“This year’s New Year celebration was really memorable. I got to enjoy Hainan’s sunshine, beaches, and seawater, and also had the pleasure of playing sports on the golf course,” said Zhang Tao, a golf enthusiast from Shandong.
Travelers from Other Provinces Cycle Around Hainan During the New Year
During the Spring Festival, it’s common to see small groups of travelers from other provinces cycling along Hainan’s roads. “There were noticeably more out-of-province cyclists touring Hainan this year compared to previous years,” said a representative from the Haikou Cycling Association.
An Sichuan-based traveler with the online name “Flying Swan” and two travelers from Henan arranged to cycle around Hainan together this New Year. After arriving in Haikou, they picked up one more traveler each from Anhui and Henan. Thus, the five of them formed a small team and began cycling around Hainan Island. “Flying Swan” had visited Hainan once before in 2005, but that trip was with a tour group. “Traveling with a tour group wasn’t much fun. Even back then, I thought how great it would be to one day cycle around the island on my own—it would be both exciting and fun,” said “Flying Swan.”
They chose a cycling route starting from Haikou, passing through Tuncheng via the central route to Sanya, and then returning to Haikou via the eastern route. This route has been ranked among China’s top ten outdoor cycling routes by domestic travelers. In his opinion, during winter, only Hainan and Yunnan are suitable for cycling in China. “Hainan’s winter climate is wonderful. Cycling amidst its green mountains and clear waters feels incredibly refreshing,” he said. The only downside was that the weather was overcast when they set off from Haikou on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year. “But we’ve had sunshine every day since then,” he added. They planned to cycle over 100 kilometers per day and complete the island loop in eight days. “We brought tents and plan to camp by the seaside after reaching Sanya,” he said.
Dalian Tennis Enthusiast Couldn’t Bear to Leave
“Playing tennis in Hainan during the New Year was incredibly satisfying,” said Liu Shuo, a tennis enthusiast from Dalian.
This winter, Liu Shuo and a friend traveled to Hainan. After playing several matches with local tennis enthusiasts in Haikou, they decided they didn’t want to return home and opted to spend the New Year in Haikou immersed in tennis. Previously, Liu Shuo and his companions had always played indoors in the north, but after experiencing outdoor tennis in Hainan for a few hours, they felt a different kind of thrill. Liu Shuo said, “It’s freezing up north, but here in Hainan, you can still play in shorts and a T-shirt. There’s no feeling quite like playing tennis in Hainan during the winter.”
Reporters observed on several tennis forums that many tennis enthusiasts across China were organizing trips to play tennis in Sanya during the Spring Festival, and fellow players were eagerly joining in.
Domestic Enthusiasts Play All the Golf Courses in Haikou and Sanya
During this year’s Spring Festival, golf courses in Haikou and Sanya were fully booked, with the majority of players coming from other provinces.
Zhang Tao, who played at Haikou’s Mission Hills course, is from Shandong and is a passionate golf enthusiast. This was his first Spring Festival in Hainan. He said, “You can’t play golf in the north during winter, so I brought my family and some friends to Hainan to play golf and celebrate the New Year. We plan to stay in Haikou and Sanya until after the Lantern Festival before heading back. With this long holiday, we’ll have the chance to play at all the golf courses in both cities.”
This year, many domestic golfers like Mr. Zhang from Shandong came to Hainan to play golf for the New Year. Mr. Liu from Heilongjiang, playing at Haikou’s West Coast course, said, “Hainan’s climate is pleasant—you can play golf all year round, especially in winter when the north is covered in snow, while Hainan remains lush and green. It’s a golfer’s paradise.” A person in charge of a golf club in Sanya revealed that all the golf courses in the Sanya area were packed during the Spring Festival, with clubs featuring floodlit courses sometimes hosting over 300 guests in a single day.