Starting from August.16th, 2010, 5 visitors traveling together from the following 26 countries don't need visa to visit Hainan Island and they could stay as long as 21 days on Hainan Island: 

South Korea, Japan, Russia Federation, Malaysia, USA, Singapore, Germany, Thailand, UK, Canada, France, Australia, Indonesia, Sweden, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Philippines, New Zealand, Finland, Demark, Norway, Ukraine and Kazakhstan.

It's the first foreign visa waiver program to be implemented by the Chinese government.

The Hainan provincial government has unveiled new regulations to regulate and manage visa waivers for foreign tour groups visiting the popular holiday destination.

The policy highlights three benefits for visiting tour groups. Tour groups from 26 countries can now obtain the waiver through local travel agencies. Visitors from Taiwan can apply for the visa endorsement at entry ports to the mainland.

The new regulations require travel agencies to provide information to government departments, including the details of travelers including name, birthday, nationality, passport no. and accommodation addresses as well as inbound and outbound travel details.

From Hainan Government Website: Hainan regulates visa waiver policy

Hainan Provincial People's Government has issued the "Regulations on Service and Management of Visa Waivers for Foreign Tour Groups Visiting Hainan", which will be implemented from June 15, 2010.

That policies — which include visa waiver for tour groups from 21 countries, visas on arrival and for Taiwan residents applying for endorsement at entry ports — have greatly benefited Hainan's inbound tourism market. Of these, visa waivers for tour groups from 21 countries has become the primary channel for foreigners visiting Hainan.

The regulations stipulate that visa waiver tour groups should be sponsored by travel agencies in Hainan, and these should be companies offering tour guide services during the whole travel process. Travel agencies should submit tour group lists to border inspection authorities, and submit the list and itinerary to the appropriate public security departments.

Within twenty four hours of the tour group entering Hainan, the agency should submit the actual inbound information to the public security departments. Travel agencies should also submit accommodation information to the public security department daily. Within two hours of the tour group or members of the group leaving Hainan, agencies should submit the departure information to public security.

If members of the visa waiver tour group want to extend their stay in Hainan or travel to other parts of China, they should apply for visas in accordance to the law. If travel agencies have not organized or sponsored visa waiver groups properly with the result that tourists can not enter Hainan or are stranded in Hainan, they should underwrite all the costs.