Fisher family Tianya Haijiao 1993. (Photo/chinadaily.com.cn)
Over the upcoming 'Golden Week' Hainan will attract many holidaymakers. Twenty-four years ago, it was a very different island, with tourism in its infancy.
Train Z201 departs Beijing daily at 5:54 p.m., heading south towards western Guangdong before being transported by a dedicated ferry across the Qiongzhou Straight to Hainan Island. Thirty hours after departure, hopefully with the sun rising over the South China Sea, it rolls into Sanya, a tropical city located on the island's southern tip. In January 1993 that option was not available! While living in Guangzhou, Hainan often came up in conversation. It had been administered by Guangdong until 1988 with a close relationship persisting through family and commercial connections. Fascinated, I decided to give it a try, but getting there?
