Hainan is China’s Hawaii. It’s on the same latitude, with a highly developed agricultural economy, roads and infrastructure. It’s China’s smallest province, divided by a 1.5 km strait from Guangdong, and nestled between the Gulf of Tonkin and South China Sea. Like Hawaii it has the beaches, hills, forests, wildlife, and recreational roster. 

In the central highlands, the descendants of the Li, Miao and Han wear tribal dress in the villages, and ancient Chinese poetry proclaims the beauty of the waterfalls, gorges, lush forests with chattering monkeys – and the same coconut, banana, pepper and fruit fields you can see, if on a different scale. This is where to join the annual Water-Splashing Festival. 

Sanya, Hainan’s second city in the south, is the centre of beach life, and focal point of all tourism. Xiao Dongtian, to the west at Yazhou Bay is spectacularly pretty, with beauty spots alongside regular beach and countryside facilities. 

When to go: Year-round. Population: 8,200,000. How to get there: By air from mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore or Japan, to Haikou or Sanya; by train and rail-ferry, from Guangzhou in Guangdong, to Haikou; by boat from several Chinese ports, to Haikou or Sanya. Photos by: Alfred(??) in Shanghai