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HAIKOU ATTRACTIONS:
Haikou Homepage | Haikou Attractions: Dongjiao Coconut Plantation | Red Forest Nature Reserve | Nanli Lake | Shimei Bay | Holiday Beach | Hainan Island | Sites on Hainan Island

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Dongjiao Coconut Plantation:  
To visit Dongjiao (Dongjia Yelin) coconut plantation, visitors will have to take a twenty-minute ferry from Qinglan Harbor. This plantation has 500,000 coconut trees of various varieties of coconut species. Tracking through small footpath among the coconut palms, you will find it cozy and relaxing. Elegant log huts are built under the shady trees for tourist to rest. Standard rooms complete with simple stylish furniture and amenities are available for retreats. It is a best place for resting and outing with a friend and families, and has a cup of tea under the shady palm. Beach resorts with deluxe chalets and villas is being developed this area. The restaurants are well known for their seafood cuisine. Beach and water sports with sun bathing amenities is also available but at a little higher price.

Red Forest Nature Reserve
The Red Forest Nature Reserve (Hong Shu Lin) is an unusual and intriguing evergreen forest peculiar to the subtropical coastal area of Hainan. Despite the name, the trees here do not actually have red leaves. The bizarre thing about this coastal forest is that when the tide is in, the roots of the trees are surrounded by water, giving the appearance that the trees grow directly from beneath the sea. This aquatic environment is ideal for breeding fish and shrimp and the leaves on the trees here are also said to have medicinal value. This particular type of tree produces seeds which sprout and propagate within their own shell. Once they have dropped from the tree to the ground, they grow into flowers within one or two hours. If the seed falls into the sea however, it does not take root but remains alive for up to three months until it finds land to harvest on. Tide times vary according to season, but when the tide is in there are some really fun boat trips to be enjoyed, winding in and out of the tree trunks and then on to the tiny island nearby, ripe with pineapple trees. Address: Yanfeng Town, Qiongshan City. How to get there: Take a minibus from Wugong Temple to Fusheng in Qiongshan city (¥4), a pedicab will take you to the forest park from here. (¥2). Boat information: The boat leaves from the entrance of the park when the tide is in. Each trip takes approximately one hour and prices start from ¥10 per person for a round trip to the small island. Opening Hours: 8:00-18:00.

Nanli Lake
Hainan is a southland scenic coastline in China. It's warm and beautiful, which attracts numerous visitors at home and from abroad every year. Travelers who come here can not only enjoy the abundant natural scenery but also taste the delicious local food which is now famous all over the world. Therefore, Hainan is also called "Hawaii of Orient." Nanli Lake, a natural water garden, is one of the largest fresh water lakes in Hainan. With the mild climate and limpid water, this is an excellent bathing place all the year around. Far away from the crowded cities, it is your best choice for relaxation and entertainment. It's about 30km to the northeast of Ding'an County and 60km to Haikou City, about half an hour from Haikou to the lake by speedster. Nanli Lake is a natural sea park with total area of 26 sq. km, water area of 1,200 ha. 12m average depth, 22-23C perennial water temperature and 22.5-23.7C annual average air temperature. The climate is amenity and comfortable. Nanli Lake is a very stunning traveling resort. The natural beauty of the lake is composed of two parts: pleasant weather and marvelous landscapes. The water of the lake is so limpid and clean as if a mirror that you can see some fish swimming back and forth in it. Sometimes as the wind grows stronger, beautiful ripples will appear on the lake, very gentle just like Chinese fine silk. Surrounding the clear water are some green rubber trees and bamboos, the surface of the lake is adored with 13 small islands and 5 peninsulas, which are very different from each others in shape: square, round and long. All of these make the lake an ideal place for rowing boats and fishing, you seem to enter an island country. Many flowers on the islands with the wild animals capering through them. You can enjoy swimming, fishing and bathing all round the year. There are also a lot of yachts on the lake, 8 persons per yacht, only ¥80; you can see the panorama of Nanli Lake on the yacht. Among the trees and bamboos on the lakeside are luxury hotels, entertainments, arcades and golf course.

Shimei Bay
Located in the southeast of Wan'ning City, and on the southeast seashore of the Hainan Island situated in a province of South China, Shimei Bay is a primitive southland sight. With its emerald forests, pristine sea water and silver beaches dotted with small fishing villages, Shimei Bay is often acclaimed by visitors as the peak of perfection. The World Tour Organization Experts repute it as "the most beautiful lough you can see in Hainan". Shimei Bay is a wonderful seaside holiday resort. One side faces the sea, and the other three sides are encircled by the mountain. The limpid sea water is very appealing, and the sand beneath the sea is fine and flat. The mountain is quite elegant with many kinds of thickset vegetation, such as coco and betel nut. On the sandy beach, a precious piece of natural growing forest, which has the biggest acreage and is the only existing one in the world. This area has been listed as a Nation's Natural Protection Area. The clear blue sea and drifting clouds in the azure colored sky are picturesque. In tandem with, the strange stones of the perilous peak and the beach's fine rippled sand, Shimei Bay is a vision of serenity and beauty. It's also a good scenic spot for recreation. Winter never comes. The air remains fresh and the sun shines most of the time. It is an area fit for sightseeing and recuperation. The blue sea, white sand and green forest blend into a colorful eye-catching scenery. The traveling resources of Shimei Bay are various and abundant, producing a relaxed, comfortable and sportful atmosphere. Here, you have the chance of returning to nature. Entertainments in Shimei Bay include an international Golf club, southland custom gardens, a seaside yacht club, a countryside villa and some grand hotels. Thus, offering a variety of activities that cater to the satisfaction of its different visitors. Shimei Bay belongs to an important provincial area that is dedicated to tourist development. In August 2002, some domestic experts set a plan, of which the goal is to make Shimei Bay the tropical paradise for tourists, as well as an International Seashore Holiday Section.

Holiday Beach
Holiday Beach stretches 6km alongside Qinglin Road to the west of Haikou. This pleasant beach is divided into a sand area, water sports area, seafood dining area and a resort and entertainment section. While certainly not as spectacular as some of the beaches in the south of the island, this is a popular spot with Chinese tourists and travelers with a few days to spend in Haikou. How to get there: Minibuses run from Xiuying Harbor to the beach every 30 minutes. Alternately, take a taxi from the city center (approximately ¥30).

Hainan Island:

This Island is one of China's major tourist areas - its rich and colorful tourist resources including tropical scenery, places of historic interest and scenic beauty, and minority nationality customs. Having a tropical monsoonal climate, the island's climate is unique among tropical areas of the world. It is not too hot in summer and not too cold in winter, beaches, greenery and fresh air. Hainan Island has therefore become a place of interest for winter swimming and vacations. There are many scenic spots, ancient buildings, ancient cultural remains and revolutionary places on Hainan Island. A great number of minority nationalities still keep their simple customs, which make the island's social style unique and colorful. It is estimated that there are as many as 123 tourist spots which can be developed, but only 27 of which have been tapped and are being tapped. Therefore, it can be seen that the island has great potential to develop a bright future in tourism. You will have little trouble finding an attractive palm-lined beach to enjoy the sunny climate and warm waters of the South China Sea. The sea is safe for swimming, and there are good areas for scuba diving and snorkeling at several locations around the island. Daily charters are available to test your fishing skills. On the southern end of the island, an excellent new golf course was recently built. One of the most interesting daytime activities is to hike into the forest areas to visit hillside villages of the Li and Miao ethnic groups, which comprise about 15% of the island's population. The features of Hainan Island:

Beaches: A total of 50-60% of the 1,000 mile long coastline of Hainan Island is composed of beaches that are several hundred or 3,000 ft wide. These beaches have a slope of about 5 degrees, and the seawater has a temperature of 70 degrees F. These beaches are thus good for seawater, sand, wind and sun baths.
Mountains and Primitive Tropical Forests: Wuzhi Mountain is well known for its fantastic shape, Yinge Mountain for its magnificence. Dongshan Mountain for its unique rocks and peaks that rise one after another, and Taiping Mountain for its flying waterfalls. These mountains together with Qixian, Jianfeng, Diadu and Bawang Mountains are all good for mountaineering and summer resorts. Even on Jiefeng, Bawang, Diadu and Wuzhi Mountains there are primitive tropic forests.
Rare Birds and Animals: Hainan has established several wildlife reserves and domestication farms so as to protect rare species and benefit visitors. The protected animals include the black-crowned gibbons reserve on Bawang Mountain in Changjiang County, the Datianpo Deer Reserve in Dongfang City, the Ocean Bird Reserve in Wanning City, the Nanwan peninsular rhesus monkey reserve in Lingshui County, the Fengmu Deer Farm in Tunchang County. And the Hainan Deer Farm in Qiongshan City.
Volcanoes, Karats caves and Hot Springs: These include the Ma'an Mountain Dead Crater, the Cavern of Dropping a Writing Brush at Sanya, Qianlong Cave at Baoting, Huangdi Cave of Changjiang, and the Xinglong, Lanyang, Qixian Mountain and Datain hot springs.
Historical Sites and Scenic Spots: These include the Five Officials' Memorial Temple built in memory of Li Deyu and four other ministers of the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) and Sung Dynasty (960-1279 AD), who were demoted and then sent to Hainan; The Dongpo Academy of Classic learning built on the ruins of the residence of Su Dongpo of the Northern Sung Dynasty; The memorial Temple of Su; The Qiongtai Academy of Classic Learning built by Hainan military patrol circuit inspector, Jiao Yinhan; The Tomb of the famous minister Qiu Jun of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD); the Tomb of the Ming official Hairui, the former headquarters of the Qiongya Column; the sculpture in memory of Red Detachment of Women, and the former residence of the Song family.
Local Customs: Hainan hosts China's only community inhabited by Li minority people. Their unique culture and customs are of great tourist value.
Tropic Crops and Rural Scenery: Hainan boasts some 4,000 varieties of plants. Tourists to Hainan can try tropic fruits while enjoying the rural scenery.