Haikou Hainan Island Travel Guide, Travel Guide to Haikou Hainan, Haikou Destination Guide

 

Located in the north of Hainan Island, Haikou (海口）is the Capital City of Hainan Island,  and the Commercial, Culture & Economic Center of Hainan Island.  Haikou is also the biggest city on Hainan Island with over 1.2 million population

 

 

Haikou perches neatly at the northern top of Hainan, facing Guangdong province across the Qiongzhou channel and at the mouth of the Nandu River. Haikou is the political, commercial and transportation center of the Hainan Island and serves as a convenient stopping point. Perhaps the most curious aspect of the city however, is the feeling that despite the 1.6 million inhabitants here, this place lacks a truly "local" population as 50% of the population are immigrants form Mainland China especial from 1988.

Despite local government attempts to market this place as a HOT Chinese tourist destination (which have led to inevitable "renovations"), Haikou still has a few interesting sights and some charming old streets and alleys to wander and explore. Most of all however, this is a good place to get accustomed to the island and the laid back feeling about the place. Despite the massive changes taking place, a very relaxed feeling remains about this city. Palm trees line the boulevards, and some well preserved colonial architecture adds to the feeling that this is a city with a distinct and unique way of life, struggling to come to terms with its new role as tourist destination and as the capital of one of China's newest Special Economic Zones and the nation's newest province.

 

More about Haikou:

Haikou's History
Haikou's Climate
Haikou Hotels
City Transportation
Haikou Shopping Tips
Local Restaurants in Haikou
Haikou Days Tours
Hainan Impression Show
Travel Packages for Group/Family