Haikou Haidian Island China
Frequently Asked Questions
At Xiuying port, in the west of the city. A twenty-minute taxi or shuttle ride reaches the historic district, where most of the call's interest is concentrated.
Arcade houses whose upper floors project over the pavement, sheltering pedestrians from sun and tropical downpours. Built in the early twentieth century by merchants returning wealthy from Southeast Asia, they blend baroque stucco, Chinese balconies and colonial shutters.
The old town and its arcades, the Temple of the Five Lords south of the centre, and a Hainan coffee in an old-style tea house. The volcanic geopark needs a separate half day.
A temple honouring five senior officials of the Tang and Song dynasties exiled to Hainan, then considered the end of the world. Red timber pavilions, banyan gardens and inscribed steles tell how these disgraced men brought letters and schools to the island.
Yes, the Leiqiong volcanic geopark lies about 45 minutes away by road. Hand-cut lava staircases climb to the rim of the main crater among lychees and strangler figs, and nearby villages have built walls and houses from the same dark stone.
Wenchang chicken, poached and served with rice cooked in its broth, which Singapore adopted as Hainanese chicken rice. Try it at the source, with qingbuliang for dessert: iced coconut milk topped with beans, fruit and sago pearls.
Yes, and it is a curiosity: the island roasts its own beans, a legacy of emigrants returning from Malaysia. It is served very sweet, in old-style tea houses where regulars spend hours in conversation.
Tropical, hot and humid, with short sharp downpours. That is precisely why the arcades exist: people have walked in the shade in the old quarter for a century. Bring water and a light umbrella.
A landmark facing the old river port, housing an exhibition of historic photographs. Its upper floor gives a fine look over the surrounding rooftops, useful for grasping the extent of the arcade quarter.
People rarely come here on purpose, and leave with the memory of shaded arcades, a sweet coffee and a story of exiles turned builders. It is an understated call, and those are often the ones that last.
