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This page was last updated on: June 1, 2017
The Haikou Report
Haikou Landmarks & Monuments
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Some of the most well known landmarks of the City are found near Haikou Park in the center of Haikou. The very few other sites of interest are scattered about the city and nearby regions.
Apart from the Haikou Park the city center is enriched by are Xi Lake, the Dong Lake and the Old Quarter of Town located to the North of these.
Those in search of knowledge of the Haikou and Hainan of the past should head down to the Hainan Provincial Museum which was established in Haikou in the year 1984 AD and has been moved to an entirely new facility in 2005. It now stands at Guoxing Avenue, adjacent to the Provincial Library and Provincial Arts and Culture Centre, an interesting mix. The Museum is the best place to start for anyone interested in the history of the Island and its Capital City.
Currently, there are four exhibits or sections available. These are the "Hainan History Display", the "Hainan Ethnic Minorities Display", the "Hainan Intangible Cultural Heritage Display" and the "Hainan Cultural Relics Display".

The main temple of Haikou, the Five Officials Memorial Temple, stands but a kilometer away to the East. Other sites within the city center include the Haikou Workers Cinema, the Haidian River and Ertong Park, and perhaps the location and facility of the former airport of Haikou.
Head out to the harbor to see the Xiuying Harbor Battery or travel only 2 kilometers beyond to land yourself on the cities main beach. The Tombs of Hairui, some 1.5 kilometers from the city center complete the local tourist itenerary.

Head out east to the Town of Wenchang on the coast to experience some of Hainans history and Ethnic Culture. At Wenchang, one can admire the palm planteries or try for the beach. Chicken Dinner after, whether you are a winner or not. Xincun Village nearby Sanya is Hainans main home of the Pearls which are cultivated by the ultra-rare Danjia Minority. The nearby Rhesus Monkey colony also provides for unusual entertainment.

A Full listing of Haikou City Landmarks, Monuments, Hotspots and other sites of importance in alphabetical order. Search through the list to find your Full Report and Photo-Virtual Tour of each monument or landmark within the City, or Region of Haikou in Hainan Island Province of China (PRC).

HAIKOU PARK OR PEOPLES PARK:
The Haikou Park is located dead in the center of Town. It is known officially as the Peoples Park and thus houses the Revolutionary Monument of the City, in this case the Monument to the Liberation of the Island of Hainan from the Kuomintang on the 5Th of March in 1950 AD. It was essentially the last large battle of the (2nd) Civil War in China and came about half a year after the Communist Party of China had already declared victory and established the Peoples Republic of China (October 1st 1949 AD).

FIVE OFFICIALS MEMORIAL TEMPLE:
The Memorial Temple for the Five Offcials, or Wugong Si, can be found in Fucheng, which is located some 4 kilometers due south of the city center of Haikou.  The Temple is named after Five unusually patriotic civil administrators of the Tang Dynasty (618 AD - 907 AD) and Song Dynasty (960 AD - 1279 AD) and Ming Dynasty Era (1368 AD - 1644 AD). These were Li Deya, Song Ligang, Li Guang, Zhao Ding and Hu Quan. All of them were sent into exile for criticizing their respective Emperors, eventhough they were men of solid reputations and intentions.
Although the Main Temple is dedicated to these five courageous Men and their memory, there are several other shrines within the main Buddhist Temple.
Among these are the Temple of Su Dongpo, a Temple dedicated to Han Dynasty Era (206 BC - 220 AD) Generals and one containing a large bronze statue of the Buddha.

As with the Tomb of Hai Rui the history of the Temple of the Five Officials has also been quite a turbulent one. In World War 2 for instance, the Japanese occupation force carried of several Temple relics.

The Temple is surrounded by its very own park. Upon reaching the Temple one is greeted by the wooden sign-board above the Gate, announcing this building as the First House (or Home) on Hainan Island. Inside the Temple are a multitude of Pavilions and shrines.
One of the main feautures is a large shrine conatining a Song Dynasty Era bronze statue of the Sakayamuni Buddha. This solid bronze statue, which was cast during the Song Dynasty period (960 AD - 1279 AD) in the town of Fucheng itself, is one of the main treasures of the Temple. During the Japanese occupation of the Island, Japanese forces carried the statue off to Guangzhou in Guangdong Province, however in the year 1949 AD it was returned to Hainan Island and the Temple with due pomp.
Another important shrine within the Temple of the Five Officials is the Su Dongpo Memorial Temple, a shrine to the renowned poet Su Dongpo (1036 AD - 1101 AD) also known as Su Shi (Simplified Chinese: 苏轼), or more commonly Zizhan (子瞻) with the pseudonym Dongpo Jushi (東坡居士).
Su Dungpo was a truly multi-facetted man, adapt at speech, poetry and politics but also involved with science such as pharmacology. As with all the officials immortalized through this Temple, Su Dongpo was expelled from his realm by his Emperor, in this case being shipped off to remote Hainan Island during a particularly severe drought. In all the Poet, ruined Statesman and scientist stayed on Hainan Island, during which time he is regarded to have be of much influence on the culture,  education and development of the Islands inhabitants. At the Temple of Su Dongpo within the Five Officials Temple Dongpo is mainly remembered for his subsequent digging of a well, the ′millet source′, which is still present inside the Temple today.
The Story of Su Dongpo ends fairly positively as even during his own Era his dismissal from Office was generally seen as unfortunate, unfair and undeserved. Much later during the Ming Era (1368 AD - 1644 AD). his the Su Dongpo story became a popular public example of what would happen when the Government was not dilligent, as had been the case under the corrupt Mongol Yuan Dynasty (1271 AD - 1368 AD). Thus Su Dongpo became a model hero. He was posthumously rehabilitated, and honored with his very own Temple here on Hainan island in the year 1617 AD, just before the Ming Dynasty come to its violent end (1638 AD). His brother Su Ze is also honored at the Temple.

The last worthwhile section of the Temple is Zhaozong Temple, a Shrine to the Han Dynasty Generals Lu Bode and Ma Yuan. Apart from the Generals, this shrine is also used for the comemmoration of Hai Rui, and another official, the Confucian Scholar Qiu Jun (1420 AD - 1490 AD). It also houses the small souvenir shop attached to the Temple.

How to Get There:
Take a Taxi or try the Bus. Get on Bus Line 217 at the Haikou Hotel, or take Bus 1 from the Friendship Hotel to travle in the direction of Fucheng. Asks for Wugong Si if any troubles arise. Its the only Temple near.
Opening Hours: 8 AM to 18:00 PM.
Qiongzhou Strait
BeiHe
JueWei
JinShan
YaXing
BaoLuo
XinLong
YaLiang
HaiTou
Hainan Jiao
BaoTing
Ledong
Tongzha
Qoingzhong
Qoingshan
Qoingshan
Jianfengling Nature
Reserve
Dongjiao
Tunchang
Chengmay
ChanHua
Changjiang
Tianya
Haijiao
JiSuo
Bao Suo
Gancheng
Yingli
Sanya
Wanquan' River
YangPu Development
X <-- Zone
Shilu
Reser-
voir
Changhua River
Sanya
Ba Suo (or Dongfang)
Haikou, Capital of Hainan Dao Island Province
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Dongjiao
Guangdong
Haikou - Qoingshan National Airport
Sanya - National Airport
Anding
Chengmay, Chengmai County, Hainan Island Province, China (P.R.C.).
Wuzhi Shan (1687 Meters)
JiSuo'
Ledong
Tongzha'
Datian Nature Reserve
Gancheng
NiuLuling
  Reservoir
Songtao
  Reservoir
Changjiang
Baisha
Tunchang
Limuling
  Shan
Limuling Shan
Yalong Bay
South China Sea
Gulf
     of Tonkin
Tianya Haijiao
Xincun
Monkey Island
Nandu River
South China Sea
?? (Guangdong Province)
Qoingzhong
Hongmaozhen
Haikou
Lingshui
Lingshui, Lingshui Li Autonomous County, Hainan Island Province, China (P.R.C.).
Xuwen
Xuwen (Guangdong Province)
Guangxi Zhuang AR
Xincun
Yinggehai
Yinggehai
Anding
Lin Gao
Lin'Gao
QoingHai
Qoinghai
Baisha
Wenchang
Wenchang, Wenchang County, Hainan Island Province, China (P.R.C.)
Qinglan
Qinglan
Danzhou
Danzhou, Danzhou City Prefecture, Hainan Island province, China (P.R.C.).
WanNing, Wanning County-Level City, Hainan Island Province, China (P.R.C.).
HaiTou
JuDing
BaoLuo
HeShe
HaiNanJiao Mineral Square
DongLi (Guangdong Province)
JueWei (Guangdong Province)
BaoTing, Baoting Li and Miao Autonomous County, Hainan Island Province, China (P.R.C.).
ChanHou
YaLiang
XinLong
YaXing
JinShan
DongLi
BeiHe (Guangdong Province)
YingLi
YingLi (Guangdong Province)
Li
Li
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Juding
TOMB OF HAIRUI :
The Tomb of Hai Rui (Hairui Mu) is located just out of town, just south-west of Haikou′s city center. It lies surrounded by its own small park among green clouds of bamboo and growths of palm trees. After passing through the main gate and entrance one passes in a traditional Chinese style along a ′spirit way′ protected by stone guardian figures to the actual tomb site. Hai Rui (1514 AD - 1587 AD) was a native of nearby Qiongzhou, the city of the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD) just across the Straits.  During his lifetime in the Ming Dynasty Era, Hai Rui was a famous person, a politician, but one of extra-ordinary correctness and solidity. He is still hailed today for his professional reputation, his incorruptability and general courage. Hai Rui also dared criticise his own Emperor, quite an unheard of thing. As a result of his unusual straightforwardness, which could have begotten him a worse fate, he was banished.
The story of Hai Rui would be merely one of many such tales from Chinese History if it weren not for his extra-ordinary fame, which led a Chinese Writer very much later, in the early 1960′s to use his story in order to criticise his own Emperor, in this case no other than Mao Zedong. The writing in case was the a stage play named ′Hai Rui dismissed from Office′ written by one Wu Han, which today is believed to have triggered one of the most disastrous political upheavals in recent Chinese Political history. That is, the play is commonly held to be a direct critique of Mao Zedong and his unquestioned Leadership of all affairs Chinese. Historians agree, that through a string of events the performance of the play and the discussion about it, which grew natiowide, essentially prompted Mao Zedong to launch his counter-strike in the form of the Cultural Revolution (1966 AD - 1976 AD).
Naturally, during the Cultural revolution the Hai Rui Tomb was a prime target of angry young Red Guards eager to show off their blind dedication to their one brilliantly adept great Leader.  The Hai Rui Tomb was thus smashed and completely demolished, leaving but one of the original relics, a Stone Stele placed upon a turtle symbolizing Longevity, dated to the year 1589 AD. Todays temple was reconstructed on the original site during the 1990′s.
How to Get There: Take a Taxi or take Bus Line 2 or Line 27, in both cases in the direction of Xiuyang. Catch Line 2 at the Friendship Hotel and Bus Line 27 at the Haikou Hotel.
EXCURSIONS OUTSIDE OF HAIKOU CITY :

Wenchang Town:
The First, most popular and most interesting excursions outside of town is the trip to Wenchang Town (Wenchang County), which is located at some 73 kilometers from Haikou along an inlet which connects to the South China Sea in the East. Wenchang is traditionally a fishing village, and although modernity has certainly reached and changed Wenchang, it remains one of the most interesting and scenic towns on the Island.  The Town of Wenchang is surrounded by coconut planteries and is also known for its pristine beaches and local speciality cuisine. In the case of Wenchang, the town is renowned throughout China for its special taste of chicken, the Wenchang Chicken.
The largest beach is found due North of Wenchang Town underneath the Tonghu Shan. This is Tianshui Bay and its pristine white beaches. In the last few years Wenchang has been taken over by large names in the Hotel and Resort Industry, and sadly the beaches have become private and are no longer freely available to all. This is a trend that is likely to continue around the Island for the time being.
An alternative to look at the beach is a further journey to the very end of the peninsula, heading south east and paying a visit to the Dongjiao Coco Planteries.

Xincun Pearl Village:
Another more time consuming excursion can be made to the village of Xincun in Lingshui Li Autonomous County, another even more famous traditional fishing village. In the case of Xincun, the village is a strong community of the very rare Danja (Tanha) Ethnic Minority who along with fishing are traditionally engaged in pearl fishing. Today, the pearls are cultivated and one can have a guided tour through the whole pearl farm to witness and inspect the procedure. Naturally, plenty of pearls are available, at a ′discount′, for the tourist who visit the island in flocks.

Last but certainly not least,  it  should be noted that Xincun is also famous for its
′Monkey Island′, which is located just ofsshore from the town and is home a colony of rhesus monkeys. Tourist and others interested can take a boat-ride from the beach to the island. Buy your tickets on the Beach. Naturally, most of the monkeys prefer to show themselves at dinner time. Otherwise they have no need for humans.
This page was last updated on: June 1, 2017
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