More than a beach: What I got wrong about Hainan

For years we thought of Hainan as beaches and resorts. In just one visit I discovered how wrong I was!

Hainan has been on our list of "we have to go there someday" places in China for a long time, mostly for its world-class beaches and resorts. But we never take typical beach holidays, so each time we planned a trip we ended up somewhere else in China!

Now that I have finally been, I’m almost embarrassed to admit how little I knew about what the island has to offer. Sure, the beaches and resorts in Sanya are world-class, but that’s not the whole story.

A high-speed rail loop runs right around the island, so getting from one place to the next takes no more than three hours door-to-door travel time. The island is also bigger than it looks, with almost 2,000 kilometers of coastline, but the high-speed train makes it easy and comfortable to explore the island.

Starting in the north is Haikou, the capital, and a perfect introduction to the island. It’s growing fast, with striking new buildings going up (like the beautiful library and futuristic Science and Technology Museum) complementing the old streets and facades. Despite these modern buildings Haikou has not lost any of its character — far from it.

At night the city comes to life. Families line the streets of the old town socializing, preparing fruit and eating dinner. Friends meet at the bars along the river, and competing teams of aunties dance by the clock tower. Haikou calls itself an "international capital of performing arts" — but for me the best thing to watch was simply everyday life. After walking around that night I revisited the old city in the heat of the day and discovered the local culture of Lao Ba Sha (old dad's tea) and cooled off in the shade, enjoying hand-selected dishes from a never-ending line of delicious treats and discovered the deeper cultural aspect behind this tradition.

Then I felt like I time-traveled from old town Haikou to Wenchang on the northeast coast. Wenchang is China's "Aerospace Tourism City" and home to a spaceport. While I knew there was a Space Port in Hainan, I did not think that it would be so accessible for visitors!

If you time your trip well you can watch a rocket launch yourself! This could be from the dedicated viewing platform at the space center if you are lucky enough to get a ticket. But in Hainan, it could also be from your hotel balcony or while enjoying ice cream on the beach! Not many places allow you watch a rocket take off and swim in the pristine waters of the surrounding sea on the same day!

After witnessing a launch that left me aw-inspired of space travel, I time-travelled again. This time back in time from Hainan’s present as a space port to discover the island’s ancient history on the Maritime Silk Road. The island’s role in this globe-spanning route is brought to life at the maritime museum (China (Hainan) Museum of the South China Sea) in Qionghai city. I learned about the immaculately preserved treasures recently recovered from the seabed from a fascinating English-speaking tour run by the museum.

The museum presents the artifacts beautifully and allows you get right up close to them, even being able to see a fingerprint left on a vase by its creator. Imagining the gifting or trade of such magnificent cultural artifacts between civilizations left a deep impression on me. I think my kids would learn more from a few hours in this museum than from any textbook I have at home — not to mention the immersive digital displays and 5D experiences!

Heading inland, the island changes once again. The center is covered in tropical rainforest, and the air here is some of the cleanest in China. It is here you can discover the culture of the Li ethnic group, who have lived on Hainan for more than 3,000 years. I met some of the last Li women who still bare the unique tattoos that identify their family lineage. The tradition of the tattooing no longer takes place, and a performance by the Li families themselves brings home the reality that you are seeing the last people alive that bear this tradition — as well as allowing us to understand the process of tattooing and why it no longer takes place. The cultural site also demonstrates the ingenuity of the Li people to harness their environment. I discovered just how well they know the forest —  using the same tree to both make poison as well as to make natural antibacterial clothing from its bark.

I continued to discover the ingenuity of Hainan’s people to harness another environment, this time the coast. This was on fully when I arrived on the West Island a few days later. Here, the local fisherman learned to build their cottages from coral and mud to keep them cool in the summer and warm in the winter. These “breathing houses” were also built low to protect them from typhoon-force winds. While the West Island has modernity and offers visitors the modern comforts and amenities in its guesthouses, the old fisherman’s cottages are well preserved and the area provides a buzzing atmosphere from the lively wet fish market and freshly made drinks and juices at the stalls dotted around it.

With all this, I still found time to learn to surf when travelling down the east coast. Wanning has become a popular surf town and if you are nervous about learning in the sea you can head to the calmer, safer and controlled waves of the surf resort — where there’s a hotel with its own artificial wave pool, making learning easy enough for a complete beginner (young or old!) to have a go.

And finally, if you like shopping then the modern malls in and around Sanya are made for it. After, when you are done, you can watch the sunset from Deer Mountain (Luhuitou), a perfect way to end a trip to Hainan.

Since returning home, I’ve continued my research on Hainan and see it is investing in other directions of tourism as well. Around the Lecheng area, near Qionghai, has become a center for medical and wellness tourism, where people come for treatment and recovery in the clean island air. It is not what you would expect from a tropical holiday, but it shows what Hainan is aiming for: To be a place you visit for much more than a suntan.

After experiencing all this I can’t wait to return with my family. My kids would be more than happy to spend every day on the golden sand. However, I think the rainforest, the Li villages, the old streets of Haikou and the chance to see a rocket launch would stay with them much longer. The only hard part will be fitting it all into one holiday!

Author: Tariq Sawyer (Irish national, based in Switzerland)

Locals gather for drinks by the riverside at night in Haikou. / Photo by Tariq Sawyer

People relax on a coastal beach in Qionghai. / Photo by Tariq Sawyer

Students dance with Li ethnic group performers in Binglanggu scenic area, Baoting. / Photo by Tariq Sawyer

Travel website operator Tariq Sawyer learns to surf in Wanning. / Photo by Li Jin / China Daily

European travel bloggers gather for a group photo during their Hainan tour. / Photo provided to China Daily