Understand
At one point, Hainan was considered a backwater and used as a place of exile for failed officials.
Hainan is China's smallest province, and also the largest island under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China. Hainan is also the only island province administered by the PRC.
Hainan's climate is tropical, characterised by hot and humid summers, with mild, pleasant winters. Temperatures usually range from 24-35°C in the summer, and 19-25°C in the winter.
Today, it is undergoing heavy tourist-oriented development with various international hotel chains establishing resorts, especially in the Sanya area. These days, many wealthy Chinese from the northern provinces own second homes in Hainan, where they move to in the winter to escape the bitter cold that characterises much of northern China. It has been popular with Russian tourists for decades. Now it is being promoted as "China's Hawaii". The entire island has been declared a Special Economic Zone.
