Skype: neodalle-travel
Tel: +86 135 7447 2266
E-mail: sales@visitaroundchina.com
Situated at the southernmost tip of China, Hainan overlooks Guangdong across the Qiongzhou Strait to the north, Vietnam across the Beibu Bay to the west. Its neighbors in the South China Sea include the Philippines, Brunei and Malaysia. The jurisdiction of Hainan covers Hainan Island, the Xisha (Paracel) Islands, the Zhongsha (Macclesfield) Islands and the Nansha (Spratly) Islands as well as the surrounding maritime areas. The island covers a land area of 35.4 thousand square kilometers and has a maritime area of about 2 million square kilometers. Hainan Island is located in 18°10′-20°10′N and 108°37′-111°03′E. With the outline like an oval snow pear, the island has a northeast-southwest direction long axis which is about 290km. Meanwhile the northwest-southeast width of Hainan Island is approximately 180km; therefore it is the second island in China only after Taiwan Island. The coastline around the island is 1,528km with 68 harbors surrounded. There is an area of 2,330.55km2 for isobathic regions from -5m to -10m, corresponding to 6.8% of the land area. Qiongzhou Strait, located between Hainan Island and Leizhou Peninsula, is about 18-nautical-mile wide; while Zengmu Ansha in Nansha Islands is the southernmost territory of China.
The central Hainan Island is dome-mountain shape surrounded by lower flat land. With the Mt. Wuzhi and Yingge Hill as the core, the land declines gradually to the edges. Mountains, hills, tablelands and plains form the annular and laminar landform with obvious cascade terrain structure.
Islands in Hainan
Hainan has a total area of 33,900 square kilometers. Its length, from northeast to southeast, is about 290 kilometers and its width, from northwest to southeast, is about 180 kilometers. It is also the largest province in terms of marine jurisdiction (about two million square kilometers), covering three main island groups: the Xisha Islands, the Nansha Islands, and the Zhongsha Islands.
Xisha Islands are located on the north side, closer to Hainan Island, and contain Yongle Islands, Xuande Islands and other small islands. In general, Xisha Islands have 22 islands, covering 8 square kilometers land area. Among them, Yongxing Island is the biggest one.
Zhongsha Islands are to the south side of Xisha Islands. Most of its landscape is made of atolls under the sea and underwater sandy banks. Huangyan Island (Scarborough Shoal) is the only island that can be seen above sea level during the spring tide period.
Nansha Islands are the southernmost area of Sansha City, with their islands most widely distributed. They have the largest area of underwater sandy banks, hidden shoals and submerged rocks and their land area is only about 2 square kilometers (494 acres). Most of the lands are not suitable for people to live. Among all these islands, the most southern one is Zengmu Reef.
Mountains in Hainan
The center of Hainan Island is mountainous with a range that extends southwards in contrast to the relatively lower lying northern regions. The Wuzhi Mountain (Five Finger Mountain, or Wuzhi Shan in Chinese), located in Wuzhishan City, is the highest peak, with an altitude of 1,867m (6,125 feet). In fact this mountain is 343m (1,125 feet) higher than Mt.Tai, long regarded as the premier peak of China's five most famous mountains.
Wuzhi Mountain is the symbol of the island. The region has been listed by the International Tourism Organization in recognition of its supreme natural scenery which comprises one of the few natural rain forests surviving in the world today.
Wuzhi Mountain is high and steep, with a complex land form, and verdant forest. The abundant water resources feed groups of waterfalls, the most impressive being the Wuzhi Mountain Waterfall on the north face of the first peak. This has a height of 1,000m (3,281 feet), and is a grand sight. The various water falls have created a series of deep ponds as they cascade down to the great Wuzhi Mountain (Wuzhi Shan) Canyon.
Dongshan Mountain Ridge, although not very high at 184 meters, has been called "the best mountain in Hainan"(the Chinese love to say that something is "number one" ). With beautiful landscapes and local specialties, Dongshan is one of the best attractions on Hainan's eastern coast. One of Dongshan Ridge's more interesting sights is the "Flying Stone" (Feilai Shi). This stone is more than ten meters high and wide, and weighs over a hundred tons. This gigantic stone perches rather precariously and when the wind blows, it shakes slightly, but it never tumbles down the mountain. Other stangely-shaped stones are dotted around the area. Caves and grottoes can be found around here too and calligraphic stone inscriptions and temples (like Chaoyin Temple - famous with overseas Chinese throughout Southeast Asia) can be found among the mountain's cultural relics.
The Dongshan Ridge area also has several local specialiaties to offer visitors. Zhegu tea (also known as Lingzi Cao) is made from wild tea trees and has a wonderful flavor and aroma. Dongshan sheep are said to eat the local wild tea and other special plants found in mountain caverns, thus the lamb here is said to be particuarly tasty. In fact, Dongshan Sheep were a precious commodity used in political and religious tributes to important persons during the Song Dynasty. Hele crabs are also famous in the area.
Beautiful Beaches in Hainan
Belonging to the northern part of the tropics and virtually at the same latitude as Hawaii, it has a tropical monsoon climate and is known as the 'Eastern Hawaii'. Its average annual temperature is 23-25°C while the average temperature of the coldest February ranges between 16-20°C and the hottest August between 35-39°C. When northern China is snowy and icebound, local people are able to swim in the sea and enjoy the warm sunshine on the beach. In addition, the island has beautiful soft beaches and tropical scenery such as Holiday Beach, Dongzhai Harbor Mangrove Natural Reserve Area, Dongjiao Coconut Plantation, Asian Dragon Bay and Wuzhizhou Island. All these help to make the island a holiday hot spot in China, especially in winters and for newly-married couples. A special mention must be made here of the fact that since 2008, the government has been making a great effort to develop this tropical island province into an international tourism destination. On December 30, 2010, the first high-speed rail of the area, Hainan Eastern Ring Rail was put into service. Now people can travel easily between the northern point of the island (Haikou) and its southern point (Sanya) in just 1.5 hours. Another effort made by the government is the Tax refund policy carried out since January 1, 2011.
Ask Questions ?
