Selwyn Times: November 22, 2016

32
Tuesday November 22 2016
Travel
SELWYN TIMES
Sun, sea and surf on Hainan
Kate Preece heads to Hainan Island to experience a luxury resort
holiday, Chinese-style
FIVE STAR: One of the many luxury resorts in Hainan Island,
MGM Grand Sanya was formerly Hotel Gloria Resort, the first
resort in China.
Getting there:
•Christchurch to Guangzhou flights operate Sunday,
Wednesday and Friday. (From December, Mondays and
Thursdays as well.) Flights to Sanya include transfer at
Guangzhou/Baiyun International Airport. Contact your local
travel agent or visit www.csair.co.nz to book.
•Unless you are in China for transit only (less than 72 hours),
a tourist or business visa is required. It will take three to
five working days to be processed and must be applied
for in person at the Chinese consulate office (106 Hansons
Lane, Upper Riccarton), open Monday to Friday, 9am-noon.
Applications aslo online at christchurch.chineseconsulate.
org under ‘Public Forms’. Single entry is $140.
A THREE-course meal, a few
movies and a glass or two of red
later, a small travel group touched
down in Guangzhou, 12 hours
after leaving Christchurch.
The flight was courtesy of
China Southern Airlines, the
service was enjoyable, and after
a quick transfer at Guangzhou/
Baiyun International Airport, we
were a mere 90min from sun, sea
and surf.
Flying into Hainan Island, the
references to the ‘Hawaii of China’
are believable. Mountainous green
hills give way to deep valleys, with
ribbon-like rivers glistening down
below.
Around the island we circled,
getting closer to the more
inhabited eastern edge, where the
popular city of Sanya unfurled
before us. It is here that the luxury
– and only – resorts in China are
found, and where we were to rest
our heads for four nights – in two
of the area’s prestigious resorts.
The island’s assets seem to be
spaced evenly about a 30min
drive from one another, therefore,
it took such a time before we
arrived at the MGM Grand –
originally the Hotel Gloria
Resort, the very first resort in
China.
Greeted with lei-like flowers
and a glass of the best coconut
milk I have ever tasted, we were
quick to immerse ourselves
into resort life – swimming,
sunbathing and ordering from the
bar in a swimsuit.
After tourism, agriculture
is the second biggest industry
on Hainan Island, with trucks
transporting produce to ships,
which carry on to mainland
China.
Crops include pineapple,
coconuts, bananas, mango, which
flourish in the year-round average
temperature of 25 deg C.
Rice, too, is a common
commodity, which is why paddy
fields are still in plain view when
travelling between Yalong and
Haitang bays. The endemic
mountain rice is a short, fat grain
known as shanlan and gives rice
wine a purplish hue.
It is, however, most favoured by
the Li people, as a trip to Ganza
Li Village – or the Areca Valley
Tourist Resort of Hainan Ganza
Ridge Primitive Culture – is quick
to show.
Akin to our own Maori
cultural experiences, the village
provides insights into a time
gone by. Based on a village built
400 years ago, a theatrical show
with a troupe of performers, fire,
goats and ducks, showcased the
traditions of the Li people.
From the courting ritual, which
involved the woman pinching
the man-of-interest’s ear – the
harder the pinch, the deeper the
love – to the intricate weaving
techniques that led to Huang
Daopo (1245-1330) to popularise
cotton planting in Shanghai, and
improve the textile industry, it
was a high-energy show that
entertained young and old.
You can also try their
traditional bamboo pole dance
– a fast-paced skipping act
reminiscent of Elastics, yet with
bamboo poles threatening to clap
together on your legs should your
rhythm be off.
The joyous dance formed part
of rice harvest celebrations. The
food in Sanya is worthy of a long
lunch.
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