers, rip tides, credit card scams, driving in a foreign land, kidnapping, street people, you name it. It is an essential read for anyone travelling, and the most comprehensive discussion I know of!
Hainan prostitution
First let it be said, if you aren't looking for it, you will barely realize it even exists.
Unlike most global 'hot spots' known for sex tourism, Hainan is well known only from within Communist China, but almost to the point of overkill. China's corruption has allowed the industry to grow on Hainan, but with the booming 'out of control' economy distributing wealth more evenly throughout China, the industry is also starting make to headway on the mainland. China has an increasing gap between the many poor and a few rich, with a small, growing and improving middle class.
Teen girls arrive from the poorer interior of China driven by poverty and desperation, looking for more opportunities along the coasts where the growth and investment are happening. Now that the Communist social security net is being removed in the name of 'democratization'. They usually know what is in store for them, and Hainan is a good place to hide their activities as to not disgrace their family and friends back home.
The girls wait watching TV inside smoke-filled waiting rooms as Karaoke hostesses. They are to be chosen by men returning from the beaches. When one or more men come in looking for a private room, the girls hustle to their feet adjusting their tight clothes, standing ready for inspection in hopes of being allowed to personally entertain, light petting, or wrapped like mating octopuses while he gets drunk. He can take her back to his hotel after he clears it with the mamasan.
These men determine who will make maybe $20 in tips, more if she goes back to his hotel, and who won't. The chosen one gets to keep a small fraction of what he pays, after everyone is paid off, the mamasan or pimp, the hotel owner, the taxi driver, protection syndicates, the police, but still this is far more than the $2 per day she would make at any other mindless job.
Prostitution is illegal, but it is hard to tell. Estimates range between eight and twelve million people are involved in the lucritive trade within China. It has existed for hundreds of years on Hainan. Today prostitution is tolerated by many, as the sex workers repatriate money home. Others full-fledge encouraged the flesh trade.
Some politicians argue that prostitution helps the economy, though the social and health costs were obviously not considered, STD's, though so far less than one in 1300 Chinese have the virus that causes AIDS, which is extremely low. However, condom use is seldom taught as much of the industry actually occurs in state-owned facilities wanting to make a profit. They find the industry embarrassing and down-play its existence.
A mayor of a north-east industrial city set the precident a few years back proclaiming prostitution is a remedy for unemployment, taxed prostitutes 30%, and eliminated the need for intermediaries and corruption. Soon many other cities followed suit.
Now it has reached a point where at certain hotels in Hainan, single men may be called by the hotel receptionist at any hour asking if they are lonely. Hainan keeps marketing itself as a family destination, but when the lights come on, the young available women seem to come out of the woodwork and strategically locate themselves where the pickin's are best.