AMA about Hainan

[Mouseneb]

Hi everyone!

 

Since I've been living in Hainan for the past ten years and am working with the Hainan Province Tourism Department as the editor of the official English language tourism site for Hainan, I thought it might be interesting to have an AMA about Hainan. You can ask anything, actually, about me or life in general but if it's about Hainan at least I might know something useful! 

 

A little about me, I'm an American who first came to China in 1999, and then again in 2000.

 

My husband and I moved to China officially in 2005. We lived in Sanya for two years, and have been in Haikou since then. We have two dogs, Baozi and Mocha!

 

I taught English for several years, while also studying Chinese in my free time. A few years back I began doing some voice work, editing, and translation, which led to my current position, which I love! My husband is currently in a Chinese language degree program at Hainan University.

 

I know Hainan sometimes gets a bad reputation online, and certainly no place is perfect, but I happen to love it here! Most of the time!    Here's a little video of me talking about how to buy coconuts on the street in Hainan, if you want to find out what I look and sound like! 

 

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTI5MDU4NzgzNg==.html

 

So if you have questions about coming here to visit, or to live, work, or study, I'll do my best to help you out. Oh, and there's lots of information on the website I edit as well, if you want to check it out: http://en.visithainan.gov.cn/ We have a facebook page too,  https://www.facebook.com/visithainan

 

I'm also one of the admins for the Haikou facebook group, Haikou in English. It's a good community for local Haikouvians, or those who are thinking about becoming Haikouvians.    https://www.facebook.com/HaikouInEnglish

 

Looking forward to your questions!

 

Nicki

 

[vellocet]

If I knew what an AMA was, maybe.  Please define unfamiliar terms before using them.  Thanks!

[gato]

AMA = Ask Me Anything (popularized by Reddit.com, as far as I know)

[Kenny同志]

Interesting. When I was there, a big coconut cost only 3 kuai!

 

Great place. I may go back to the island sometime in the future.

 

 

Edit: Just adding that I still love 儋州 better than Haikou.

[abcdefg]

I've been to Hainan twice and really liked Haikou and Sanya a lot. Especially the fresh seafood sold from live tanks. I enjoyed the availability of casual 大排档 dining for 露天 seafood feasts in the evening.

 

Often a vendor would come around, working his way through the tables with a cart selling cocoanuts. He would flatten the base and sides, then lop the top off with a machete. One enterprising vendor used a cordless electric drill to make a hole for a straw.

[anonymoose]

I went to Haikou once when SARS was at its peak (2002 if I remember correctly). It didn't impress me much then, but I know most Chinese cities have changed a lot over the last decade.

 

Would be cool to spend some more time there.

[Silent]

 

 

I know Hainan sometimes gets a bad reputation online, and certainly no place is perfect,

Looking at the map it intrigues me in some inexplicable way so do want to go there some day. I'm not aware of it's bad reputation. Please tell something more about that bad reputation. In what sense does it have a bad rep and what are the reasons (present/historical) for it?

 

 

The last time I had a look at Hainan for a potential visit I read somewhere that the indiginous people (central Hainan mountains)  welcome visitors if there is a way to communicate but they don't speak English. Is anything changed in this respect. Have they learned English, do they speak (near native) Mandarin or is Mandarin clearly a second language for them that is reflected in their language skills?

 

What kind of tourist infrastructure is there to experience the indiginous culture? Do small traditional towns generally have accomodation?  Is it still fairly traditional or  has modernity largely wiped out tradition?

 

 

Most of the tourist info I see about Hainan is about beaches and nightlife and, as a sidenote, a little about the indiginous people. What are the best natural and cultural sites to visit in Hainan?

[Mouseneb]

Great questions Silent! 

 

As far as the bad reputation, sometimes people are disappointed by the service quality vs. price. Me too. Especially in Sanya, prices are pretty high but the development of the service industry is not quite there yet. In the past, there have also been highly publicized cases of cheating tourists, such as overcharging especially for fruit and seafood. In 2005/6 we often found that restaurants would have different menus with wildly different prices, one for locals, one for tourists. I think that's changed, but of course like any overly touristy location those things sometimes happen.

 

That's why I prefer other parts of Hainan to Sanya, unless someone else is paying, of course! Actually I'm quite happy to stay in Sanya's five star hotels when it's not my dime, but that doesn't happen too often, so when I'm paying my own way I'll go somewhere less touristy and more reasonably priced.

 

The central areas where you mentioned most of the minority people live is actually one of the parts I love. I haven't had any trouble navigating any place in Hainan using Mandarin, but in central Hainan and even anywhere outside of a five star hotel actually you will have some trouble if you are using only English. Since the local language situation is SO MUDDLED (seriously, it seems like every village, neighborhood, and tree has it's own mutually unintelligible version of Hainanese, and there are even some places where they speak Cantonese), as well as the fact that Hainan has seen huge levels of immigration from the mainland over the last 20 years (and before that, too), everybody pretty much HAS to speak Mandarin just to be understood. You will hear some local languages for sure, but I've never met anyone who couldn't at least get by in Mandarin who was under the age of 70.

 

There are hotels of varying levels pretty much everywhere. Sometimes I've been turned away because I was foreign and they didn't want to deal with that. There's usually another 20 hotels down the street though, and with a little patience you can find somewhere suitable.

 

There are definitely still cultural traditions that can be seen in the minority areas. Some of the minority areas have been overly commercialized, especially those nearer Sanya, but the further you get into the central part of Hainan, the more authentic traditional life you will see. 

 

For the best cultural areas, I'd say the cities of Wuzhishan and Baoting are excellent starting points, and then you can venture into the surrounding countryside and villages from there. My favorite nature reserve is Jianfengling. I almost don't want to tell you about it because it's so beautiful there. If you go you have to promise not to spoil it! ;)

 

More about Jianfengling: http://en.visithainan.gov.cn/English/Explore/TouristAttractions/201411/t20141114_53681.html

 

I'll also add a photo I took there a few years back... in a minute when I figure out how!

[Mouseneb]

A photo of me hiking up a stream at Jianfengling!

[abcdefg]

Please tell something more about that bad reputation. In what sense does it have a bad rep and what are the reasons (present/historical) for it?

 

Every winter lots of well-to-do Chinese tourists go to Sanya from Dongbei to escape the cold weather back home. Affluent Russians come in force for the same reason. There are sometimes altercations in the bar zones.

 

Winter demand for high-end accommodations and services historically exceeds supply, especially near the beach. Results are predictable.

 

I had a problem at check out from an otherwise very good hotel (Le Parker.) The clerk said my signature on the cash deposit receipt was not the same as when I checked in. Didn't want to return my money. Had to talk to a manager, write my name several times and show additional ID. Only time that has ever happened, and I've literally traveled all over China.

 

Also, the price gouging and cheating of tourists that @Mouseneb mentioned above was widely publicized several years back on Chinese TV. "Hidden camera" type reporters did investigations of how seafood vendors rigged their scales. It was particularly egregious for lobster. Gave Sanya a bad reputation throughout the mainland.

 

I was there in winter, was careful, didn't get cheated or beat up and had a great time.

[Silent]

 

 

As far as the bad reputation, sometimes people are disappointed by the service quality vs. price. Me too. Especially in Sanya, prices are pretty high but the development of the service industry is not quite there yet. In the past, there have also been highly publicized cases of cheating tourists, such as overcharging especially for fruit and seafood. 

I see these as 'standard' problem in touristy area's. Specially when the tourists are more affluent as the locals. In my experience specially in sub-sahara Africa a big issue.

 

 

 

it seems like every village, neighborhood, and tree has it's own mutually unintelligible version of Hainanese, and there are even some places where they speak Cantonese)

I exerienced something alike on my first visit to China. Had hoped to pick up the basics of the language while on the road, but had the impression that at every town I had to restart from scratch. The route, Hong Kong to Chengdu with a fair number of minority area's and small villages was of course not the best area to learn. After that experience I started to learn a bit Mandarin for my next trip.

 

 

 

 

I was there in winter, was careful, didn't get cheated or beat up and had a great time.

As a tourist always hard to judge what the fair price is or that you are cheated. If you don't have the impression you're cheated that's already great. In my experience if you travel of the beaten track the cheats are few and well compensated by (sometimes extreme) kindness.

[serendipityfox]

Mandarin and Hainan,

I want to study in Haikou, one of my secondary aims is to improve my mandarin, is this an easy place to do it or is it better to learn in the northern cities. Of course young educated people speak mandarin but what about everyday interaction. I lived in Hong Kong and it was very difficult to use and learn putonghua in everyday life.

[anonymoose]

I'm not sure why you're comparing with Hong Kong. They are completely different situations.

 

Other people have different opinions, but personally I think anywhere on the mainland is good to learn Mandarin.

[Mouseneb]

I use Mandarin in Haikou every day, with very few problems. Any problems I do encounter are generally on my end, not theirs.

I think it's a great place to study, you'll hear Mandarin in everyday life 80% of the time, and 99% of the people here can speak it decently. I've only encountered a few very elderly people unable to speak Mandarin.

I'm curious though, you said studying Mandarin was a secondary goal, what's the primary goal?

[serendipityfox]

Study medicine.

so the situation is not like guangdong where guangdonghua is very dominant and putonghua weak? There putonghua is equally important and usesful as the min dialect?

[Mouseneb]

More important and useful than Hainanese. Most of the international students at the Medical college here are from India and the middle east. I'm not sure if the Medical degree you can get in China is useful for practicing in western countries, not sure where you intend to work in the future.

[serendipityfox]

Let me worry about that, just stick to the original question. Thankyou for your answer.

[Mouseneb]

As you wish!

[serendipityfox]

I can surmise that the language situation is similar to taiwan, and taiwanese. Thankyou.

[Mouseneb]

I've never been to Taiwan, so I can't confirm if Hainan is similar.