Dragon Boat (Double Fifth) Festival

The Dragon Boat Winning Team | POC’s photos on Flickr

Another Festival is upon us. “Duan Wu Jie” or “Double Fifth Festival” (as it falls on the fifth day of the fifth month of the traditional Chinese calendar) was originally celebrated as the “Dragon Festival”. Since the death of Qu Yuan however, in the Warring States Period, it has become known as the “Dragon Boat Festival”.

Meilan Named “Green District of China”

On March 28th, Meilan District was named a “Green District of China”, thanks to its rich local natural and cultural landscape. It was one of 59 counties and districts named as “Green County/District of China” awarded nationally this year.

This award is organised by the “China Famous Green County Promotion Committee”. This year’s award was the 2nd, held along with the 2nd “Forum for Chinese

Haikou Tourism Activities Coming Soon!

The following events are coming soon to Haikou:

1. June 15th to 17th: “Dragon Boat Festival” (Duan Wu Jie) will be held. Have a look at this site about Qu Yuan for further information on this festival.
2. July to September: The 2nd Annual Haikou Music Festival will be conducted
3. September: JATA International Tourism Exhibition. A delegation from Haikou will travel to Japan, to attend and promote tourism in Haikou.
4. November: China (Shanghai) International Tourism Trade Fair will be conducted, as well as the 11th Hainan Carnival Festival.
5. December: Media from the mainland will arrive for a tour of Hainan Island.

From now until the end of the year,  Haikou City will conduct many business, golf and tourism product conventions and exhibitions throughout China. They will focus on the domestic markets of the Yangtze Delta, Zhujiang Delta and Northern Bay. Over seas target markets include Japan, Korea, Russia and South-east Asia.

Hainan International Tourism Island Competition

The Hainan International Tourism Island Network Competition commenced on 13th April and will wind up on 13th June, 2010. If you are interested in learning more about Hainan, you are welcome to participate in this competition online. The websites can be found at the following pages:  Network Knowledge Test and Internet Knowledge Test ~ Answer questions online correctly and you could win a prize. Everybody is welcome to participate!

First Hot Air Balloon Wedding Day in Haikou

Between June 11th and 16th, the 2010 First Hot Air Balloon Wedding Day will be held in Haikou. From May 21st to June 11th, a vote for the happiest couple will be held at Pearl Plaza (Ming Zhu Guang Chang) and several other shopping malls in Haikou.

Beginning at 09:09 pm on June 12th, the function will officially open. Celebrations will be held separately at Evergreen Park (Wan Lv Yuan) and West Beach. The next day, a series of wedding activities will be held from 09:00 am to 06:30 pm at the Volcano Park and West Beach.

Greetings From Haikou ~ ‘Coconut City’

Hainan has recently been proclaimed an International Tourism Island by the government of the People’s Republic of China. As a result of this, there are measures being taken to educate the local citizens in the special needs of international visitors. A renewed focus on English language training has commenced, as well as the promotion of golf and yachting as tourism advantages. The 2010 Haikou Golf and Tourism Forum and Haikou Yachting Industry Forum wound up recently, on March 19th & 20th.

A Very Fast Train link from Haikou to Sanya is nearing completion. It will have a length of 308 kilometres, pass through 14 stations and will involve a total investment of ¥19.22 billion RMB. The trains will travel at speeds of up to 200 km/hr, and be routed through areas of tourism and economic significance on the island. The completion of the project is due in November, 2011, four years after it commenced. The reason for this massive investment is given as an attempt to cater for the massive influx of tourists, while using clean, green electrical energy to power the rail link.