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HAINAN ISLAND
Calling Code: +
Hainan island hasn't always had such appeal. This southernmost tip of China was once routinely referred to
as 'the end of the earth', considered by Chinese mainlanders to be beyond the pale. From 1939 it was occupied by the
Japanese, resulting in the deaths of around one third of the adult male population. Before that, the island was used
as a dumping ground for dissidents. Li Deyu, a mayor of the Tang Dynasty who was exiled here, described it as 'the gates
of hell'. But, as we all know, now that even Napoleon's nemesis, Elba, is a tourist hotspot, one man's hellhole is
another's paradise.
Chinese officials had just such an epiphany about Hainan in the late 1980s recognising the island, on the same latitude as Hawaii,
was a bit of a diamond in the rough. In order to polish it they created a special economic zone and installed the type of
infrastructure demanded by tourists. Investment from Hong Kong was the key to Hainan's makeover and it's still a playground for
tourists from Hong Kong as well as rich mainlanders. More recently, Korean and Russian tourists have been seduced by its 1000 mile
coastline of white sand beaches.
If there's a place you've stayed or something you've done, but we haven't listed, review it for us!
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