Hainan, the "Other Hawaii"

Just a few weekends ago I was lucky to have a chance to visit China's Hainan, a province and island at the very south of the country. So southern in fact, that you have palm trees. So while Beijing was again shrouded in a cold cloud of pollution, I was walking in dense forests and treading on lovely beaches. 

Because Hainan is located at 18 degrees northern latitude, similar to its cousin in the Pacific Ocean, it is often referred to as "China's Hawaii." I am certainly not the first to discover the place: From what I could tell, it's a popular destination for Chinese tourists wanting to have a real beach vacation. Lots of honeymoon couples also head down here to take wedding pictures. And the island's scenery is often used as a stunning backdrop in movies. 

Let's have a look, shall we?

Reference to a famous movie...

And here's the bridge itself!

More famous movie scenes. 

Notice the sign for "18 degrees" behind the gentleman. (Looks like he might have had eighteen degrees enough of something...)

Well, if in Hawaii, dress like the Hawaiians!

Anna at "Xi Dao," or  "West Island,"  a small piece of land just west of Hainan's capital, Sanya. (The letters in red are a bit hard to read, but they say Xi Dao, not Xodaq.)

Got one bigger than you, Hawaii!

There is something peculiar about this picture. I never really did figure out why everyone was swimming in just the tiny space. It might have had something to do with the waves coming from the speed boats.

The city across the water is Sanya, on the island of Hainan itself. (This picture is taken from West Island, just off Hainan.)

A real summer beach vacation in China!

In het Nederlands: Boeren, burgers, buitenlui, jullie razende reporter heeft moeite tijd te vinden regelmatig een bericht te schrijven! Maar hier zijn wat foto's van een kort werk-gerelateerd bezoek aan China's meest zuidelijke en gezellig tropische provincie Hainan. Waar ik was, vlakbij de stad Sanya, zit je ter hoogte van Vietnam. Het was vijf uur vliegen vanaf het koude Beijing en dan zit je nog steeds in China! 

Greetings from Hong Kong

Wow, Hong Kong.

I had no particular thoughts about the city before I went there just after Christmas, but I loved it. What a nice place. Sure, a bit expensive (a bit much) but the atmosphere is great. The weather was nice, and the scenery great. Plus, it's so easy to get around. Buses, taxis, metros and ferries can just take you anywhere.

Although Hong Kong has been a part of China again since 1997, it is Hong Kong SAR (Special Administrative Region), so we had to go through customs to go from China to Hong Kong.

What surprised me was that while 95 percent of the city is ethnic Chinese, the city still is so different from other Chinese cities. I guess the British have had some influence beyond shipping opium to China or eating fruit cake at Christmas time.

 

Looking down to Hong Kong island from Kowloon. (Kowloon is part of Hong Kong also, but it's on the main land, not Hong Kong island.)



Taking the Peak tram up the hill -- a classic ride that tourists have made since the tram opened service in the 1880s. The Peak was the place to escape the city's hot summers.

Photo from www.thepeak.com.hk

The original way to travel up the Peak.

  

View from the top.

Local resident.

Hanging out at Stanley Park.

Another "city of lights."

A visit to Ocean Park.

 

 Oh, where to go first?

I thought Ocean Park had an excellent layout and lots of green, lots of fun, and lots of animals. To get from one side of the park you could take a cable car up and over the mountain.

A closer look at sealife. (or "proC-life"?)

Fun for young and old!

Fun for black and white. (Do you think he knows he is in a zoo?)

You can take the metro anywhere! -- even home.

In het nederlands: In de kerstvakantie bezoeken we Hong Kong. Ik vind het een erg leuke stad. Het is duidelijk dat Hong Kong wel Chinees is... maar toch ook weer helemaal niet. De stad doet toch heel anders aan dan andere steden in China. Het was ook heerlijk weer en we konden lekker wat bijkomen van de koude winter in Beijing.

To the End of the World...and Back Again (Guilin, Ping An, Yangshuo)

Like the Hobbits in their famous story, I feel like I've travelled to the end of the world and back again.

The end of the world would be the open fields with the yaks in the middle of Gansu, where we spent a night together with a nomadic family in their yak-hair tent. Before getting to Gansu, however, we spent about a week in the rice fields and rice terraces near Guilin. Here are some pictures of this amazing spot on earth.

In the bus from Guilin airport to Ping An. We're traveling with our friends from The Netherlands.

In Ping An, one of two touristy villages in the Longji rice terrace area just north of Guilin, you can't drive all the way to your hotel. Some nice ladies come to check out our luggage and offer to carry it uphill. We're a little bit embarrased that "grandma" is carrying our luggage, but have to admit it is pretty convenient...

Our luggage goes uphill.

View from our hotel--the Longji One Hotel--in the middle of the rice terraces.

We walk up, along, and in between the rice terraces. On the way up the boys take a rest.

The rice terraces and me.

More rice terraces.

Rice grows with its feet in the water.

In addition to rice, we also spotted lots of bamboo. The bamboo is used to build irrigation pipes in the rice fields.

After a night and a day in Longji, we head a few kilometers south to Yangshuo, home of the Yu Long and Li Rivers.

Bicyling around Yangshuo.

Thomas' red "Lightning McQueen" trailer-bike.

Breakfast at the Outside Inn, our guesthouse in Yangshuo.

Paul discovers a new brand of coffee: Yunnan Coffee.

Thomas and the limestone hills.

With our bikes on the bamboo raft to cross the river.

Swimming with the best view ever.

Lots of things to do at the guesthouse.

Art on the wall (a Beijing Opera face) in Xing Ping near Yangshuo.

Street view in old Xing Ping.

"Can you hear me now?"

We go bamboo rafting. Following ancient customs (but paying modern tourist prices) we use a bamboo raft to navigate the Yu Long River. During the trip we go down nine small waterfalls.

Two Guilin fishermen.

Absolute peace.

Note the Heineken t-shirt :-)

Sunset over the Yu Long River. Tomorrow we leave for Xi'An.

(...to be continued...)

In het nederlands: We zijn net terug van vakantie: een rondje China. Samen met vrienden uit Nederland reisden we naar het gebied bij Guilin dat bekend staat om de vele rijstterrassen en het karst gebergte. Over dit gebied gaat de blog post van vandaag. Na Guilin gaan we nog naar de stad Xi'An en naar de staat Gansu. Het was een prachtige reis, maar het is ook weer lekker om thuis te zijn. :-)