Hainan's got a lot going for it—beautiful beaches, great seafood, China's best diving and surfing—but it's missing much of what would truly help it live up to its aspiration to be the "Hawaii of China." Perhaps foremost among the ranks of the missing would be a healthy portion of indigenous rainforest—starting in the 1950s, China did its level best to denude the island of its original lush wildlife-rich cover in the name of sped-up development, which, in Hainan's case, meant endless hectares of plantations where once stood native forest.

You can, however, still get a decent taste of the island's past wild glory (so wild, of course, that it got the island branded the "gate of Hell" by unhappy exiles) in a place like Yanoda Rainforest Tourism Zone (Yanuòdá Yǔlín Wénhuà Lǚyóu Qū, 呀诺达雨林文化旅游区). You'll still have to use your imagination a bit of course, as this rainforest park is very tourist friendly and lies a scant 35 km (22 mi) from the spread of Sanya's five star hotels and golf courses, but it's perfect for those who prefer their wilderness well-tamed and viewed from the comfort of an electric car on a well-paved access road. For the heartier adventurer, Yanoda might spark interest in a trip further into Hainan's interior where more rugged remainders of Hainan's rainforest can be found (try Jianfengling National Forest Park or Datian Nature Reserve, both of which really require more than a daytrip from Sanya).

As for Yanoda itself, the RMB 150 price of entry wins you access to two "scenic zones"—Rainforest Canyon (Yǔlín Gǔ, 雨林谷) and Dreamworld Canyon (Mènghuàn Gǔ, 梦幻谷)—that, with their electric cars, shuttle buses, plank roads and waterfall-spanning walkways funnel visitors from one scenic spot to the next to view impressive displays of tropical flora in the form of massive old-growth root-and-vine networks winding around enormous boulders, explosions of floral color and attractive cliffs. Despite themepark marketing that may ring thinly naive to eco-tuned Western ears, not to mention tone-deaf with respect to the representation of long-displaced native minority peoples, Yanoda has moments of charm and stunning beauty that just can't be faked.

Note that only a fraction of the estimated RMB 3.9 million slated to go into developing the 45 sq km (17 sq mi) recreational area and surrounding 123 sq km (48 sq mi) ecological protection area has so far been spent, so don't be surprised if, among the birds and flowers, you come across a bulldozer or two hard at work on putting nature at your disposal.

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