Cycling and marathons

Haikou Marathon opens 20,000 places for 27 December race

The 2026 Haikou Marathon on 27 December offers 20,000 first-come places; official sources give entry closing times of 18:00 on 27 November ...

Expats in Haikou

Nature, Wildlife & the Environment

Super El Niño: Hainan forecasts warm but uneven winter, drier spring

Hainan Climate Centre forecasts a warm but uneven winter 2026–27, a possible colder mid-winter spell and spring drought risk as a super El Niño peaks …
Expats in Haikou

Sanya film festival draws 4,632 entries from 133 countries and regions

The 8th Hainan Island International Film Festival runs in Sanya on 6–12 December after drawing 4,632 entries from 133 countries and regions ...
Travel news

Sanya offers foreign visitors perks for posting about the city

Sanya gives foreign visitors perks from 58 partners for positive posts about the city, and plans a promotion with 150-plus content creators ...

China Expat Briefing

Health and welfare

Does Your China Health Insurance Cover You When You Travel Home?

Does your China health insurance cover treatment when you travel home, or only emergencies inside your policy’s area of cover?
China Expat Briefing

Bringing Prescription Medication into China: Different Rules for Carrying and Mailing

How China treats prescription medicine carried in luggage or sent by post, including controlled drugs, documents and quantity limits …
China Expat Briefing

Death in China: The Foreigner’s Final Paperwork Problem

A practical look at what happens regarding a foreigner’s passport, funeral arrangements, bank accounts, phone and apps when a foreign national dies in China ...
Expats in Haikou

Lost Your Passport in China: The Emergency Document You Should Know About

Lost your passport in China? If your embassy, consulate, or relevant home-country institution in China cannot reissue a travel document, China has an Exit-Entry Permit for Foreigners …
China Expat Briefing

A Spouse on an S Visa: What They Can and Cannot Legally Do in China

What spouses on S visas in China can and cannot legally do, including work, tutoring, remote work, volunteering, tax, and permit risks ...
Expats in Haikou

How to Claim Your Housing Provident Fund Before You Leave China

Foreign employees in China may have a Housing Provident Fund account they have never checked. The balance, employer contributions included, can be withdrawn in full when you leave. Here is how to claim it before you go …

China Sci-tech

China Sci-Tech

Chinese student’s dorm AI animated-drama business tops...

A Soochow University student says his team generated over 3 million yuan in revenue producing AI animated dramas, with one hit drawing 1.5 billion plays ...

China’s Lijian-2 Rocket Deploys 18 Satellites Using a Single-Unlock System

China's Lijian-2 rocket has deployed 18 Qianfan internet satellites using a mechanism that unlocks the entire stack in one operation. The launch brings the constellation to 274 satellites in orbit, with another 50 needed to meet its year-end target ...

Icebreaker that reached the North Pole holds open day in Sanya

Xuelong 2, the icebreaker that reached the North Pole in 2023, held a public open day at Sanya's Nanshan Port on 5 November 2026 ...

China’s Double 11 shoppers can now buy AI tokens like phone...

Tokens, the units AI models are billed in, are on sale as their own category in China's annual shopping festival for the first time, though most listings have sold very few units ...

Chinese scientists switch off one gene to make cabbage smell of...

Chinese scientists have made cabbage smell of popcorn by switching off one gene. Similar research at Hainan University suggests new possibilities for breeding vegetables with distinctive flavours ...

Bitten at home, a non-coder used AI to build a hotel...

Bitten in his new flat, a man who had never programmed used AI to build a WeChat map of hotels with reported bed bugs. Within a month, 200,000 people were using it ...

Hainan FTP Intelligence

Business News

Hainan’s urban renewal regulation encourages overseas investment from 2027

Hainan's new urban renewal regulation encourages overseas investors to take part in redeveloping older city districts from January 2027. But participation comes with conditions: competitive land allocation, project approvals, property owners' consent and further rules still to be issued ...
Business News

Starting a one-person AI firm in Hainan? Here’s what the support really offers

Hainan is courting one-person AI companies with cheap workspace, computing vouchers and loan subsidies. But its 15% corporate tax rate requires three staff living on the island, and most solo founders already qualify for China’s 5% small-firm rate …
Business News

From Internet Satellites to AI Workers: Five Technology Stories from Hainan

Satellite launches, AI-powered employees, industrial robots and pilotless aircraft are among the technologies being developed and tested across China's tropical island province ...
Business News

Hainan After Customs Closure: Which Sectors Have Real Commercial Traction?

Hainan’s first post-closure data separates sectors with measurable business activity from those supported by regulatory access and specialised platforms …
Business Gateway Support for Hainan

Latest Forum Discussions

What's happening

Events, notices and timely community updates from across Hainan.
Cycling and marathons

Haikou Marathon opens 20,000 places for 27 December race

The 2026 Haikou Marathon on 27 December offers 20,000 first-come places; official sources give entry closing times of 18:00 on 27 November ...
Water sports

Stab High, surfing’s airs-only contest, makes its China debut in Hainan

Stab High, the wave-pool surf contest judged only on aerials, makes its China debut at Riyue Bay, Wanning, on 11–14 November, with Sky Brown competing ...
Events

2026 Hainan Happy Island Festival: Dates, Major Events and Visitor Guide

The 2026 Hainan Happy Island Festival runs from 18 July to 18 August. Here are the events foreign visitors are most likely to use …
Welcome to the Hainan Forum

Explore Hainan

Go beyond the headlines with guides and features on Hainan’s minority traditions, historic towns, local temples, coastal communities, parks and places worth knowing.

Explore
Sports and Outdoors
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Cycling and marathons

Haikou Marathon opens 20,000 places for 27 December race

The 2026 Haikou Marathon on 27 December offers 20,000 first-come places; official sources give entry closing times of 18:00 on 27 November ...
Water sports

Stab High, surfing’s airs-only contest, makes its China debut in Hainan

Stab High, the wave-pool surf contest judged only on aerials, makes its China debut at Riyue Bay, Wanning, on 11–14 November, with Sky Brown competing ...
Sports and Outdoors

Wushu’s Best Come to Haikou: A Guide to the 4th Taolu World Cup, 4–9 July

Everything you need to know about the Haikou 4th Wushu Taolu World Cup, with dates, venue, tickets, entry rules and transport …

Historical Haikou

Historic sites, old streets and cultural landmarks in Hainan’s capital.

Explore

Ancient Drum Tower: A Six-Century Guardian of Old Fucheng

For more than six centuries, Drum Tower has watched over old Fucheng, guarding the gates of Qiongzhou’s prefectural capital and enduring into modern Haikou ...