Best Time to Visit Hainan

General & Geography

Hainan is the southernmost province of the People’s Republic of China and consists of several islands. As a rule, Hainan is mainly the largest island of the same name in the archipelago in the South China Sea.

Hainan is somewhat smaller than Taiwan, whose status as an independent state is still not recognised by China. In this respect, the main island Hainan Dao is the second largest or even the largest island within the People’s Republic of China.

Almost 1200 miles of coastline are dotted with beautiful bays and palm-fringed sandy beaches, while the interior of the island is predominantly covered with lush rainforest.

Hainan is home to around 9 million inhabitants. The capital is Haikou in the north of the province with around two million inhabitants.

Due to the mild climate all year round and the perfect conditions for a relaxing seaside holiday, Hainan is often referred to as the “Hawaii of the East”. In fact, Hainan and Hawaii are even on a latitude.

Other comparisons call the island world of Hainan also the “Florida of China”, certain similarities cannot be denied by the summery flair, the beautiful beaches and the many tropical fruits.

The flight time from Shanghai is about three hours, from Beijing the direct flight to Sanya on Hainan takes about four hours. Hainan is therefore also a very popular end to a tour of China.

Climate on Hainan in China

The fantastic bays like Dadonghai, Yalong- or Haitang Bay on Hainan are especially popular because the Chinese island offers pleasant temperatures all year round. Even in winter it remains very mild with daytime temperatures of 20 °C and more, in midsummer it never gets unbearably hot with an average of 32 °C.

In general, most rain falls on Hainan between May and October. The tropical climate is strongly determined by the monsoon and manifests itself in wetter summer and autumn months as well as a dry winter and spring. The north of Hainan is noticeably cooler than the south of the islands.

The rainy season, with about 75% of the annual rainfall, is also the risk period for typhoons on Hainan. In general, these tropical cyclones hit – if at all – the east of the island. Coolest months are December to February, warmest months on Hainan are May to August.