Dubbed "the Gate of Hell" by a Tang Dynasty (1368-1644) prime minister exiled there, tropical Hainan has been successfully rebranded as "the Hawaii of China," thanks in large part to the beaches in the vicinity of Sanya. Most visitors, both Chinese and foreign, head for this pleasant city at the southern tip of the main island for sun, surf, sand and seafood, making it one of China's most popular weekend getaways.
The sand and surf of Sanya isn't all the islands have to offer, however—greater Hainan boasts beautiful remote beaches, remnants of lush tropical mountain rainforest, a fascinating mix of cultures and China's best scuba diving among offshore islets. Haikou, the provincial capital on the main island's north coast, retains vestiges of French colonial architecture; Dongjiao Yelin is great place to do nothing other than relax on a beach, and Nanwan Monkey Island is famed for its platoons of boisterous macaques.
The interior features several nature preserves, the largest being the Jianfeng Ling Forest Reserve. The highland town of Tongshi is a pleasant alternative to the beach scene, and the island's highest point, Wuzhi Shan is worth a visit both for its vistas and its importance to the indigenous Li people, who, along with migrant Miao and Han, form Hainan's resident population.
Whether you fly into Sanya for a weekend in a luxury hotel or decide to explore the coast and interior, Hainan is an absolutely unique destination in China, as pleasant to visit for its laid-back vibe and ethnic diversity as it is for its sandy beaches, blues skies and surf. Whatever your Hainan itinerary, be sure to try some of the island's famous dishes: Wenchang chicken, roasted duck, mountain goat, juicy crab—all go well with fresh coconut milk and a dessert of fresh mangoes, bananas and sugar cane.
History
Separated from Guangdong's Leizhou Peninsula by a narrow strait, Hainan, once known as both the Pearl Cliffs (Zhuya) and Jade Cliffs (Qiongya), is indeed a place of pearls, though the "jade" referred to the thick rainforest that once blanketed the island. Today, the rainforest is almost entirely gone, as are the island's original inhabitants, Austronesian-speaking people who were displaced by the Li, who arrived from present-day Guangxi during the second and first centuries BC.
Hainan was on China's imperial maps by 110 BC, when the Han Dynasty established a garrison. From that point on, the steamy island was considered a place of misery and exile from the mainland. Hainan remained on the edge of empire on into the 20th century. The Japanese bombed the island heavily before imposing a bloody rule in 1939 that was plagued by Chinese communist guerilla raids until the end of the war.
By 1950, the communists solidified control of Hainan as the Nationalists fled the Mainland—and Hainan—for Taiwan. The new government attempted to turn the island over to mass agricultural production of cash crops like mangos, rubber, coconuts and coffee. Agriculturally, results were mixed, but environmentally they were devastating, and by the 1970s, most of the islands original rainforest had been decimated. The local Li population also suffered, having been driven inland over successive generations both by Han migration and by mercenary Miao imported to subdue recalcitrant Li.
In 1988 Hainan was declared a Special Economic Zone, splitting from Guangdong to become its own province. After 1988, the island became known as a free-market hotspot—an era that culminated in spectacular corruption cases involving automobile import scams and other forms of reckless profiteering. Still a bit of an economic basket case, Hainan now relies on tourism for the bulk of its income—a dependence that has resulted in the establishment of a number of upmarket and luxury hotel projects in and around Sanya.
Climate
The best time to visit Hainan is between November and March, as summers are typically hot and muggy with the threat of late-summer typhoons. Humid year-round, Hainan's monsoon climate ensures heavy annual precipitation, though approximately 70% of the island's rains fall in the summer months.
In January and February, the temperatures drop to average highs of a rather balmy 21ºC; July and August reach steamy average highs of 29ºC. Except for inland mountainous regions, the daily average temperature in Hainan remains above 10ºC. The summer in the north is especially hot, frequently reaching 35ºC with high humidity.
