Blogs from Haikou, Hainan, China, Asia

Wow, the plane tickets are so cheap. From Nanning to Haioku only 300 RMB. I'd love to take a boat from Beihai or Zhanjiang, but if you don't have time, this is OK. The flight lasts only one hour… Haikou: main city. We only passed it, really. It's like Nanning, »the construction site«, traffic, fog, well, at least it was now. If you are looking for local snacks, you'd rather find them in Wenchan, which is the cradle of Hainan culture. Lingshui: small town next to the sea. Li national minority. Swimming? Well, possible, but… not so much. This is where the patterns start to appear: Hainan means greenery, unused fields, bays with functioning or, well, not functioning tourist projects. Interesting: original settlers came here from Guangxi and Guangdong thousands of years ago; they've belonged to ... read more

The island of Hainan has quite a history. What was once a penal colony for political rivals of the Emperor is now a resort get-away for mainland Chinese. This island is nick-named Coconut Island and is noted for its balmy weather even in the winter. Hainan boasts the highest longevity rate of all of China and also has the cleanest air. Considering the deadly smog that blankets much of this huge country, perhaps those two facts might be inter-related. To go ashore, it was necessary to book a tour to satisfy Chinese Immigration procedures. So we booked the Historical Haikou tour for a half-day overview of the city. Unfortunately during the Cultural Revolution, almost all of the historical monuments and temples were destroyed by the Mao zealots. So we visited what remained of these sites. Kevin, ... read more

New photos on: http://s251.photobucket.com/user/draftwrite/library/China_2013_Hainan?sort=2&page=1 http://s251.photobucket.com/user/draftwrite/library/2013-Xiamen?sort=2&page=1 …..you can rely on the Chinese to introduce words into English that were previously lacking, like the “excursing” in the title, from a shopfront on Gulangyu Island, Xiamen, in Fujian province. But I'm getting ahead of myself. This short account covers the whole 2 months of the summer break, the Summer Camp at the school, a visit to see a now pregnant Miss Piggy, a trip to tropical Hainan island & another to Xiamen. I return to Yangzhou to find the incredible illuminated roof on the nearby Canal City Convention Centre inc... read more

Tulkaa Sanyaan ja hankkikaa kaunis kolmisävyrusketus. Haittapuolena pieni kutina rinnassa, mutta kyllä kelpaa rannalla elvistellä!!!... read more

Saavuin tänne Sanyaan uudenvuoden aatonaattona. Matka meni mukavasti pikajunalla, jonka vauhti oli noin 250km/h. Hemmottelin itseäni jä käytin ylimääräiset kolme euroa siihen että sain matkustaa ykkösluokassa. Osan matkaa juna meni tuttua reittiä pitkin ja näinkin muutaman kerran paikkoja joiden ohi polkupyöräilin. Sanyaan saavuttuani menin bussilla suoraan merenrantaan, mistä sain varattua itselleni pienen hotellihuoneen kohtuulliseen hintaan. Tämä hotelli sijaitsee noin kolmensadan metrin päässä merestä ja tässä ympärillä on kaikki mitä uudenvuoden juhlintaan tarvitsee. Länsimaalaisia ravintoloita, kiinalaisia ravintoloita, pubeja, meri, pienpanimo ja onneksi hostelli missä voi pestä vaatteensa halvalla. Aatonaatto menikin sitten ihmisten kanssa jutellessa. Tutustuin illan aikana yhteen amerikkalaiseen opettajaan, jonka kanssa sitten teimme suunnitelman aatoksi. Suunnitelma meni ... read more