HainanIsland:

　　China'slargestislandisalsoitssmallestprovince,andanequallysmallpopulationgivestheplaceamuchlesshecticfeel.

　　HainanDao(HainanIsland)temptswithallthetrappingsofatropicalidyllandthecentralhighlands,withtheirthickcanopiesofforest,offersuperb-ifchallenging-hiking.Listennottothosewhogrouseabouttourgroupscrowdingtheirstretchofbeach:there'smuchthat'sunexploredhere.

　　Hainan'sclimateisfarmoretemperatethantherestofChina.Eveninwinter,averagetemperaturesof21°C(69.8°F)prevail;theyearlyaverageis25.4°C(77.7°F).FromasearlyasMarchthroughNovember,theweatherbecomeshotandhumid.TyphoonsusuallydescendontheislandbetweenMayandOctober,andcancripplealltransportandcommunicationwiththemainland.

　　SanyaWan(SanyaBeach).ThisbeachiswellknowntoanyonewhohashandledmodernChinesecurrency,asitisthelandscaperenderedontheTwoYuanbill.Thereisalargerenderingofa2Yuanbillattheentrancetothebeachwheremanyloversgotobephotographed.Thisbeachwasalsothelandingpointforexiledofficialstotheislandandtherearetwolargebouldersmarkedwithcharactersreferencingthefactthattheywerebeingsent"towherethewatermeetsthesky."

　　NanShan(SouthMountain).ThisisalargeShaolinBuddhisttemplecomplexalongthesouthernmostpointoftheisland.ThereisasayinginChineseculture-"MayyourlifebeaslongastheSouthMountain,"anditreferstothisveryplace.Manytoursontheislandareexclusivelyinthelocaldialect,calledHainanese,soyoumaywanttoenlistyourowninterpretertocomealongwithyou.LocatedoffshorefromthecomplexisagiantstatueofBuddha(beingerectedasof2004)whichwastobethelargestintheworld.WithinthecomplextherearemanytemplesanddailydemonstrationsofmartialartsbytheShaolinmonks.Therestaurantwithinthecomplexisallvegetarian.