Haikou · Hainan
Haikou, Hainan's capital, is the island's living city: the Qilou arcade old town, Wugong Temple and a volcanic geopark. Private Haikou tours from US$149 a day.
The short version
The place itself
Sanya gets the postcards; Haikou gets the life. Hainan's capital sits on the north coast, looking across the Qiongzhou Strait at the mainland, and it is where the island's history, food and day-to-day rhythm are most visible. If you want to understand Hainan rather than simply lie on it, this is the city that shows you how.
The heart of it is the Qilou district — a grid of streets lined with early-20th-century arcade buildings, the 'qilou', whose colonnaded ground floors shelter shoppers from sun and rain while the upper floors carry the baroque curves and plasterwork of returned overseas Chinese. The lanes around Zhongshan Road, Deshengsha and Bo'ai Road are still a working old town, and the food stalls at Shuixiangkou are the best reason to walk them slowly.
Beyond the old town, Haikou mixes temples and volcanoes: Wugong Temple, the 'first building of Hainan', the provincial museum, the Ming official Hai Rui's tomb, and the remarkable Leiqiong volcanic geopark just 15 km out, whose villages are built from black basalt. And everywhere, the food culture of a subtropical island — chicken rice, Hainanese noodles, goat, and a morning-tea habit that runs until nearly 11am.
It is also the sanest base on the island in winter. When Sanya's hotels are full and charging peak rates, Haikou still has rooms, and the high-speed rail makes it an easy pairing with the south.
Pins are plotted from real latitude and longitude on a 5° graticule. This is a schematic orientation diagram, not a political map — no boundaries are drawn.
Hainan's best-preserved arcade quarter, built around 1920 by overseas Chinese, with colonnaded walkways, baroque facades and courtyards behind. Zhongshan Road, Deshengsha, Xinhua Nan and Bo'ai Road are the main axes; the oldest building, the Four-Arch Tower, dates to the Southern Song.
Built in memory of five officials exiled to Hainan, and known as the 'first building of Hainan'. Its ¥20 ticket hides three national treasures, including the Fusu Spring said to have been dug on Su Dongpo's instruction.
A dormant volcanic field 15 km from the city, with 10,000-year-old craters, lava tunnels and a village built entirely of black basalt blocks. One of the most unusual half-days on the island.
The island's story in one building, from prehistoric Hainan to the present, with a strong ethnic-minorities hall. Free, air-conditioned and the best orientation you can get on a first morning.
The laoba cha teahouses fill from dawn until almost 11am, and the night markets at Hongkan and along the old streets run past midnight. Noodles, roast oysters, qingbuliang and grilled skewers — the cheapest and most sociable way to eat in Haikou.
The city's long western beach, with the enormous 'Impression Hainan' outdoor theatre at its east end. Best at dusk, when the whole coast turns out to walk and the seafood barbecue yards fire up.
The essential first-time itinerary: imperial Beijing, the Terracotta Army in Xi'an and futuristic Shanghai, linked by high-speed rail.
From US$1,290 US$1,490/per person
Haikou Meilan International Airport (HAK) is 25 km from the centre, with dense domestic service plus routes to Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, Korea and Southeast Asia. Buses 21 and 41 reach the city for ¥6, the airport shuttle runs to the civil aviation hotel for ¥15, and taxis are about ¥60; the airport also has its own high-speed rail station on the island loop line.
High-speed rail is the easy way to reach Haikou from within Hainan: Haikou East to Sanya takes about 1h 30m, and the ring line covers both the east and west coasts. From the mainland, the Guangdong–Hainan rail ferry and the ferry ports at Xiuying and Xinhai handle the crossing from Guangdong.
In town, the bus network is cheap and frequent, the tourist bus 'Xinmeilan' links the main sights, and taxis start at ¥10. The old town and the waterfront are walkable; everything else is a short, cheap ride.
| Month | Weather | Crowds | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 12°C / 4°C · cool, damp | Quiet | Good |
| February | 14°C / 6°C · cool, damp | Very busy | Good |
| March | 18°C / 10°C · clear and mild | Moderate | Best |
| April | 24°C / 16°C · clear and mild | Moderate | Best |
| May | 28°C / 21°C · cool, damp | Busy | OK |
| June | 32°C / 25°C · very hot, humid | Moderate | OK |
| July | 35°C / 28°C · cool, damp | Busy | Avoid |
| August | 34°C / 27°C · cool, damp | Busy | Avoid |
| September | 29°C / 23°C · very hot, humid | Moderate | OK |
| October | 24°C / 17°C · clear and mild | Very busy | Best |
| November | 18°C / 11°C · clear and mild | Quiet | Best |
| December | 13°C / 6°C · cool, damp | Quiet | Good |
Two days is the minimum — one for the Qilou old town, Wugong Temple and the provincial museum, and one for the volcanic geopark plus Holiday Beach. A third day adds the Dongzhaigang mangrove reserve, Hai Rui's tomb and a proper go at the morning-tea and night-market routine. Many travellers use Haikou as a one-night arrival or departure stop on the way to Sanya; that undersells it.
Plan these days properly
Transport
China's High-Speed Rail: How to Book, What It Costs, How Fast It Goes
The fastest way to cross China is also the most pleasant. Here is how to book a ticket with a foreign passport, what the three classes actually give you, and how to survive a Chinese station at rush hour.
9 min read
Planning
Best Time to Visit China: Month by Month, Region by Region
China is the size of Europe, so 'the best month' depends on where you stand. Here is the month-by-month answer for the north, the Yangtze valley, the south and the plateau.
8 min read
Food
Chinese Food Culture: Eight Cuisines, One Table
There is no such thing as Chinese food. There is Cantonese, Sichuan, Hunan, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Anhui and Shandong — and knowing which one you are eating changes everything.
8 min read
Go to both — they are different holidays. Sanya is the beach resort; Haikou is the island's real city, and the only place where Hainan's history and food culture are on show. Two or three days in Haikou, reached by a 1h 30m high-speed train from Sanya, is the pairing that makes a Hainan trip whole.
November to April is dry and comfortable, averaging around 18–22°C — the same window that makes all of Hainan pleasant. May to October is the rainy season, with typhoons most likely from August to October, when the ferry and flights can be disrupted. Winter is the safe choice.
Start with Hainanese chicken rice and a bowl of Hainan noodles, then try the island's other signatures: Dongshan goat, Hele crab, coconut rice and the cold dessert qingbuliang. Ease into a laoba cha teahouse in the morning and a night market after dark — those two habits are the real Haikou.
High-speed rail, which takes about 1h 30m between Haikou East and Sanya and runs all day. First class is around ¥100 and second class about ¥84. There is no need to fly the route; the train is faster door-to-door and drops you in the middle of Sanya.
Less than you would expect. It is a genuine working neighbourhood with shops, tailors and residents, not a rebuilt attraction, which is exactly what makes it interesting. Go in the morning, eat at the Shuixiangkou food lane, and give the main Zhongshan Road a skim in favour of the side streets.
Haikou, like the rest of Hainan, is covered by the province's visa-free entry scheme for travellers from many countries, usually for short stays. The eligible-country list and the rules change, so confirm your passport's status before booking. Moving on to the mainland from Hainan brings the normal visa requirement back.
Free itinerary design, a revised plan within one working day, and nothing charged until you approve the final version.
