Hainan Island, China
海南島——漂浮在南海上的熱帶詩篇
Hainan Island（海南島）rises from the blue waters of the South China Sea（南海）like an emerald set in silver. Coconut palms bend toward the sea, tropical forests breathe beneath the clouds, and long beaches shine under an almost eternal summer. Its two principal cities—Haikou（海口）in the north and Sanya（三亞）in the south—present two different faces of this island paradise: one touched deeply by history, the other radiant with sun, sea, and tropical dreams.
The ancients once wrote: 海上生明月，天涯共此時。
The moon rises above the sea; at the ends of the earth, we share this moment.—Zhang Jiuling（張九齡）〈望月懷遠〉
Few verses could better accompany a journey across Hainan, where the moon appears to rise directly from the sea and the horizon seems to lead toward the legendary Tianya Haijiao（天涯海角，天之涯、海之角）.
Haikou — Where Exile Became Immortality
海口——貶謫之地，文化之鄉
Our journey began in Haikou, the island’s northern gateway. Beneath its coconut trees and warm sea winds stand temples, ancestral halls, and old streets carrying memories of merchants, sailors, officials, and exiled scholars.
At a Mazu Temple（媽祖廟）, incense curled gently upward. Mazu, the revered Goddess of the Sea, has watched over generations of fishermen and voyagers. For island people, the ocean was not merely scenery; it was their livelihood, their road to the outside world, and sometimes their greatest danger. Every prayer before Mazu expressed the same simple hope: departure in safety and return in peace.
We then visited the Temple of the Five Officials（五公祠）, traditionally associated with five celebrated officials banished to Hainan during the Tang and Song dynasties. Their political lives ended in disappointment, yet their integrity survived the rise and fall of courts. The temple therefore commemorates more than exile—it honours loyalty, courage, and moral independence.
Nearby, the memory of Su Shi（蘇東坡）seems to linger. Banished to Hainan in his later years, he endured hardship without surrendering his spirit. Looking back upon his southern exile, he wrote:
九死南荒吾不恨，茲遊奇絕冠平生。Though nine deaths awaited me in the southern wilderness, I bear no regret;this extraordinary journey surpassed all the journeys of my life.——蘇軾〈六月二十日夜渡海〉
「南荒」是古人對海南偏遠之地的稱呼。蘇軾雖遭貶謫，卻仍以開闊的胸襟，把人生苦難視為一次「奇絕」的壯遊。這種曠達，使海南不再只是他的流放地，也成為他精神生命中最深刻的一站。
Where Rivers Meet the Sea 瓊海、博鰲——江河奔流入海
Leaving Haikou, we travelled southward to Qionghai（瓊海市）, where rivers, coconut groves, villages, and fertile fields compose a gentler landscape. Here the Wanquan River（萬泉河）winds through the countryside before reaching Bo’ao（博鰲）.
At Bo’ao, river water, lagoon, sandbar, and sea appear to meet beneath one immense sky. The scenery recalls an old Chinese verse:
野曠天低樹，江清月近人。Across the open wilderness, the sky hangs low above the trees;upon the clear river, the moon seems close to man.——孟浩然〈宿建德江〉
這首詩原本並非描寫博鰲，但「野曠、江清、月近人」的意境，正好捕捉博鰲河海相接時的寧靜與開闊。
Bo’ao later became internationally known through the Boao Forum for Asia（博鰲亞洲論壇）. Yet beyond its conferences and modern buildings, its deepest attraction remains natural: water flowing toward water, and the river finally surrendering itself to the sea.
Into the Tropical Rainforest
Farther inland, the sea breeze gradually faded and the landscape became greener and denser. In the tropical rainforest, ancient trees rose like pillars, vines twisted through the canopy, and light entered only in scattered golden shafts. Moisture hung in the air; unseen birds called from deep among the leaves.
Wuzhishan — The Green Heart of Hainan
五指山——海南的綠色心臟
At the centre of the island rises Wuzhishan（五指山）, its five peaks stretching toward the sky like the fingers of a giant hand. Clouds gather around the ridges, forests cover the slopes, and streams descend through valleys inhabited for generations by the Li and Miao peoples（黎族、苗族）.
In the Li villages and Miao settlements, traditional houses, weaving, embroidery, songs, dances, and silver ornaments revealed a cultural world distinct from the coastal cities. The Li people are among Hainan’s earliest inhabitants, and their traditional Li brocade（黎錦）preserves ancient patterns inspired by nature, ancestors, animals, and village life.
The forests of Wuzhishan were therefore not merely a beautiful background. They nourished the island’s indigenous cultures and gave them colour, rhythm, memory, and identity.
Sanya — Where the Sky Meets the Southern Sea
三亞——椰風海韻，天涯之境
Descending from the mountains, we finally reached Sanya（三亞）. Here Hainan reveals its most brilliant tropical face: white beaches, turquoise water, flowering trees, coconut palms, and sunsets that turn the entire sea to gold.
Nanshan Temple and the Guanyin of the South Sea
南山寺與南海觀音
At Nanshan Temple（南山寺）, Buddhist bells drifted across the sea. Offshore stood the immense Guanyin of the South Sea（南山海上觀音）, rising 108 metres above the water. Facing three directions, the statue symbolises compassion, wisdom, and peace, watching over both the land and the ocean.
The scene calls to mind a Buddhist verse:
海天佛國，慈航普渡。Across the realm of sea and sky,the vessel of compassion carries all beings to safety.
「慈航普渡」以船航渡海為喻，表示觀音以慈悲救度眾生。海上觀音矗立於碧波之間，使南山寺的佛教意境與海南的海洋景觀自然融合。
With waves breaking softly below and clouds moving slowly overhead, the statue seemed less like a monument than a silent presence—one hand blessing the island, the other calming the boundless sea.
Toward the Southern Horizon
遙望中國最南方
From Sanya, we gazed farther south, beyond the visible islands and across the vast South China Sea. The place written as「錦母島」probably refers to Zengmu Ansha（曾母暗沙）, traditionally described in Chinese geography as the southernmost point of China’s claimed territory. It is not an island near Sanya, but a submerged feature far to the south in the Nansha Islands（南沙群島）, within waters subject to overlapping regional sovereignty claims.
If the island actually visited was a tourist island near Sanya, the name may instead have been Wuzhizhou Island（蜈支洲島）, Boundary Island（分界洲島）, or another nearby island; it should not be identified as Zengmu Ansha.
A Paradise of Beauty and Memory
Hainan is indeed a little paradise, but its beauty lies in more than beaches and sunshine. Haikou remembers faithful officials and the resilient Su Shi; Qionghai and Bo’ao bring rivers to the sea; the rainforest guards an ancient green world; Wuzhishan shelters the cultures of the Li and Miao peoples; and Sanya opens its arms toward the immense southern ocean.
By the end of the journey, Su Shi’s words returned once more:
茲遊奇絕冠平生。This extraordinary journey surpassed all the journeys of my life.
We had crossed an island, but also travelled through many layers of China: maritime faith, exile literature（貶謫文學）, indigenous culture, Buddhist compassion, tropical wilderness, and the endless imagination of the southern sea.
Temple of Five Lords， built during the reign of Emperor Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (五公祠) It commemorates five famous officials who were banished to Hainan during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and the Song Dynasty (960-1279).Haikou City
亞龍灣Yalong Bay
