CHINA: More Chinese Companies Heavily Invest In Tourism

Chinese tourists' enthusiasm for travel has spurred businesses to step up input in tourism development. The country's tourist numbers and tourism income both came out on top last year, followed by India, the US, Japan and France, the Beijing-based World Tourism Cities Federation reports.

China's domestic travel market received more than five billion visits, mostly by the Chinese, in 2017, up 12.8 percent as compared with the previous year and 69 percent with 2012, according to the former National Tourism Administration, which is now part of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Chinese tourists paid 270 million visits abroad last year, up 3.7 percent year-on-year.

In the second quarter of 2018, the overall travel intention for China is 84 percent, which shows an increase of 1.8 percent from the previous period and a year-on-year growth of 3.8 percent.

It’s expected that the travel market will receive a total of 339 million domestic tourists from the three spring vacations of the Qingming Festival, the Labor Day and the Dragon Boat Festival, according to the administration.

Tourism has contributed 9.13 trillion yuan (1.42 trillion US dollars) to China's GDP, said the administration.

The country's focus on tourism has been demonstrated by the merging of the tourism and culture authorities in March.

Seen from the long run, the Chinese market has strong competitiveness, thanks to the culture and tourism integration, said Zhao Jingwen, chairman adviser of CITIC Ltd, at a global tourism investment summit that drew more than 500 Chinese government organs, financial institutes and scenic spots in late May.

We have seen a group of big enterprises rapidly making inroads in the tourism industry, Zhao said, adding that the top five real estate businesses and nine out of the top 10 internet giants have invested in tourism.

At the forum, the Beijing-based ShanHai Cultural and Tourism Group signed a strategic agreement with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and the Agriculture Bank of China, as well as multiple local governments and scenic spots to expand its presence in the tourism market.

The Beijing-based company has invested in a sport town in Hebei Province's Xinglong County, a natural resort in Guizhou Province's Anshun City, and a golf facility in Hainan Province's Haikou City over the years, and plans to expand its tourism business, in addition to its real estate, financial and medical involvement.

The full-on cooperation is to develop a sound industrial chain model featuring travel agency, scenic spot, hotel and transportation, says Wang Gaochao, chairman of the company.

Beijing ShanHai will invest in infrastructure, recreational equipment and hotels at various scenic spots and help to boost their publicity. The company also launched Mounsey, its travel agency, at the forum and announced a three-year plan to open 100 Mounsey subsidiaries and 10,000 brick-and-mortar retail shops to receive travelers directly across the country.

It would also make investments in 80 scenic spots, 100 hotels and 60 homestays. The goal is to integrate tourism resources and offer one-stop services to tourists, Wang explains.

ShanHai is just one of the many forces that have increased their presence in the tourism sector.

China's leading domestic theme park brand Fantawild Adventure intends to open a new theme park worth 12.8 billion yuan in Zhejiang Province's Ningbo City. The property developer Evergrande Group has planned to invest 300 billion yuan to develop 15 Children's World theme parks across China.

The State-owned Overseas Chinese Town has signed a 238-billion-yuan deal to develop culture and tourism in Shaanxi Province's capital Xi'an. Other real estate giants, such as the Hong Kong-listed Sunac and Country Garden, have all moved into the tourism development business.

In 2017, direct tourism investment broke 1.5 trillion yuan in China, and the country's 144 tourism investment funds were worth 800 billion yuan, according to the former National Tourism Administration.

More than 2,000 big-scale tourism projects are now under construction, involving more than 5 trillion yuan in investment. A total of 130 scenic spots have seen investment above 10 billion yuan each, and 45 above 20 billion yuan each.

Investment in culture and tourist towns, theme parks, ethnic and religious tourism, camp sites and those offering TV, film experiences and performances have been on the rise in recent years, supported by the country's favorable policies towards tourism investment, including those that help qualified tourism enterprises go public.

Private capital has taken an exceptional part in overall tourism industry investment, basically surpassing 50 percent, says Li Yuebo, managing director with Industrial Securities.

Private companies have put more focus on medium- and high-end travel experiences and invested more in leisure at first-tier cities, while governments and State-owned companies have put money in tourism infrastructure in the central and western parts of the country, Li says.

Speaking about future tourism development prospects, Mounsey's president Wang Tao believes the sky's the limit.

Tourism would be the next gold mine in the next dozens of years in China, after real estate and the internet, Wang says.

He mentions that Sunac's revenue was 360 billion yuan last year, and it ranks merely the fourth in the real estate industry, while the combined business of the tourism giants Ctrip and China International Travel Service Ltd amount to just 60 billion yuan.

With real estate giants flocking to the tourism industry, think about the changes they would bring.


Tourism Observer

CHINA: Two Men Force To Join Tourist BBQ In Hainan Injuring Chinese Tourist

Two Chinese men have been arrested over a brawl during a beach barbecue that left one tourist injured on the popular resort island of Hainan.

Sichuan visitors said the pair tried to crash their party and threw sand on the food before the fight broke out.

Police said they arrested one of the suspects, identified only by his surname Fu, in the southern town of Sanya on Wednesday evening, hours after the fight broke out on a beach there.

Another 28-year-old suspect, whose name was given as Chen, turned himself in to police on Saturday afternoon, accompanied by his family.

The pair were charged with picking quarrels and provoking trouble, police said, without elaborating.

Both of the men are believed to be from Sanya.

Video footage of the incident has been widely circulated online since Wednesday.

It shows two men attempting to crash a beach barbecue of six tourists from Sichuan province before a fight breaks out.

The two men tried to crash the tourists’ barbecue, according to one of the group.

One of the Sichuan tourists said that the two bare-chested men had demanded to join their gathering and share the food.

The tourists said no, and the two men then became aggressive and threw sand on the food before the confrontation escalated into a physical fight.

One of the tourists sustained a head injury but it was not serious, and the two men left before the police turned up, the report said.

Fu told police that he and Chen had been drinking wine before they approached the group and they became angry when they were rejected.

Police said the two men could face criminal punishment and that they were still investigating the case.

More than 20 million tourists visit tropical Hainan and its palm-fringed beaches every year, according to official figures, many of them from mainland China.

In recent years there has been increasing tension between locals and the growing number of mainland visitors.


Tourism Observer

CHINA: Guangdong A Diner's Paradise, Richest And Most Populous Province But Infested With Petty Crime, Pickpockets And Homelessness, Prostitution Is Illegal But Common.

Guangdong is a province in Southeast China on the border with Hong Kong. Guangdong is a province in South China, located on the South China Sea coast.

Traditionally romanised as Kwangtung, Guangdong surpassed Henan and Sichuan to become the most populous province in China in January 2005.

It registered 79.1 million permanent residents and 31 million migrants who lived in the province for at least six months of the year.

The total population was 104,303,132 in the 2010 census, accounting for 7.79 percent of Mainland China's population.

This also makes it the most populous first-level administrative subdivision of any country outside the former British Raj, as its population is surpassed only by those of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the Indian states of Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.

The provincial capital Guangzhou and economic hub Shenzhen are among the most populous and important cities in China. The population increase since the census has been modest, the province at 2015 had 108,500,000 people.

Since 1989, Guangdong has topped the total GDP rankings among all provincial-level divisions, with Jiangsu and Shandong second and third in rank.

According to state statistics, Guangdong's GDP in 2017 reached 1.42 trillion US dollars (CNY 8.99 trillion), making its economy roughly the same size as Mexico.

Since 1989, Guangdong has had the highest GDP among all provinces of Mainland China. The province contributes approximately 12% of the PRC's national economic output.

It is home to the production facilities and offices of a wide-ranging set of Chinese and foreign corporations.

Guangdong also hosts the largest import and export fair in China, the Canton Fair, hosted in the provincial capital of Guangzhou.

In the era of tea clippers, both Guangdong and its capital Guangzhou were often referred to on maps and in spoken English as Canton.

This usage continues today but to a much lesser extent with the transliterated Chinese name being used instead.

Other versions no longer used include Kwangtung. The food and language of the area are still known as Cantonese. Much of what is associated with overseas Chinese food and culture has its origins here.

Guangdong borders the South China Sea and surrounds Hong Kong and Macau. Long a provincial backwater, the province's economic fortunes changed dramatically when Deng Xiaoping initiated economic reforms in 1978.

Home to three of the country's Special Economic Zones and to a burgeoning manufacturing industry, Guangdong is now the richest province in China.

It is also the most populous Chinese provinces, with approximately 110 million people, more than all but ten countries.

The major cities in Guangdong have been magnets for migrant workers from poor inland provinces since the 1980s. In many cities this has led to problems with petty crime and homelessness.

It also means that Mandarin is increasingly widely spoken and many taxi drivers or service staff are more conversant in Mandarin than the local versions of Cantonese.

Many overseas Chinese, particularly those which emigrated before 1949, trace their roots to Guangdong, although many are from other coastal provinces such as Fujian or the area around Shanghai.

The Chinese food most familiar to Westerners is basically Cantonese cooking, albeit sometimes adapted for the customers' tastes.

Guangdong has a subtropical climate. Annual rainfall averages 1500-2000 millimeters and temperature averages 19C - 26C. Summers are very hot, humid and wet and there may be typhoons.

By May the temperature gauge is easily in the 30's with the humidity and air pollution making feel even hotter. The best time to visit Guangdong is in the Spring or Autumn.

Originally inhabited by a mixture of tribal groups known to the Chinese as the Baiyue, the region first became part of China during the Qin dynasty.

Chinese administration and reliable historical records in the region began with the Qin dynasty. After establishing the first unified Chinese empire, the Qin expanded southwards and set up Nanhai Commandery at Panyu, near what is now part of Guangzhou.

The region was independent as Nanyue between the fall of Qin and the reign of Emperor Wu of Han.

The Han dynasty administered Guangdong, Guangxi, and northern Vietnam as Jiaozhi Province, southernmost Jiaozhi Province was used as a gateway for traders from the west—as far away as the Roman Empire.

Under the Wu Kingdom of the Three Kingdoms period, Guangdong was made its own province, the Guang Province, in 226.

As time passed, the demographics of what is now Guangdong gradually shifted to Han Chinese dominance as the populations intermingled due to commerce along the great canals.

Abruptly shifted through massive migration from the north during periods of political turmoil and nomadic incursions from the fall of the Han dynasty onwards.

For example, internal strife in northern China following the rebellion of An Lushan resulted in a 75% increase in the population of Guangzhou prefecture between 740s–750s and 800s–810s.

As more migrants arrived, the local population was gradually assimilated to Han Chinese culture or displaced.

Together with Guangxi, Guangdong was made part of Lingnan Circuit, or Mountain-South Circuit, in 627 during the Tang dynasty.

The Guangdong part of Lingnan Circuit was renamed Guangnan East Circuit guang nan dong lu in 971 during the Song dynasty (960–1279). Guangnan East is the source of Guangdong.

As Mongols from the north engaged in their conquest of China in the 13th century, the Southern Song court fled southwards from its capital in Hangzhou.

The defeat of the Southern Song court by Mongol naval forces in The Battle of Yamen 1279 in Guangdong marked the end of the Southern Song dynasty (960–1279).

During the Mongol Yuan dynasty, large parts of current Guangdong belonged to Jiangxi. Its present name, Guangdong Province was given in early Ming dynasty.

Since the 16th century, Guangdong has had extensive trade links with the rest of the world. European merchants coming northwards via the Straits of Malacca and the South China Sea, particularly the Portuguese and British, traded extensively through Guangzhou.

Macau, on the southern coast of Guangdong, was the first European settlement in 1557.

In the 19th century, the opium traded through Guangzhou triggered the First Opium War, opening an era of Western imperialists' incursion and intervention in China.

In addition to Macau, which was then a Portuguese colony, Hong Kong was ceded to the British, and Kwang-Chou-Wan the modern day area of Zhanjiang to the French.

Due to the large number of people that emigrated out of the Guangdong province, many overseas Chinese communities have their origins in Guangdong.

The Cantonese language, therefore, has proportionately more speakers among overseas Chinese people than mainland Chinese. Consequently, many Mandarin Chinese words originally of foreign origin come from the original foreign language by way of Cantonese.

In the United States, there is a large number of Chinese who are descendants of immigrants from the city of Taishan or Toisan in Cantonese, who speak a distinctive dialect related to Cantonese called Taishanese or Toishanese.

During the 1850s, the Taiping Rebellion, whose leader Hong Xiuquan was born in Guangdong and received a pamphlet from a Protestant Christian missionary in Guangdong, became a widespread civil war in southern China.

Because of direct contact with the West, Guangdong was the center of anti-Manchu and anti-imperialist activity. The generally acknowledged founder of modern China, Sun Yat-sen, was also from Guangdong.

During the early 1920s of the Republic of China, Guangdong was the staging area for Kuomintang (KMT) to prepare for the Northern Expedition, an effort to bring the various warlords of China back under the central government.

Whampoa Military Academy was built near Guangzhou to train military commanders.

In recent years, the province has seen extremely rapid economic growth, aided in part by its close trading links with Hong Kong, which borders it. It is now the province with the highest gross domestic product in China.

In 1952, a small section of Guangdong's coastline was given to Guangxi, giving it access to the sea. This was reversed in 1955, and then restored in 1965.

Hainan Island was originally part of Guangdong, but it was separated as its own province in 1988.

Guangdong faces the South China Sea to the south and has a total of 4,300 km (2,700 mi) of coastline. Leizhou Peninsula is on the southwestern end of the province.

There are a few inactive volcanoes on Leizhou Peninsula. The Pearl River Delta is the convergent point of three upstream rivers: the East River, North River, and West River.

The river delta is filled with hundreds of small islands. The province is geographically separated from the north by a few mountain ranges collectively called the Nan Mountains (Nan Ling).

The highest peak in the province is Shikengkong with an elevation of 6,240 feet (1,902 meters) above sea level.

Guangdong borders Fujian to the northeast, Jiangxi and Hunan to the north, Guangxi autonomous region to the west, and Hong Kong and Macau Special Administrative Regions to the south.

Hainan is offshore across from the Leizhou Peninsula. The Pratas Islands, which were traditionally governed as part of Guangdong, are now administered by the Republic of China on Taiwan.

Cities around the Pearl River Delta include Dongguan, Foshan, Guangzhou, Huizhou, Jiangmen, Shenzhen, Shunde, Taishan, Zhongshan and Zhuhai.

Other cities in the province include Chaozhou, Chenghai, Nanhai, Shantou, Shaoguan, Zhanjiang, Zhaoqing, Yangjiang and Yunfu.

Guangdong has a humid subtropical climate, though nearing a tropical climate in the far south. Winters are short, mild, and relatively dry, while summers are long, hot, and very wet.

Average daily highs in Guangzhou in January and July are 18 °C (64 °F) and 33 °C (91 °F), respectively, although the humidity makes it feel much hotter in summer. Frost is rare on the coast but may happen a few days each winter well inland.

The economy of Guangdong is large enough to be compared to that of many countries. in 2014, the gross domestic product (GDP) is about $1104.05 billion, Guangdong has been the largest province by GDP since 1989 in Mainland China.

Guangdong is responsible for 10.66 percent of the China' $10.36 trillion GDP. In 2015, Guangdong's GDP is slightly larger than that of Mexico ranking 15th in terms of US dollar or Purchasing Power Parity.

Comparable to that of country subdivisions in dollar terms, Guangdong's GDP is larger than that of all but 6 country subdivisions: England, California, Texas, New York and Tokyo. It is comparable to the GDP of the Los Angeles metropolitan area.

This is a trend of official estimates of the gross domestic product of the Province of Guangdong with figures in millions of Chinese Yuan.

After the communist revolution and until the start of the Deng Xiaoping reforms in 1978, Guangdong was an economic backwater, although a large underground, service-based economy has always existed.

Economic development policies encouraged industrial development in the interior provinces which were weakly joined to Guangdong via transportation links.

The government policy of economic autarky made Guangdong's access to the ocean irrelevant.

Deng Xiaoping's open door policy radically changed the economy of the province as it was able to take advantage of its access to the ocean, proximity to Hong Kong, and historical links to overseas Chinese.

Until the 1990s when the Chinese taxation system was reformed, the province benefited from the relatively low rate of taxation placed on it by the central government due to its post-Liberation status of being economically backward.

Guangdong's economic boom began with the early 1990s and has since spread to neighboring provinces, and also pulled their populations inward.

The economic growth of Guangdong province owes much to the low-value-added manufacturing which characterized and in many ways still defines the province's economy following Deng Xiaoping's reforms.

Guangdong is not only China's largest exporter of goods, it is the country's largest importer as well.

The province is now one of the richest in the nation, with the most billionaires in mainland China, the highest GDP among all the provinces, although wage growth has only recently begun to rise due to a large influx of migrant workers from neighboring provinces.

In 2011, Guangdong's aggregate nominal GDP reached 5.30 trillion RMB (US$838.60 billion) with a per capita GDP of 47,689 RMB.

By 2015, the local government of Guangdong hopes that the service industry will account for more than 50 percent of the provinces GDP and high-tech manufacturing another 20 percent.

In 2009, Guangdong's primary, secondary, and tertiary industries were worth 201 billion yuan, 1.93 trillion yuan, and 1.78 trillion yuan, respectively.

Its per capita GDP reached 40,748 yuan (about US$5,965). Guangdong contributes approximately 12% of the total national economic output.

It has three of the six Special Economic Zones: Shenzhen, Shantou and Zhuhai. The affluence of Guangdong, however, remains very concentrated near the Pearl River Delta.

In 2008 its foreign trade also grew 7.8% from the previous year and is also by far the largest of all of China.

By numbers, Guangdong's foreign trade accounts for more than a quarter of China's US$2.56 trillion foreign trade or roughly US$683 billion.

Guangdong officially became the most populous province in January 2005. Official statistics had traditionally placed Guangdong as the 4th-most populous province of China with about 80 million people.

Sichuan, traditionally the most populous province, was divided into Sichuan and Chongqing in 1997.

Recent information suggests that there are an additional 30 million migrants who reside in Guangdong for at least six months every year.

This making it the most populous province with a population of more than 110 million.

The massive influx of migrants from other provinces, dubbed the floating population, is due to Guangdong's booming economy and high demand for labor.

If Guangdong were an independent nation, it would rank among the twenty largest countries of the world by population, more populous than France, Germany, or the United Kingdom, and more populous than the largest three US states - California, Texas, and Florida combined.

Guangdong is also the ancestral home of large numbers of overseas Chinese. Most of the railroad laborers in Canada, Western United States and Panama in the 19th century came from Guangdong.

Many people from the region also travelled to the US / California during the gold rush of 1849, and also to Australia during its gold rush a decade or so later.

The majority of the province's population is Han Chinese. Within the Han Chinese, the largest subgroup in Guangdong are the Cantonese people.

Two other major groups are the Teochew people in Chaoshan and the Hakka people in Huizhou, Meizhou, Heyuan, Shaoguan and Zhanjiang.

There is a small Yao population in the north. Other smaller minority groups include She, Miao, Li, and Zhuang.

Guangdong has a highly unbalanced gender ratio that is among the highest of all provinces in China. According to a 2009 study published in the British Medical Journal, in the 1–4 age group, there are over 130 boys for every 100 girls.

According to a 2012 survey only around 7% of the population of Guangdong belongs to organised religions, the largest groups being Buddhists with 6.2%, followed by Protestants with 0.8% and Catholics with 0.2%.

Around 93% of the population is either irreligious or may be involved in Chinese folk religions worshipping nature gods, ancestral deities, popular sects, Taoist traditions, Buddhist religious traditions & Confucian religious traditions.

According to a survey conducted in 2007, 43.71% of the population believes and is involved in ancestor veneration,the traditional Chinese religion of the lineages organised into lineage churches and ancestral shrines.

Guangdong is governed by a dual-party system like the rest of China. The Governor is in charge of provincial affairs; however, the Communist Party Secretary, often from outside of Guangdong, keeps the Governor in check.

Hong Kong and Macau, while historically parts of Guangdong before becoming colonies of the United Kingdom and Portugal, respectively, are special administrative regions (SARs).

Furthermore, the Basic Laws of both SARs explicitly forbid provincial governments from intervening in local politics.

As a result, many issues with Hong Kong and Macau, such as border policy and water rights, have been settled by negotiations between the SARs' governments and the Guangdong provincial government.

The central region, which is also the political and economic center, is populated predominantly by Yue Chinese speakers,

This though the influx in the last three decades of millions of Mandarin-speaking immigrants has slightly diminished Cantonese linguistic dominance.

This region is associated with Cantonese cuisine. Cantonese opera is a form of Chinese opera popular in Cantonese speaking areas. Related Yue dialects are spoken in most of the western half of the province.

The area comprising the cities of Chaozhou, Shantou and Jieyang in coastal east Guangdong, known as Chaoshan, forms its own cultural sphere.

The Teochew people here, along with Hailufeng people in Shanwei, speak Teochew, which is a Min dialect closely related to mainstream Southern Min (Hokkien) and their cuisine is Teochew cuisine.

Teochew opera is also well-known and has a unique form.

The Hakka people live in large areas of Guangdong, including Huizhou, Meizhou, Shenzhen, Heyuan, Shaoguan and other areas.

Much of the Eastern part of Guangdong is populated by the Hakka people except for the Chaozhou and Hailufeng area.

Hakka culture include Hakka cuisine, Han opera, Hakka Hanyue and sixian traditional instrumental music and Hakka folk songs.

Zhanjiang in southern Guangdong is dominated by the Leizhou dialect, a variety of Minnan; Cantonese and Hakka are also spoken there.

Mandarin is the language used in education and government and in areas where there are migrants from other provinces, above all in Shenzhen.

Cantonese maintains a strong and dominant position in common usage and media, even in eastern areas of the province where the local languages and dialects are non-Yue ones.

Guangdong Province is notable for being the birthplace of many famed Xiangqi (Chinese chess) grandmasters such as Lu Qin, Yang Guanli, Cai Furu and Xu Yinchuan.

Eastern Guangdong - the coastal area east of the Pearl River Delta including the prefectures of Shanwei, Jieyang, Shantou and Chaozhou

Northern Guangdong - the inland part of Guangdong including the prefectures of Yunfu, Zhaoqing, Qingyuan, Shaoguan, Heyuan and Meizhou

Pearl River Delta - the world's workshop, a major manufacturing area. Guangdong produces a third of China's total exports and most of those are from the Delta region.

The area from Shenzhen to Guangzhou is essentially one massive factory city. The region includes the prefectures of Jiangmen, Foshan, Zhongshan, Zhuhai, Guangzhou, Dongguan, Shenzhen and Huizhou

Western Guangdong - the coastal area west of the Pearl River Delta including the prefectures of Zhanjiang, Maoming and Yangjiang

Cities in Guangdong Province

Guangzhou - largest city and capital of the province; economic, political and cultural center

Dongguan - center for the garment trade, light manufacturing, and electronics, between Guangzhou and Shenzhen

Qingyuan - popular amongst local travelers for its white-water rafting and hot springs.

Shantou - on the coast North of Hong Kong, SEZ

Shaoguan - located in northern Guangdong

Shenzhen - boom town on border with Hong Kong, SEZ

Zhongshan - Hometown of the revolutionary father of modern China, Sun Yatsen, and now a major industrial city southwest of Guangzhou

Zhanjiang - in the West, near Hainan

Zhuhai - fast growing town on border with Macau, SEZ

Shenzhen. Zhuhai and Shantou are Special Economic Zones (SEZs) where various government programs encourage investment.

Notable attractions include Danxia Mountain, Yuexiu Hill, Baiyun Mountain in Guangzhou, Star Lake and the Seven Star Crags, Dinghu Mountain, and the Zhongshan Sun Wen Memorial Park for Sun Yat-sen in Zhongshan.

Kaiping - A small town famous for its mixture of western and eastern style castle-like dwellings built by overseas Chinese and the setting for the popular Chinese film called Let the Bullets Fly.

Mandarin is widely spoken, almost universally by educated people, especially in areas like Shenzhen and Zhuhai which have been built through migration from all across China.

The historic language of the region is still Cantonese which differs from Mandarin as much as French differs from Italian or Spanish.

Cantonese or Guangdongren people are extremely proud of their language, this applies to neighboring Hong Kong as well and continue to use it widely despite endless efforts at Mandarinization.

Cantonese itself is more closely related to the language of the great Tang Dynasty than the more modern circa Yuan Dynasty, Mandarin.

Cantonese people worldwide thus tend to refer to themselves as Tong Yan or People of the Tang in Cantonese rather than Han, the standard appellation for all ethnic Chinese.

Note that there can be significant dialectal variations within Cantonese itself, and the Cantonese spoken in areas in the far Western reaches of Guangdong and neighboring eastern Guangxi Province as well.

For instance Taishan are only marginally, or sometimes even not mutually intelligible with the Cantonese spoken in Hong Kong or Guangzhou.

Cantonese is also the native language of the neighboring northeastern part of Guangxi province. Nevertheless, the Guangzhou dialect of Cantonese is considered to be the prestige or standardized dialect.

Its is generally understood throughout the Cantonese-speaking areas. Note that in Hong Kong, Cantonese enjoys official status.

At the coastal areas near the Southern border of Fujian, most notably Chaozhou and Shantou, a variant of Minnan Hokkien-Taiwanese known commonly as Teochew, the native pronunciation of Chaozhou is spoken.

Teochew is not mutually intelligible with Cantonese, but is mutually intelligible with the Xiamen/Taiwanese dialect of Minnan to a small degree.

Certain parts of the province are also home to Hakka communities, and they speak the Hakka dialect, which is not mutually intelligible with Mandarin or Teochew. However the Hakka dialect is partially intelligible with Cantonese.

There are several large modern airports in the region: Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Macau have many international flights; Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Shantou cater almost entirely for domestic Chinese flights.

The area is also well connected to the rest of China by road and rail.

There are also many ports, mainly container ports handling massive freight traffic (2.4 million tons in 2003), but with some passenger services.

In particular, there are ferries mostly fast hydrofoils connecting Hong Kong and Macau with the neighboring Guangdong cities Shenzhen and Zhuhai, and some even run upriver to Guangzhou.

Foreign nationals from 51 countries who transit through Guangzhou Airport when flying between two different countries, for example, London-Guangzhou-Auckland qualify for a 72-hour visa-free stopover.

For the purpose of the policy, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan are treated as international flights, for example, London-Guangzhou-Taipei would qualify.

The name of the policy is a bit of a misnomer, as the 72 hour period actually begins at 00:01 after the day of arrival, for example, if you arrive in Guangzhou Airport at 09:00 on 1 January, you can stay until 23:59 on 4 January.

During the 72 hour visa-free stopover, you are allowed to move freely within Guangdong Province. You must fly into and fly out of Guangzhou Airport.

In China, there is an extensive rail network; Guangzhou is one of the major hubs. Rail is the main means of inter-city travel for the Chinese themselves, and many visitors travel that way as well.

The system now includes fast bullet trains on some routes; unless your budget is very tight, these are the best way to go fast, clean and comfortable.

All the major cities have airports with good domestic connections; some have international connections as well.

There is also an extensive highway network, much of it very good. Buses go almost anywhere, somewhat cheaper than the trains. Tao Bus operates coach services at competitive prices throughout Guangdong province. Driving yourself is also possible, but often problematic; see Driving in China.

Tourist spots to visitin Guangdong

- Star Lake in Zhaoqing

- Mount Xiqiao in Foshan

- Mount Danxia in Shaoguan

- Qingxin Hot Springs in Qingyuan

- Hailing Island's Dajiao Bay in Yangjiang

- Nanling national forest park in Shaoguan

- Baiyun Hill in Guangzhou

- Xiangjiang Wildlife Park in Guangzhou

- Overseas Chinese Town in Shenzhen

- Guanlan Golf Course in Shenzhen

- Yuanming New Park in Zhuhai

- Dr. Sun Yat-sen's birthplace in Zhongshan

A visitor will grasp an understanding of China's history and culture as well as experience the customs and cultural differences both between their own culture and China and between Guangdong and other regions of China.

Guangdong has a many restaurants, with Guangzhou in particular having a reputation as a diner's paradise.

Other than sit-down restaurants, bustling night markets provide an eclectic mix of inexpensive finger foods, snacks, and delicacies.

These markets are filled with shops and food carts integrating the eating and window-shopping experiences. Night markets are usually very crowded with both tourists and locals.

The major cities of Guangdong are heavily infested with pickpockets, and anyone who does not look Chinese is a prime target. For some info on defenses, see pickpockets.

As with everywhere else in Mainland China, prostitution is illegal but common. However the city of Foshan is the only jurisdiction in Mainland China that legalizes prostitution.

But only erotic massages or Happy Endings is legal. Homosexual prostitution is illegal and is known to be prosecuted.

Enjoy Guangdong.



Tourism Observer

CHINA: Hainan Is China's Hawaii,Be Wary Of Monkeys That Steal Bags From Tourists

Hainan is an island province at the southernmost part of China, just across the Gulf of Tonkin from Vietnam. Hainan means South of the Ocean.

At one point, Hainan was considered a backward place serving as a place of exile for failed officials.

Hainan island was originally attached to the Northeastern part of what is now Vietnam, however, the island was formed after it physically broke away from Vietnam due to volcano eruption and drifted southeast near China after the Mesozoic period, millions of years ago.

Hainan is China's smallest province, and also the largest island under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China. Hainan is also the only island province administered by the PRC.

Hainan is the smallest and southernmost province of China, consisting of various islands in the South China Sea.

Hainan Island, separated from Guangdong's Leizhou Peninsula by the Qiongzhou Strait, is the largest island under PRC control Taiwan, which is slightly larger, is also claimed but not controlled by the PRC and makes up the majority of the province.

The province has an area of 33,920 square kilometers (13,100 sq mi), with Hainan Island making up 32,900 square kilometers (12,700 sq mi) (97%) and the rest divided among 200 islands scattered across three archipelagos.

It was administered as part of Guangdong until 1988, when it became a separate province; around the same time, it was made the largest Special Economic Zone established by Deng Xiaoping as part of the Opening Up of China.

There are a total of ten major cities and ten counties in Hainan Province. Haikou on the northern coast of Hainan Island is the capital while Sanya is a well-known tourist destination on the southern coast.

The other major cities are Wenchang, Qionghai, Wanning, Wuzhishan, Dongfang, and Danzhou.

According to China's controversial territorial claims several territories in the South China Sea, including the Spratly Islands (Nansha) and Paracel Islands (Xisha), are notionally administered as part of the province.

The provincial name derives from its major island, Hainan, in Hainanese "Hai Nam", which is named for its position south of the Qiongzhou Strait / Kheng Ju Haihiap. To the north of the strait, the Leizhou Peninsula / Lui Ju Buadau in Guangdong is also known as Haibei/Hai Bac or North of the Sea.

Former names for Hainan Island include Zhuya, Qiongya, and Qiongzhou. The later two gave rise to the provincial abbreviation or Qiong/Kheng.

Hainan was historically part of Guangdong and Guangxi Provinces and as such was the Qiongya Circuit under the 1912 establishment of the Republic of China.

In 1921, it was planned to become a special administrative region, in 1944 it became Hainan Special Administrative Region with 16 counties containing the South China Sea Islands.

During the 1920s and 30s, Hainan was a hotbed of Communist activity, especially after a bloody crackdown in Shanghai, the Republic of China in 1927 drove many Communists into hiding.

The Communists and the Li natives fought a vigorous guerrilla campaign against the Japanese occupation of Hainan (1939–45), but in retaliation the Japanese launched numerous massacres against Li villages.

Feng Baiju led the Hainan Independent Column of fighters throughout the 1930s and 1940s. After the Japanese surrender in 1945 the Nationalist Party (KMT) re-established control.

Hainan was one of the last areas of China controlled by the Republic of China during the Chinese Civil War when it lost the mainland from 1946-49.

Hainan, separated by the Qiongzhou Strait from the Leizhou Peninsula of Guangdong, is the largest island administered by the People's Republic of China.

The area of Hainan Island (32,900 km2 (12,700 sq mi), 97% of the province) is similar to that of Belgium. To the west of Hainan Island is the Gulf of Tonkin. Wuzhi Mountain is the highest mountain on the island at 1,840 m (6,040 ft).

Hainan Island measures 155 km (96 mi) long and 169 km (105 mi) wide.

The northern half of Hainan is covered with the ancient Hainan Volcanic Field. Beneath the topsoil is volcanic rock while the topsoil itself contains small pieces of this vesicular rock.

Wetland covers 320,000 hectares, 78,000 hectares of which were created artificially. Most of this is located in the eastern and northern part of Hainan.

Most of the rivers in Hainan originate in the central area of the island and flow radially in different directions. The Wanning River in the southern part of the island is the largest river surrounding Hainan.

It is 350 km (220 mi) long. The Nandu River in the northern part of the island is 314 km (195 mi) long, and its tributary, the Xinwu River, is 109 km (68 mi) long.

The Changhua River in the west is 230 km (140 mi) long, and the Wanquan River in the east is 162 km (101 mi) long. Evaporation during the dry season around the coastal areas greatly reduces the flow of the rivers.

There are very few natural lakes in Hainan. There is a well-known artificial reservoir, the Songtao Reservoir, in the central-north area.

Several small islands exist around the coast of Hainan Island:

- Dazhou Island is located about 5 km (3.1 mi) off the coast of Wanning

- Haidian Island, on the north coast, is part of Haikou City

- Nanwan Monkey Island, in actuality a peninsula

- Phoenix Island is an artificial resort island currently under construction in Sanya Bay.

- Wuzhizhou Island is located within Haitang Bay

- Xinbu Island is located directly to the east of Haidian Island

Due to their close proximity to the main island, the flora, fauna, and climate conditions are very similar.

A number of small islands, which are located hundreds of kilometers to the south, are claimed and administrated by Sansha as part of Hainan Province.

Sovereignty of these islands is however disputed. These islands include:

- Paracel Islands Xisha Islands – "The West-sands" – claimed by Vietnam, the PRC and the Republic of China (Taiwan, ROC)

- Money Island, Paracel Islands

- Rocky Island, South China Sea

- Tree Island, South China Sea

- Triton Island

- Woody Island, South China Sea

- Zhongsha Islands, The Middle-sands

- Spratly Islands, Nansha Islands, The South-sands are subject to claims by Vietnam, the PRC, ROC, Malaysia, The Philippines, and Brunei.

- Spratly Island

- Flat Island (Spratly)

- Taiping Island

- James Shoal (southernmost point)

- Loaita Island

- Namyit Island

- Nanshan Island

- Sin Cowe Island

- Thitu Island

- West York Island

Compared to most of mainland China, the air quality of Hainan is far higher since it strays away from factory pollution, which has plagued the air on the mainland.

Throughout 2012, Hainan had the highest air quality in the country for 351 days.

The provincial government's environmental protection campaign has taken action against a number of industrial plants.

During 2012, several outdated manufacturing facilities had their business licenses revoked, and 175 cases related to illegal sewage discharge were handled.

Total sulfur dioxide emissions for the province were 34,000 tons in 2012, a 3 percent year-on-year reduction. In 2011, smog emissions were reduced 6.3 percent to 15,000 tons

The population density of Hainan is low compared to most Chinese coastal provinces.

In 2000, the ethnic groups of Hainan included the Han Chinese, known as the Hainanese people, who are the majority 84% of the population; the Li (Hlai) 14.7% of the population; the Miao 0.7% and the Zhuang 0.6%.

The Li are the largest indigenous group on the island in terms of population. Also found on the island are the Utsuls, descendants of Cham refugees, who are classified as Hui by the Chinese government.

There is a Tanka community that live at Sanya Bay.

Although they are indigenous to the island and do not speak a Chinese language, the Limgao (Ong-Be) people near the capital 8% of the population are counted as Han Chinese.

Most of the Hainanese population practices Chinese folk religion and Chinese Buddhism. The Li population has a Theravada Buddhist minority.

Most of the Utsuls of the island, a branch of Cham people living near Sanya, are Muslims. Because Hainan was a point in the travel route of missionaries, there are some Christians.

According to the Chinese General Social Survey of 2009, Christians constitute 0.48% of the province's population.

Nanshan Park is the centre of Buddhism on Hainan Island. Encompassing more than 50 km2 (19 sq mi) of rainforest, the site includes countless grand temples, statues and spiritual gardens the likes of Saviour Garden and Longevity Valley.

With intricately trimmed hedges and abundant in lotus flowers, a venerated symbol in Buddhism meaning virtue or purity.

At the heart of the valley is the grand Nanshan Temple, its gates flanked by stone figures of Buddha in front of the Tang dynasty-style entrance.

The interior displays images of the Four Heavenly Kings amid statues of other deities enshrined in renderings of stone, gold and jade.

Perhaps the most popular site within the Nanshan Buddhist Cultural Zone is the awe-inspiring stone rendering of the bodhisattva Guan Yin, emerging out of the South China Sea to stand at 108 metres, taller than the statue of liberty.

The Nanshan Buddhist Cultural Zone is visited by thousands of tourists and pilgrims each year who come pay homage to the site that plays a significant role in the religion in China and to sample some of the finest Buddhist vegan cuisine on the island

Hainan's economy is predominantly agricultural, and more than a half of the island's exports are agricultural products.

Hainan's elevation to province-level status (1988), however, was accompanied by its designation as China's largest special economic zone, the intent being to hasten the development of the island's plentiful resources.

Prior to this, the province had a reputation for being a Wild West area, largely untouched by industrialisation; even today there are relatively few factories in the province.

Tourism plays an important part of Hainan's economy, thanks largely to its tropical beaches and lush forests.

The central government has encouraged foreign investment in Hainan and has allowed the island to rely to a large extent on market forces.

Hainan's industrial development largely has been limited to the processing of its mineral and agricultural products, particularly rubber and iron ore.

Since the 1950s, machinery, farm equipment, and textiles have been manufactured in the Haikou area for local consumption. A major constraint on industrial expansion has been an inadequate supply of electricity.

Much of the island's generating capacity is hydroelectric, and it is subject to seasonal fluctuations in stream and river flows.

Its nominal GDP for 2011 was 251.5 billion yuan or US$39.9 billion, making it the 4th smallest in all of the PRC and contributes just 0.53% to the entire country's economy. At that time, its GDP per capita was 19,166 yuan or US$2,805.

By the first quarter of 2010, Hainan had the highest increase in GDP of any province in China, with a year-on-year increase of 25.1%. The GDP of Hainan's Qionghai city grew 58.7%.

In December 2009, the government of China announced that it plans to establish Hainan as an international tourist destination by 2020.

This announcement contributed to a surge in the province's economy, with a year-on-year increase in investment of 136.9% in the first three months of 2010. Hainan's real estate sector accounted for more than one third of the province's economic growth.

Hainan's climate is tropical, characterised by hot and humid summers, with mild, pleasant winters. Temperatures usually range from 24-35°C in the summer, and 19-25°C in the winter.

The climate of Hainan varies from subtropical to fully tropical.

Northern Hainan, including the island's capital Haikou, has a humid subtropical climate, while most of the rest of the island has a tropical monsoon climate with warmer annual temperatures the further south a location is.

The coldest months are January and February when temperatures drop to 16 to 21 °C (61 to 70 °F); the hottest months are July and August, and the temperatures are 25 to 29 °C (77 to 84 °F).

Except for the mountainous regions in the central part of the island, the daily average temperature in Hainan in all months is well above 10 °C (50 °F), and the total number of growing degree-days reaches eight thousand to nine thousand degrees Celsius.

The summer in the north is hot and, for more than 20 days in a year, the temperature can be higher than 35 °C (95 °F).

The average annual precipitation is 1,500 to 2,000 millimetres (59 to 79 in) and can be as high as 2,400 millimetres (94 in) in central and eastern areas, and as low as 900 millimetres (35 in) in the coastal areas of the southwest.

Parts of Hainan lie in the path of typhoons, and 70% of the annual precipitation is derived from typhoons and the summer rainy season. Major flooding occurs due to typhoons, which can cause many problems for local residents.

From January to February, the island of Hainan is affected by thick fog, particularly in coastal areas and the northern part of the island.

This is caused by cold winter air from the north coming into contact with the warmer sea, causing the moisture that evaporates from the sea to be condensed into fog.

he fog remains from day to night, and is evenly distributed. Visibility may be reduced to 50 metres for days at a time. During this period, residents normally keep windows shut.

The moisture in the air is so extreme that the walls in homes weep, and floors often accumulate a layer of water several millimetres deep.

Hainan Island is often divided into eight regions for tourism purposes: Haikou and area (Haikou, Qiongshan, Ding'an), the Northeast (Wenchang), the Central East Coast (Qionghai, Ding'an), the South East Coast, the South (Sanya), the West Coast also called the Chinese Riviera (Ledong, Dongfang, Xianghsui, Changjiang), the North West (Danzhou, Lingao, Chengmai), and the Central Highlands (Baisha, Qiongzhong, and Wuzhishan/Tongzha).

Popular tourist destinations include the beaches and resorts in the southern part of the province. Inland is Five Finger Mountain, a scenic area.

Tourists also visit the capital of Haikou with area visitor attractions such as Movie Town Haikou and Holiday Beach.

The government of Hainan intends to expand the province's medical tourism industry.

The provincial government plans to establish the Boao Lecheng International Medical Travel Zone in the Bo'ao area.

This was announced at the Boao Forum for Asia in 2011. The State Council has approved the development of Lecheng Island as a medical tourism-themed destination.

Lecheng Island is a small island in the Wanquan River about 3 km (1.9 mi) west of the coastal town of Bo'ao on the west coast of the province.

Construction on the 20 km2. zone is expected to begin in December 2014, will cost a projected 1.5 billion yuan, and is scheduled for completion in 2016. It will be the first special zone for medical travel in China.

Today, it is undergoing heavy tourist-oriented development with various international hotel chains establishing resorts, especially in the Sanya area.

These days, many wealthy Chinese from the northern provinces own second homes in Hainan, where they move to in the winter to escape the bitter cold that characterises much of northern China.

It has been popular with Russian tourists for decades. Now it is being promoted as China's Hawaii. The entire island has been declared a Special Economic Zone.

This industry is expanding in Hainan, with numerous courses being constructed, including Mission Hills Haikou, which is one of the largest golf complexes in the world.

The golf industry attracts foreign investment and overseas golfers from such countries as Australia, South Korea, and Japan.

Hainan has always been on the fringe of the Chinese cultural sphere. Traditionally, the island was a place of exile for criminals and disgraced officials.

As a frontier region celebrated by such exiled poets as Su Dongpo, Hainan acquired an air of mystery and romance.

The influx of large numbers of mainlanders after 1950, particularly in the 1970s, when young Chinese from southern Guangdong were assigned to state farms to help develop Hainan.

In the 1980s, when thousands more came to take advantage of the economic opportunities offered has perpetuated the frontier atmosphere on the island.

Hainan cuisine is said to be lighter, with mild seasonings. A lot of local taste is mixed with the Han Chinese taste. Seafood predominates the menu, as shrimp, crab, fish and other sea life are widely available.

Wenchang chicken / Von Sio Coi is a dish known throughout the province of Hainan. Although there are many varieties of this dish, the name is usually used to define a type of small, free-range chicken from Wenchang, located on the east coast of the province.

As opposed to battery chickens, its meat has more texture and is somewhat drier.

Hainan chicken rice / Coibui is a famous dish in Southeast Asia bearing the region's name.

However, whilst many restaurants use chicken fat to quickly add flavour to the dish, the proper local method is to marinate the rice with chicken soup to add a more full flavour.

Regions of Hainan

The hilly center of the island is home to various ethnic minorities, with many involved in the tourist industry.
Much of the coast has beaches.

Cities Hainan

Haikou - in the North, the capital

Wenchang - in the north-east coast of Hainan Island

Qionghai - in the East

Bo'ao - on the East coast

Lingshui - on the East coast, natural heaven, place the Hainan incident occured

Sanya - in the South, main tourist destination

Baoting - toward the South, in the hills

Wuzhishan - in the central highlands

Destinations To Visit In Hainan

Yalong Bay - resort area near Sanya

Xiangshui or Perfume Bay - new resort area near Sanya

Hainan Province has two international airports Haikou Meilan International Airport and Sanya Phoenix International Airport and two domestic airports Qionghai Bo'ao Airport and Danzhou Airport.

Haikou and Sanya have airports with regular flights to various Chinese cities. There are also some flights from Southeast Asia. There is high-speed train serves Haikou's Meilan Airport.

Trains run daily from Guangzhou, Beijing and Shanghai. The trains are loaded onto ferries to cross the sea with passengers remain in the train cars.

The trains stop at both Haikou and Sanya, as well as Dongfang, a smaller station between Haikou and Sanya.

Today's Hainan is ringed by standard-gauge railways. Since 2004, a rail ferry connects the island's railroad network to the mainland.

In 2005, Ministry of Communications allocated 20 million yuan (US$2.4 million) to set up a committee to research and study the possibility of a bridge or tunnel link connecting the island to the mainland.

From the ferry terminal, located near Haikou Railway Station (west of Haikou), freight and passenger trains arriving from the mainland can proceed on the Hainan Western Ring Railway along the island's west coast, via Dongfang to Sanya.

This railway line has been developed over several decades, starting with a few short 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) narrow gauge lines constructed during the Japanese occupation in the early 1940s.

The Hainan Eastern Ring High-Speed Railway links Haikou and Sanya along the island's east coast. There are 15 stations in between, either in operation or still under construction.

Trains are designed to travel at 250 km/h (160 mph). Travel time from Haikou to Sanya is approximately 1 hour and 22 minutes. The total length of Hainan Eastern Ring High-Speed Railway is 308.11 km (191.45 mi).

The in-between railway stations include Haikou East, Changliu, Xiuying, Meilan Airport, Wenchang, Qionghai, Bo'ao, Wanning, Shenzhou, Sun and Moon Bay, Lingshui and Tiandu.

The first train run started on 30 December 2010 at the price of 114 RMB for first-class seat and 95 RMB for a second-class seat for a full journey between Haikou and Sanya.

The Hainan Western Ring High-Speed Railway is on the west coast of Hainan, roughly paralleling the existing Hainan Western Ring Railway.

It links up with the Hainan Eastern Ring Railway at both ends, thus forming a high-speed railway ring around the island.

You can also reach Hainan by boat. Buses take the ferry.

Haikou at the North end and Sanya at the South end are connected by three highways, East coast, West coast and through the hilly center.

More-or-less any significant place on the island is on, or at least close to, one of these highways. As anywhere in China, there are buses to almost anywhere.

Two railways connect Haikou and Sanya. One is the old western ring railway, and the other one is the new high-speed eastern ring railway.

Another high-speed western ring railway is under construction. High-speed trains run between Haikou and Sanya at up to 250 km/h, takes one hour and a half between the two cities.

As the smallest province in China with relatively flat landscape, Hainan is an ideal destination for long journey cycling trip.

On the East Coast it has a 300km long national road (G223) connecting Haikou, Wenchang, Qionghai, Lingshui and Sanya.

The route, which is packed with most famous beach resorts and tourist attractions, is the easiest ride and most popular among amateur cyclists.

The Middle route crossing Wuzhishan or Five-Finger Hill takes some more toil to go. While it is possible to ride along the West coast, this area is the least developed and more preparation may be needed.

The local Han Chinese speak Hainanese. It is a variant of Minnan. Like the Chaoshan/Teochew variant of Minnan spoken in Eastern Guangdong, it also shares historical linguistic roots with mainstream Minnan.

However, unlike Chaoshan/Teochew variant of Minnan, it differs much more significantly from the mainstream Minnan and has almost no mutual intelligibility with it.

Hainanese is considered difficult to learn even by mainstream Minnan speakers from Southern Fujian and Taiwan as it employs many unusual consonants which have no equivalent in any other Chinese dialects or Western languages, and has an odd tone structure.

Nevertheless, learn a little of the language if you can, as locals are very proud of their language, and even knowing a few basic greetings will get you acquainted with the locals much more easily.

They realise that Hainanese is difficult even for native speakers of other Chinese dialects, and much more so for foreigners, so they'll politely correct any pronunciation errors you make.

Hainanese also has dialectal variations between different parts of the island, though the Wenchang dialect is considered to be the prestige dialect, and is generally used in news reports and understood throughout the island.

The Li people, who are the largest non-Han minority on the island, speak a language that is distantly related to Thai and Lao. There is also a Miao community on Hainan, which continues to speak the Miao language.

As anywhere in China, Mandarin is the lingua franca; nearly everyone can speak it with the exception of some of the elderly. Due to the proximity with Guangdong, some locals have a functional command of Cantonese as well.

As elsewhere in China, English is not widespread but some people speak it quite well. Staff at the main hotels and beach resorts will usually have a functional command of English.

Hainan is a traditional destination for Russians escaping their winters, so many shop keepers and restaurant staff know some Russian, and much signage is in Russian.

However, trying to engage anyone in a conversation more often than not will prove fruitless.

Attractions of Hainan

Sea Turtles 911, the only non-profit organization promoting sea turtle conservation in China, Sea Turtles 911's primary facility is a floating sea turtle hospital in Lingshui near Nanwan Monkey Island, as well as programs in Sanya and Haikou.

While on Hainan Island visitors are welcome to volunteer with the sea turtles and the organization's educational programs. Recommended donation.

Sanya Beach, the best and most touristic beach area in all of China

South Mountain, or Nanshan Tourism Area a large Shaolin Buddhist temple complex along the southernmost point of the island. Many backpackers consider this as a tourist trap, the temple was recently built and entrance fees are high.

Gusong Village in Wenchang, an ancient, unique, beautiful, non-commercial traditional Hainanese village
South Bay Monkey Island also known as Nanwan Monkey Islet, Lingshui South Bay.

Lingshui South Bay Monkey Island also known as Nanwan Monkey Islet, Be wary of the monkeys that steal bags.

Crocodile Farms in Sanya. Under construction - will be available to tourists in the future.

Volcano Park and lava rock villages, about 15km south of Haikou city, next to Shishan Town. The Volcano Park has an entrance fee of about 60 RMB.

Lava rock villages are generally free, but if visiting Rongtang Protected Village pay the local elders 5 RMB.

Wenchang Chicken, although many people have heard of Hainanese chicken rice, only the method of preparing the chicken originates from Hainan, from a dish known as Wenchang chicken, which is also considered to be the signature dish of Hainan throughout China.

The method of cooking the rice was actually developed by overseas Hainanese after they migrated to what is today Singapore and Malaysia.

Seafood, very good, very fresh and at reasonable prices

Try Betel Nuts turning you a little befuddled

Singapore-based firm Asia Pacific Breweries have a brewery on Hainan and their Anchor beer is common all over the island. As anywhere is China, a range of both Chinese and imported beers are widely available as well.

Hainan also has a number of locally-brewed pineapple-based beers, odd but worth a try.

The island is covered with coconut trees. So drinking fresh coconut milk is a must.

Be very careful with water sports on Hainan. Government regulation of activities such as parasailing, diving, and boating on Hainan is lax, so staff often provide little or no training to customers, and the equipment can be shoddy.

Without adequate safety precautions, these activities can be dangerous, and even fatal.

Zhanjiang is the nearest mainland city. For some routes through the region, see Overland Kunming to Hong Kong.

There are regular boats from Haikou to Hai'an and Beihai on the Chinese mainland. As well as cruises to Hong Kong and Halong Bay, Vietnam

There are also regular weekly flights to Taipei, Hong Kong and Singapore.



Tourism Observer

ASIA PACIFIC: IHG To Open Five Hotel Brands In Asia Pacific By 2021

Kimpton Resort Sanya,Haitang Bay Opening 2021
InterContinental Hotels Group has announced plans to debut two hotel brands in China and Asia Pacific.

The company's goal is to attract new sectors of consumers—specifically the wealthy and the wellness enthusiasts.

As urbanization moves out further, you're seeing these markets have incredible demand for hotels across the entire chain scale from luxury down to mainstream, Keith Barr, CEO of IHG, said

IHG will launch its luxury Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants brand and health and wellness Even Hotels brand in region.

The change in management and redevelopment of these hotels are set for completion by 2021.

Kimpton's first Asian destinations are Shanghai, Sanya in China's Hainan Province and Bali, Indonesia.

IHG's 50-villa Kimpton Bali will be developed in partnership with Ownco on the Nusa Dua coast.

Gita Wirjawan, chairman, Ownco said as a travel destination, Bali has experienced continued tourism growth from all over the world, with more than a 20-percent increase in visitors this year alone.

Meanwhile, Even Hotels will break ground in China. Barr added that Even Hotels fits right into the sweet spot of China's new policy focus on health, wellness, tourism and resorts.

The group has also signed an InterContinental, Holiday Inn and Hotel Indigo for the Asia Pacific region.

The InterContinental and Holiday Inn brands are set to enter Vietnam's market with the InterContinental Sapa Resort and Holiday Inn Resort Sapa, which will be complete by 2021 and developed by Alphanam Investment Joint Stock.

The InterContinental will be developed with 200 villas and guestrooms near Vietnam's paddy fields.

Holiday Inn Resort Spa will have 275 guestrooms. Vietnam will also get its first Hotel Indigo in 2021.

Developed with existing owners MIK Group, Hotel Indigo Phu Quoc Starbay will be constructed along Dai Beach in the Starbay precinct.

IHG's portfolio currently has 42 resorts in operation across Africa, the Middle East and Asia, which account for 15 percent of the total portfolio.

A further 25 resorts are currently in development.



Tourism Observer

CHINA: Sanya, Shanghai Any Destination In China Depend On Your Country Of Origin

Whether you end up in Sanya, Shanghai or another destination in China seems to depend partly on what country you come from.

How do you choose your favourite spot in China when there is just so many to choose from? Ardi Pulaj is well acquainted with the problem.

You just have to give up trying.

Mr Pulaj can run off a list of about 30 places stretched across the country that he has visited, many of which he now regards with close affection.

China offers so many options for travelling, and each of them is unique in what it has to offer, A Beijing reident says.

There are so many places that can be considered favourites, such as Sanya (Hainan province), Dalian (Liaoning province) and Shanghai.”

In Sanya it was the weather and beaches that took his fancy because, he said, they allowed him to get away from the fast pace of big-city life.

Dalian made it to his shortlist because of its pleasant character, cleanliness and the fact that this city on the coast offers respite from the kind of hot summer weather you get in Beijing.

For him, Shanghai is also admirable, “a convenient city with the true spirit of a metropolis”.

At a tourism industry conference in Kunming, Yunnan province, in November, Gold Palm, a tourism consulting service in Shanghai, unveiled a list of 10 Chinese tourism destinations popular with visitors from outside the mainland.

Gold Palm said it discerned a clear difference in favourite destinations named as a product of where tourists came from.

For example, while many American visitors had Chengdu and Jiuzhaigou, both in Sichuan province, at the top of the list of their favourite destinations in China, Japanese opted for Shanghai and Beijing, South Koreans plumped for Zhangjiajie, Hunan province, and Thais had a soft spot for the ancient city of Fenghuang, also in Hunan.

Those from the US favour places offering leisure, while spots featuring unusual and even challenging landscape appeal to tourists from South Korea, said the executive director of Gold Palm, Liu Dan. Zhangjiajie, Huangshan, Fenghuang and Hangzhou appeal to South Koreans because of the scenery, he said.

“A laid-back lifestyle and distinctive cuisine — and pandas — make Sichuan highly attractive to Americans.”

The Japanese like urban scenic spots and Europeans look for culture, which takes them to places such as Leshan in Sichuan and Xi’an in Shaanxi province for ancient historical heritage, Mr Liu said.

About 128 million tourists from outside the mainland flocked to such attractions last year, comprising 26 million foreign tourists and the rest being from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

Inbound tourism grew seven per cent in the first 10 months of this year compared with the corresponding period last year, Mr Liu said, adding that the number of such tourists is expected to reach 130 million this year, thanks to increasing numbers of tourists from Japan and South Korea.

The number of South Korean tourists to the mainland rose 48 per cent this year, compared with the corresponding period last year.

Beijing alone drew in more than 300,000 visitors from South Korea in the first nine months of this year. South Korea was the top source country, followed by Japan, with 190,000.

Last year, more than 828,000 Japanese tourists visited Shanghai, accounting for 10 per cent of all inbound tourists to the mainland, Mr Liu said.

Cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai and Xi’an remain the all-time favourites among foreign tourists, said Yu Liangbing, deputy general manager of China Youth Travel Service Co in Beijing.

But areas with attractive scenery are luring more visitors thanks to word of mouth and the impact of movies. Mr Yu attributed the popularity of Zhangjiajie partly to the film Avatar, some of which were shot there. Yichang is popular because of the Three Gorges Dam spanning the Yangtze River, he said.

The route from the upper reaches of the Yangtze, starting from Chengdu or Chongqing across Jiangxi and Hubei provinces to Shanghai is one of the most popular among inbound tourists.

Silk Road- themed trips featuring Xi’an and going all the way to Dunhuang in Gansu province, or journeys tracking the Grand Canal from Beijing across Shandong, Henan, Anhui and Jiangsu and Zhejiang to Shanghai are also becoming more popular, he said.

One of the agency’s most popular tours is an eight-day trip that takes in Beijing, Xi’an and Shanghai, costing about $1,000 (£650).

“Some tourists have begun to warm up to places in north-western China, such as the Xinjiang Uygur and Inner Mongolia autonomous regions,” Mr Yu said.

His company arranged for 40 American tourists to drive themselves from Sichuan to the Tibet autonomous region this summer.

More tourists from the US are expected to visit the mainland as the China-US Year of Tourism is launched next year, he said.

Mr Pulaj advised would-be tourists to the mainland never to travel during national holidays because, he said, there are so many people on the move it is impossible to have an enjoyable time.

He had recently seen “gorgeous” photos of scenery in Tibet, and hoped to visit it soon, he said. He is also keen to visit Yunnan where, he said, places such as Lijiang, Dali and Shangri-la give “the perfect sense of natural beauty”.

NAMIBIA: Steffi van Wyk Qualifies To Miss World Top 25, Her Dresses From South Africa

Miss Namibia 2015 is off to a great start at the Miss World pageant where she has won all the sports challenges, and the sports and fitness challenge.

She has made history by being the first participant to win all the sports challenges.

Before being crowned Miss Namibia in August, Steffi van Wyk worked as a sports manager at Jan Mohr Secondary School in Windhoek and as a part-time fitness instructor. Being a sports fanatic has surely helped with the challenges.

This feat means that Steffi has now secured herself a place in the top 25 of the international pageant. Steffi also impressed in the talent section of the pageant after doing well in the talent competition which comprised of a variety of performances.

She placed top 30 in this section.

All eyes are now on the Namibian beauty to see if she will make history by being the first to bring the Miss World crown home.

The crowning event for the pageant which has been running since the beginning of the month is next week, 19 December. The pageant is taking place in Sanya, Hainan, China.

PALAU: Citizens Not Happy With Chinese Tourists, They Are Noisy And Disrespectful

Chinese tourists in Palau jumping from their speedboat into the "Milky Way" that locals claim have therapeutic properties that will make you look 10 years younger

CHINESE tourists are flocking to the remote Palau islands as China’s growing number of rich seek new frontiers abroad, but not everyone in the Micronesian paradise is happy about it.

Strapped into life-jackets and screaming with excitement, groups of boisterous Chinese thrillseekers tear around Palau’s “Milky Way” lagoon on a flotilla of speedboats — a spectacle unfamiliar to locals just a few months ago.

Residents of the archipelago, part of the larger island group of Micronesia, are baffled as to why Chinese travellers represented almost 62 per cent of all visitors in February — up from 16 per cent in January 2014.

For businessman Du Chuang from Chengdu in China’s Sichuan province, it is because his increasingly wealthy countrymen are becoming more adventurous, smashing the stereotype of the herded package tour.

Du first started to travel by visiting Hainan, the Chinese island in the South China Sea currently witnessing a massive development of hotel resorts. He then ventured to Thailand before branching out to the Maldives.

“The corals here are more beautiful than Sanya (on Hainan),” the 46-year-old said, scrolling through photos on his phone of a $1,400 helicopter trip over Palau’s Seventy Islands that he took his family on.

“Palau is small and magnificent,” added the owner of a successful IT company. Hoteliers are catching on, with some establishments focusing on Chinese clientele booked out months in advance. At “Sea Passion Hotel” in Koror, 74 of their 75 rooms were occupied by Chinese visitors..

On a beach Chinese women wearing full body suits to protect themselves from the sun pose for selfies with husbands and boyfriends in sleeveless vests, which they send to their friends back home in China’s grey megacities.

Jia Yixin, a 30-year-old from Shanghai, didn’t think twice about paying $1,133 (1,000 euros) for a six-day trip to Palau that she found online.

Chinese cruise ship "Xian Ni", which previously operated in China's famous Yangtze River and whose crew fled and abandoned it in Palauan waters.

“It is like paradise here,” she beamed. “In Shanghai the air is polluted but here people respect the environment,” Jia added.

Ironically it is the potential environmental impact of the Chinese invasion that is at the forefront of the minds of many of the islands’ 18,000 population.

Palau welcomed just shy of 141,000 visitors last year, up 34 per cent on 2013, largely on the back of the Chinese visitors. But in February this year, mainland Chinese visitors leaped more than 500 per cent year-on-year to 10,955 — more than half Palau’s total population.

Tourism accounts for close to 85 per cent of Palau’s gross domestic product (GDP), and while profits are up, some are worried the long-term damage may be too great.

“This is a very sudden influx, so we are trying to understand the situation” said Nanae Singeo, managing director of the Palau Visitors Authority, the local tourist board.

“We have never experienced this much tourism before and the magnitude is really giving us a lot of pressure. We are a very tiny country with scarce resources so this sudden increase is an unknown challenge for us,” she added.

Palau has long catered for a particular type of visitor, with up to 70 per cent of tourists coming for world-famous diving in stunning blue waters with pristine corals.

Japanese were traditionally the largest contingent, followed by Taiwanese and Korean visitors. But the majority of the new wave of Chinese tourists seem more interested — for now at least — in lounging on the beach.

“We are not seeing a growth rate to match the number of visitors,” said Singeo. “Tourists are up 34 per cent so technically we should see economic benefits at the rate of 30 per cent or more, but that’s not the case.”

On the streets of Koror, some accused Chinese people of being noisy and disrespectful towards the environment.

“They wreck corals and throw their rubbish in the sea,” chided Norman, a taxi driver.

In another recent example, a Chinese tour operator named “Yellow Skin Tour” caused outrage in Palau with leaflets including photos of grinning Chinese tourists holding up turtles they had removed from the water — in one case by its flippers.

Residents have also accused Chinese tourists of being responsible for the deaths of some jellyfish at the natural wonder “Jellyfish Lake”.

Visitors are encouraged to marvel at the harmless creatures by floating on the surface, but some locals complain that many Chinese lack swimming skills and thrash around, disturbing the wildlife.

The Palau government is exploring ways to try to stem the tide of Chinese tourists to the western Pacific Ocean archipelago and this week said the number of charter flights from China would be halved next month.

President Tommy Remengesau said the move was not intended to discriminate against any nationality but was to prevent tourism from becoming too reliant on one market.

“Do we want to control growth or do we want growth to control us?” he asked reporters. “It will be irresponsible for me as a leader if this trend continues. I am not only looking at the present but, as a leader, I am looking after tomorrow.” But the number of hotels, restaurants and guides in Palau now catering for a Chinese market would suggest that citizens of the world’s second-largest economy are likely to keep coming.

CHINA: Chinese Tourists Flock Palau Out Numbering Japanese Tourists

A Chinese tourist walks on a beach on the Rock Islands of Palau

Chinese tourists are flocking to the remote Palau islands as China’s growing number of rich seek new frontiers abroad, but not everyone in the Micronesian paradise is happy about it.

Strapped into life-jackets and screaming with excitement, groups of boisterous Chinese thrill-seekers tear around Palau’s “Milky Way” lagoon on a flotilla of speedboats, a spectacle unfamiliar to residents just a few months ago.

Inhabitants of the archipelago, part of the larger island group of Micronesia, are baffled as to why Chinese travelers represented almost 62 percent of all visitors in February, up from 16 percent in January 2014.

Japanese visitors were traditionally the largest contingent, followed by Taiwanese and Koreans.

For businessman Du Chuang from China’s Sichuan Province, it is because his increasingly wealthy countrymen are becoming more adventurous, smashing the stereotype of the herded package tour. Du first started to travel by visiting Hainan, the Chinese island in the South China Sea currently witnessing a massive development of hotel resorts. He then ventured to Thailand before branching out to the Maldives.

“The corals here are more beautiful than Sanya (on Hainan),” Du, 46, said, scrolling through photos on his phone of a $1,400 helicopter trip over Palau’s Seventy Islands that he took his family on. “Palau is small and magnificent.”

Hoteliers are catching on, with establishments focused on Chinese clientele booked out months in advance.

On a beach Chinese women wearing full body suits to protect themselves from the sun posed for selfies with husbands and boyfriends in sleeveless vests, to send to their friends back home in China’s gray mega-cities.

Jia Yixin, a 30-year-old from Shanghai, didn’t think twice about paying $1,133 for a six-day trip to Palau that she found online. “It is like paradise here,” she beamed. “In Shanghai the air is polluted but here people respect the environment.”

Ironically, it is the potential environmental impact of the Chinese invasion that is at the forefront of the minds of many of Palau’s 18,000 population.

Palau welcomed just shy of 141,000 visitors last year, up 34 percent on 2013, largely on the back of the Chinese visitors. But last month, mainland Chinese visitors leaped more than 500 percent year-on-year to 10,955, over half Palau’s total population.Tourism accounts for close to 85 percent of Palau’s GDP, and while profits are up, some are worried the long-term damage may be too great.

“This is a very sudden influx, so we are trying to understand the situation” said Nanae Singeo, managing director of the Palau Visitors Authority. “We have never experienced this much tourism before and the magnitude is really giving us a lot of pressure. We are a very tiny country with scarce resources so this sudden increase is an unknown challenge for us.”

Palau has long catered for a particular type of visitor, with up to 70 percent of tourists coming for world-famous diving in stunning blue waters with pristine corals. But the majority of the new wave of Chinese tourists seem more interested, for now at least, in lounging on the beach.

“We are not seeing a growth rate to match the number of visitors,” said Singeo. “Tourists are up 34 percent so technically we should see economic benefits at the rate of 30 percent or more, but that’s not the case.”

On the streets of Koror, some accused Chinese people of being noisy and disrespectful toward the environment.

In one recent example, a Chinese tour operator caused outrage in Palau with leaflets including photos of grinning Chinese tourists holding up turtles they had removed from the water, in one case by the flippers. Residents have also accused Chinese tourists of being responsible for the deaths of some of the wildlife in the natural wonder “Jellyfish Lake.”

The Palau government is exploring ways to try to stem the tide of Chinese tourists to the western Pacific Ocean archipelago and last week said the number of charter flights from China would be halved.

President Tommy Remengesau said the move was made to prevent tourism from becoming too reliant on one market. “Do we want to control growth or do we want growth to control us?” he asked reporters.

But the number of hotels, restaurants and guides in Palau now catering for a Chinese market would suggest that citizens of the world’s second-largest economy are likely to keep coming.