Why go
Haikou's Qilou district is an open-air museum of 1840s–1930s architecture: returning overseas Chinese built thousands of arcade shophouses with baroque and Southeast Asian flourishes, now filling with coffee shops and chicken-rice restaurants. Start at Zhongshan Road and wander.
The volcano park 40 minutes out lets you stand on — and in — a 10,000-year-old tuff crater with lava-tube caves and villages that built their houses from black volcanic rock. Evenings belong to the night markets: pick your seafood from the ice table, pay by weight, and have it cooked on the spot.
- Qilou Old Street — 600 arcaded facades from the treaty-port era
- Haikou Volcanic Cluster Global Geopark
- Night-market seafood at Qilou and Xunxi streets
- Qingbuliang — shaved-ice dessert in coconut milk
Where to go
One day: Qilou streets and temple in the morning, volcano park in the afternoon, night market for dinner. Day two: continue to Sanya by HSR (2h) or fly out.
What to eat
Wenchang chicken (Hainan's poached-chicken original), fresh seafood by weight, coconut rice and qingbuliang — a bowl of shaved ice, jellies, beans and fruit in iced coconut milk.
Entry & visa
Citizens of 59 countries can enter Hainan visa-free for up to 30 days when arriving and departing through Hainan's ports (Haikou Meilan and Sanya Phoenix airports, or approved seaports). You will need an onward ticket and accommodation details — airlines process the registration on arrival.
The policy covers Hainan only: to continue to the Chinese mainland you need a regular mainland visa (or qualifying visa-free transit). Since December 2025 the island operates independent customs ('island closure'), so expect standard customs checks on goods when travelling from Hainan to the mainland, with expanded duty-free shopping on the island itself.
Getting there
- Haikou Meilan airport; HSR around the island to Sanya 2h
- Role
- Capital of Hainan province
- Qilou arcades
- ~600 historic facades
- To Sanya
- 2h by HSR
- Visa-free entry
- 59 countries, 30 days in Hainan
