Crossing to Hainan — China's Tropical Island

The Qiongzhou Strait is about twenty kilometres wide, and crossing it changes the country.

North of it, Guangdong: subtropical, busy, rice and sugarcane. South of it, Hainan — China’s only fully tropical province, growing coconut, rubber, betel nut, mango and pepper, with a rhythm noticeably slower than anywhere on the mainland.

The crossing

Ferries run from Hai’an in Guangdong to Haikou, taking around an hour plus the loading, which takes longer than the crossing does. Vehicles go on the same boats, so if you’re driving or riding, this is the route.

The unusual detail: there’s also a train ferry. Carriages are shunted onto a vessel, floated across, and reconnected on the far side — the only sea rail crossing in the country, and one of a handful worldwide. Passengers stay aboard.

Most visitors fly, into Haikou or Sanya. If you have the time, take the boat; the approach to the island, with the low green coastline resolving out of haze, is a proper arrival rather than a taxi rank.

Haikou

Underrated, and a better city than its reputation. The arcade old town (骑楼老街) is a district of early 20th-century shophouses with continuous covered pavements — a Southeast Asian building type, built by returning overseas Chinese, and unlike anywhere else in the country.

Volcanic geology just outside town, a coconut-heavy food culture, and a bar-and-café scene that runs late because the daytime is too hot to do much in.

What the island is actually like

The coast is the tourist island: Sanya’s resorts in the south — see Sanya — plus fishing harbours, mangroves and, on the east side, decent surf.

The interior is the surprise. Central Hainan is mountainous, forested and largely Li and Miao territory, with rice terraces, rubber plantations and villages that have nothing to do with the beach economy. See rural Hainan and village life.

The middle of the island — rice, not resorts

The roads are excellent and the island is small enough to circle in a few days, which is why it has become a serious motorbiking destination.

Practical notes

Entry: Hainan operates its own visa-free entry for a long list of nationalities — generally 30 days, for travel confined to the island. If Hainan is your whole trip, you may not need a Chinese visa at all. Check the current terms; they’ve been expanded repeatedly. Our visa guide covers the mainland rules.

Duty free: Hainan is a free trade port with substantial duty-free allowances, which is why a large share of domestic visitors are here partly to shop.

When: November to April. Warm, dry and why the island fills with domestic tourists escaping the northern winter. Summer is hot, wet and inside the typhoon belt — see when to visit China.

Eating: Wenchang chicken, Dongshan goat, Jiaji duck and Hele crab are the “four famous dishes,” plus coconut chicken hotpot, and seafood chosen from a tank. See our food guide.