Hainan Island

Formerly administered as part of Guangdong, Hainan Island is now a separate province. Blessed with superb beaches on the southern coast, the island has wild, thickly forested mountains at its heart, and its small villages are peopled by hill tribes.

Lying on the same latitude as Hawaii and Hanoi in Vietnam, the region is often called China’s Hawaii and is an irresistible winter holiday destination for mainlanders from the north and west seeking to escape the bitter cold of their home provinces. Tourism is, therefore, big business here, and many hedonistic resorts have sprung up on the south coast. Hainan Island is one of China’s principal rice-growing areas, and fish and shellfish are plentiful as you’d expect.