Hainan province is the smallest and southernmost province of China, known as “the Hawaii of the East” for its sandy beaches and coconut palms. The largest island in the province, Hainan Island, is also the largest Chinese island with Haikou being its capital.
Mummy and Sis visited relatives in Haikou together. Since sightseeing is not the main purpose of this trip, we only made a brief trip to Qi Lou Old Street.
In this post, I’ll share some travel tips and photos from the trip.
*****************************************
Transport & Traffic
Transportation within Haikou is affordable and convenient via either public buses or metered taxis.
Buses
We took bus service no. 38 from the hotel in and out of the town centre at RMB1 per trip, regardless of distance or no of stops. For their local seniors, it’s half price at RMB0.50. The buses were air-conditioned with clean interiors. My only grouse was that during one bus ride the driver was smoking throughout the entire journey, filling the whole bus with second-hand smoke!
Image credit: Anna Frodesiak
Do note that boarding of the buses are from the front and alighting from the back. Drop the exact fare into the fare box as you board and press the buzzer before the stop you’re alighting to alert the driver.
Taxis
Taxis are also easy hailed along the roads, with flag-down rate at RMB10 for first 3 kilometers and RMB2 for each succeeding kilometer. Do check with the taxi drivers if they’re willing to go to your destination before boarding. Private ‘cabs’ or vehicles for hire services through apps are also used by younger locals with rates similar to taxis.
Image credit: Anna Frodesiak
As with travelling to any other destination, it is important to abide with the local traffic rules. We understood from the locals that policing has stepped up and traffic offenders disciplined with corrective work orders. One of these includes wearing a sash with traffic slogans and direct traffic at busy roads.
*****************************************
Development
Haikou has seen much changes since our last visit more than a decade ago as the city keeps good pace in development.
But sadly, we observed that the use of the local dialect appears to be on the decline as Chinese is more widely spoken among the younger generations.
Like in any other big cities, air-conditioned malls make shopping and dining easier. This is one of the malls we shopped at: Main Plaza (名門廣場). Besides, shopping at the supermarket (our fav pastime), we enjoyed afternoon tea in one of its cafes. The cakes and pastries looked so tempting!
*****************************************
Local Food Produce
Seafood, coconuts, coffee and pepper are some of Hainan’s major food produce. If you’re keen on any of these, it’s worth getting some home from any of their local produce shops. Their yellow chili sauce packs a punch and goes well with poached or stewed meat and noodles. Worth trying if you’re a fan of hot and spicy food. Dried seafood produce, such as scallops, cuttle fish, clams, etc. are fresh and we bought quite a bit!
*****************************************
Dining
One of the home-cooked feast featuring local Hainanese dishes we enjoyed.
Eating out is convenient with local food stalls, eateries and restaurants within easy reach. Cuisines from other parts of China are also readily available. We tried the dumplings at this restaurant. Don’t be deceived by their looks. They were super yummy!
Whilst dining at two of their local restaurants, we noticed that minimum spending was not required for use of their private dining rooms. It’s recommended to ask if any of such room is available. Although the rooms are usually not luxurious, a private dining space can save yourself from inhaling in second hand smoke.
Haikou offers a good variety of fresh seafood. This is a dish we think worth recommending: a type of eel the locals call 粉鳝, deep-fried till super crispy.
