General information
Hainan Island is a huge tropical island in the south of China, washed by the waters of the South China Sea.
Hainan’s two main cities are the capital, Haikou, in the north of the island, and the resort city of Sanya in the south.
Time on Hainan is 6 hours ahead of Ukraine in winter and 5 hours ahead in summer.
Be sure to double-check this information before flying to China, as it may become out of date. (This guide is from 2020.)
Important information on customs rules
AT THE DEPARTURE AIRPORT IN KYIV
Check-in for the flight opens 2–2.5 hours before departure. Once the start of check-in is announced, you
need to go to the designated desk and check in your tickets and luggage yourself.
FLIGHT CHECK-IN AND BAGGAGE
Passenger check-in and baggage processing are carried out on the basis of a named air ticket (a paper printout or an e-ticket on a mobile device) and a valid international passport that expires no earlier than 6 months later. Check-in closes 40 minutes before departure, and boarding closes 20 minutes before the flight’s local departure time. A passenger who arrives after check-in or boarding has closed may be refused carriage. Lighters and matches are prohibited on board.
CUSTOMS
A declaration is required when bringing in more than $5,000. The amount of national currency carried across the border must not exceed 5,000 yuan. Duty-free allowances: 600 cigarettes, no more than 1.5 litres of spirits, and jewellery within the limits of personal use. Items prohibited from import: weapons and imitation weapons; explosives, drugs and psychotropic substances, pornography, and materials that may harm China’s politics, economy and culture. It is also prohibited to bring in pork and pork products (for example, sausage). Lighters and matches are prohibited on board.
VISA
Entry to China requires a visa obtained in advance from a Chinese consulate, but simplified rules apply for entry to Hainan Island.
Currently, Ukrainian citizens arriving on Hainan on a direct scheduled flight can enter visa-free for stays of up to 30 days. If you’re coming to the island for longer, you need a visa. You also can’t change your place of residence on your own, since you are registered with the police.
AIRPORT MEETING AND HOTEL TRANSFER
After passport and customs control at the international airport, guides with a sign will meet you and take you to the bus and on to the hotel.
Information about holidays on Hainan
CHECK-IN AND CHECK-OUT ON HAINAN
The guide who accompanies you on the transfer will make sure you check into the hotel. Hotel check-in is usually after 14:00.
When checking into most hotels in China, tourists may be asked for a cash deposit to cover the contents of the room and the minibar. When you check out, the deposit is returned in full. The deposit is paid on the day of arrival. It can be paid in cash or blocked on a bank card. VISA, MASTERCARD and MAESTRO cards are accepted.
If you pay in cash — in US dollars, for example — that’s what you’ll get back (not local currency!).
Important: be sure to keep the deposit receipt; you’ll be asked for it on the day of departure so they can refund your money.
*Attention! With a bank card, when the hotel releases the funds, the transaction doesn’t go through immediately and in some cases can take 30 days (the funds are returned to the account holder within a month).
When leaving the hotel at the end of your trip, you must vacate the room by 12:00. You can leave your luggage in the hotel’s left-luggage room. You’ll need to pay for any extra services you used during your stay. The day before your flight you’ll receive information about the time of the airport transfer for your flight to Kyiv. If you haven’t received this information, please contact your guide and check the time of departure from the hotel.
EXCURSIONS AND ACTIVE HOLIDAYS
You can book excursions with the company’s guides, who are on duty at the information stands in the hotel lobby. If your hotel doesn’t have a permanent information stand, you can call the guide and arrange a meeting; the guide will give you their phone number during the transfer. When going on an excursion, don’t forget to bring a copy of your passport, as well as sunglasses and sunscreen, a hat and comfortable closed shoes. You can also go on excursions on your own — more details in this article.
MEDICINE AND VACCINATIONS
To receive free medical care, call the numbers listed in your insurance company’s medical policy. If you go to a medical facility without a referral from the insurance company, you’ll pay for the services yourself. No vaccinations are required for a trip to China. Don’t drink tap water. Only consume water and drinks that are guaranteed safe (boiled water, drinking water and factory-packaged drinks). Always wash raw vegetables and fruit.
BEACH HOLIDAYS
Hotel sun loungers and umbrellas are free (if there’s a café or bar next to the hotel, they may put out paid loungers on the beach in front of them). It’s best to sunbathe before 11 a.m., otherwise you risk overheating and sunburn. Too much time in the sun can ruin your whole holiday. Use sunscreen with a high UV protection factor. Don’t neglect a hat when spending a long time in the sun; it’s best to sunbathe for no more than 15–20 minutes.
LANGUAGE
The official language is Chinese, and the standard writing system is Chinese characters. Hotel staff do not speak English. Carry a hotel card with the address written in characters: the Chinese people you meet on the street don’t know foreign languages. Many guidebooks advise learning basic phrases in the local dialect before visiting the country. Forget this advice. It won’t help you, because it’s impossible to learn phrases in Chinese in a few days. It’s best to communicate using a translator app on your phone, your fingers, facial expressions, a calculator, drawings and photos of sights. The locals don’t know English.
CURRENCY
China’s currency is the yuan (RMB). The yuan’s exchange rate against the US dollar is set by the state. Banknotes of 100, 50, 20, 5 and 1 yuan are in circulation, as well as coins of 1, 2 and 5 fen and 1 yuan.
Credit cards — American Express, JCB, Visa, MasterCard, Diners Club — are generally NOT accepted in all shops. All cash payments in the country are made in local currency. It’s best to exchange money at the hotel reception, at the airport or with your guide; exchanging money at markets and on the street isn’t recommended because of the increased risk of counterfeit notes being passed off. You can also exchange money at a bank or simply withdraw it from an ATM with your card.
TRANSPORT
The main means of transport in China — and the island is no exception — are buses and taxis. To get around town, it’s best to take a taxi. Taxis have a “TAXI” sign on the roof, the fare for the first 2.5 km is displayed on the window, and you pay according to the meter. A taxi ride of up to 2.5 km costs 10 yuan (in some taxis the flag-fall is 11 yuan), then 2 yuan for each km. During holidays fares go up by 5 yuan or more. Always carry a card with your hotel’s name in Chinese characters to show the taxi driver where to go. If you just say the hotel’s name out loud, you won’t be understood, because the name always sounds different in Chinese.
The bus is the most economical form of transport; bus routes connect the whole of Sanya and its suburbs. Fares start from 2 yuan.
CAR RENTAL
Since international driving licences are not valid in China, you can only rent a car “complete” with a driver.
SHOPS
State shops are open daily from 9:30 to 20:30, private ones from 9:00 to 21:00 and often longer. Markets usually open at 7:00 (some even at 4:00) and run until 10:00–12:00.
The unit of weight in China is the jin: 1 jin = 0.5 kg, and prices for produce will be given per jin.
In large state shops and grocery stores prices are fixed. At markets
you should haggle. Even if an item has a price tag, it’s no more than a “guide” to the order of magnitude of the price. The choice of souvenirs is huge, but many are of low quality. Chopsticks, beautiful porcelain, cups, lacquered boxes, seals and scroll cases can be bought at every turn.
INTERNET AND SOCIAL MEDIA:
Wi-Fi on Hainan is available free of charge in all hotels, and in most hotels it’s in the rooms. But many services (e.g. Facebook, Instagram, Google, WhatsApp) aren’t supported there. That’s not a problem at all, though: to get Facebook and Instagram working, you need to download any VPN. For iPhone users, for example, there’s the VPN Robot app, which you can download from the App Store.
PRECAUTIONS ON HOLIDAY
On Hainan, tourists can holiday in peace and not fear for their lives — serious crimes against tourists are very rare here. As in any other country, keep a close eye on your personal belongings and don’t carry too much cash. Valuables, including passports and tickets, are best kept in a safe.
Important!
It is prohibited to take out of China — and Hainan is no exception:
– Knives
– Power banks over 20,000 mAh
– Lighters. So we recommend that smokers take cheap lighters on the trip that they won’t mind leaving behind in China. Vapes and IQOS can be carried without any problems.
Rules of conduct
China is a country with centuries-old traditions and culture, so it’s better not to violate social and religious norms so as not to offend the locals.
- Don’t photograph military or strategic sites and government buildings, or people without asking their permission first.
- Don’t express displeasure with China’s culture and history or show disrespect towards them.
- Don’t litter — you can be fined for it.
- Don’t show aggression or irritation towards Chinese people.
- Most Chinese people are friendly towards tourists, so be prepared for many locals to greet you and perhaps even point at you — react calmly.
- Don’t take offence if a Chinese person asks to take a photo with you or even snaps one secretly — for them, having a photo with a European is a great honour and privilege.
Touching a woman or taking her by the arm is not acceptable.
- Don’t stick chopsticks (or cutlery) upright in a bowl of food — it resembles incense sticks burning in a temple and therefore evokes thoughts of passing into the next world.
Under no circumstances should you skewer pieces of food on chopsticks — that will offend any Chinese person.
That’s the southern island of Hainan for you.
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