Hainan Province is called “Qiong” for short and acclaimed as “Hot Island” and “Coconut Island”, located at the South Sea, China.
Hainan Province is the solely tropical island province of China, administrating Hainan main island, the islets and reefs of Xisha, Nansha, Zhongsha and their surrounding waters. Hainan Province lies in the central part of Asian Pacific Economic Circle, facing Leizhou Peninsula of Guangdong over the Qiongzhou Strait. The west of the island borders the Gulf of Tongkin, with Vietnam visible in the distance. The east of the island is near to Hong Kong and Taiwan, and the Philippines is in southeast. The South Sea in south of the island adjoins to Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei and Singapore. Haikou City, the capital of Hainan Province, is away from Hong Kong for 50 minutes by air and 2-3 hours from above foreign countries and regions.
Hainan Island is the second largest island of China, taking up a land area of 34,000 square kilometers with a population of more than 7,600,000 in 1999. Many nationalities live in Hainan Island, maily including Han, Li, Miao and Hui nationalities. In China, Li nationality live in the middle and south of Hainan Island only. The total population of Li nationality is of 1,280,000 in 1999.
Hainan Island has monsmoon tropical climate with annual average temperature 22℃-26℃ and annual rainfall 1,500-1,600mm. More than 300 days of a year are sunny days. Hainan is a good place of escaping cold, relieving summer heat, having holidays and traveling due to the above-mentioned climate.
It was historically a desolate and backward island to which lots of demoted ministers of past dynasties had been sent. One of them was Su Dongpo, and eminent writer of the Northern Song Dynasty. He composed a beautiful poet here, which is “if I die in Hainan for nine times I won't regret, for all my life traveling in this wonderful land is the happiest.”
Hainan Island lies between the tropical and subtropics with rich natural resources as well as natural landscape of tropical island, natural flavor, geothermal hot spring, cultural relics and rare animals and plants. According to the preliminary investigation, the available tourist resources of Hainan Island are of 241 spots of 11 kinds totally. All the domestic and foreign exports and tourists are enchanted by the blue sky, white clouds, bright sunshine, long coastline and many bays, white sandy beaches, coconut scenery and charming sea of Hainan Island. A.E.Saviqnac, the former secretary general of World Tourist Organization, well commended on Hainan during his visit, “Hainan is a beautiful peal of China and the whole human beings, possessing the most precious resources of China. The status of Hainan to China is just like the Mediterranean to Europe and the Hawaii or Florida to America.” Francesco Frangialli, the Secretary General of World Tourist Organization, also set a high value on the tourism of Hainan during his visit. He said that he would help Hainan to go globewide and to become a Holiday paradise to all tourists from home and abroad.
The tour in Hainan Province basically includes three routes all started with Haikou City or Sanya City, namely Tour Route of the Eastern Seashore, Mid Tour Route of the Lis and Miaos Minorities, and Tour Route of the Primitive Forest on the Western Seashore, with the tour in Sanya City being the highlight.