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Xinglong

South China · Wanning, Hainan · An overseas-Chinese hometown

Xinglong兴隆

A town where returnees from 21 countries put down roots — coffee, rainforest and hot springs, all in one place.

Overseas-Chinese HeritageNanyang CuisineXinglong CoffeeTropical Botanical GardenHot Springs
CatalogXinglong
✨ AI-assisted · sourced
Xinglong Overseas Chinese Zone · Wanning, Hainan
~163km from Haikou, ~97km from Sanya — sitting in the tropical rainforest belt at 18°N
Tropical monsoon, endless summer
~24-25°C annual mean, ~1,500-2,400mm of rain a year, no frost or snow
1–2 days
Half a day for the coffee valley and botanical garden, another half for hot springs and Nanyang food
30-day visa-free
NIA · 2026-07

Why it's special

Why It's Special

Hainan's 'mini United Nations' — Nanyang flavors carried home by returnees from 21 countries.

In June 1951, 700 overseas Chinese persecuted by British Malayan authorities arrived in Xinglong under the guidance of Guangdong overseas-affairs cadres; that September the Xinglong Overseas Chinese Collective Farm was formally established — the origin of the whole story. Over the following decades, returnees from Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and other countries settled here, more than 13,000 in total from 21 countries and regions, earning Xinglong its nickname as Hainan's 'mini United Nations.' They brought coffee, spices, tropical fruit trees and Southeast Asian eating habits home with them: Xinglong coffee became famous, satay, coconut rice, seven-layer cake and nyonya kueh landed on everyday tables, and the tropical botanical garden filled with germplasm from across Nanyang. In 2007 the farm came under Wanning city's management as the Xinglong Overseas Chinese Tourism Economic Zone, its history now organized into an overseas-Chinese memorial hall and the 'Qiaomeng Yuan' memory garden. Today Xinglong is one of the few places in Hainan where you can drink a genuinely Nanyang cup of coffee and hear a returnee's own migration story.

Food & Flavor

Food & Flavor

Nanyang flavors the returnees brought home — coffee here is daily life, not a gimmick

  • Xinglong coffee traces back to 1950s returnee planting — 200-plus cafés now, an unusual density for Hainan
  • Satay, coconut rice, seven-layer cake and nyonya kueh are everyday dishes, not a show
  • Indonesian and Nanyang restaurants are run by returnees themselves, recipes passed down at home
  • Xinglong Coffee Valley covers ~1,560 mu along the Sun River — you can see the whole planting-to-processing chain
Ministry of Culture and Tourism · Xinglong Coffee Culture Journey feature
Everyday Life

Everyday Life

Returnees and locals live side by side — daily life feels like a cross-border patchwork

  • Returnees from 21 countries live alongside locals — language, food and habits still carry Southeast Asian traces
  • The overseas-Chinese memorial hall, 'Qiaomeng Yuan' memory garden and returnee corridor lay out this history systematically
  • The Shengui Mountain estate area combines rainforest, unusual rock formations, hot springs and lakes
  • Pace of life is slower than Sanya or Haikou — the tropical humidity does take some adjusting to
China News / Haikou.net · Xinglong overseas-Chinese hometown reporting
Land & Water

Land & Water

A tropical botanical garden and hot springs — rainforest resources right at the doorstep

  • The Xinglong Tropical Botanical Garden, founded in 1957 under the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, is a 4A-rated attraction
  • It combines research, education, production and sightseeing, with a rich mix of tropical species
  • Xinglong's hot-spring resources are real, and several resort hotels build their pitch around them
  • The Shengui Mountain estate spans rainforest, unusual rock, hot springs, lakes and medicinal-herb gardens
Baidu Baike · Xinglong Hot Springs

Don't miss

Don't Miss

Not a sightseeing list — things worth doing once, with your own hands.

Eat & bring home

Eat & Bring Home

Nanyang food and coffee are Xinglong's signature — small kitchens run by returnee families beat any chain.

VegetarianNeeds care

Nanyang cuisine here leans heavily on meat and seafood — vegetarians should communicate ahead with the kitchen.

Vegan / HalalNeeds care

The town's food scene runs on returnee home cooking — dedicated vegan or halal options are limited; search and confirm ahead.

Know before you order
  • Nanyang dishes lean on spice and coconut milk — rich flavors, so sensitive stomachs might start with a small portion.
  • Cafés are everywhere but vary in style — asking for beans 'grown by the owner's own returnee family' usually gets the real deal.
  • Hot-spring and coconut-chicken prices vary online — confirm on-site or by phone.
Don't treat Xinglong as a discount Sanya beach town — its real character is returnee history. Visit the memorial hall first, then the cafés and kitchens, and you'll understand why the coffee and satay here aren't staged for photos.

Good to know

Good to Know

Getting there
The nearest airport is Haikou Meilan, with a high-speed rail station directly beneath it for onward transfer
Take the East Ring high-speed line to Wanning station, then a minibus or taxi to Xinglong — the town itself has no rail station
~163km from Haikou and ~97km from Sanya — self-driving is also common
Getting around
The coffee valley, botanical garden and hot-spring resorts are spread across the town — taxis or a hired car work best
The town center is walkable, but distances between attractions call for transport
Winter peak season (snowbird tourists) means longer waits for taxis and ride-hailing
Where to stay
Hot-spring resort hotels cluster around the town, built around soaking pools and rainforest views
The town center and surroundings offer more affordable guesthouses and inns
Winter brings snowbird crowds — book ahead in peak season for steadier pricing
Registration for foreigners
Hotels and guesthouses handle foreigner accommodation registration — just present your passport at check-in
Specific office hours follow local police announcements
Police 110
Health & emergencies
Basic medical facilities exist in town — anything serious means Wanning city center or onward to Haikou/Sanya
The tropical climate calls for heat and mosquito precautions — carry routine medicines
Ambulance 120
First time in China?VisaPaymentsInternetLanguageFull China guide →
The tropical climate stays hot and humid year-round — sun and mosquito protection are a given; check the forecast before any summer-autumn trip due to typhoon season; winter brings snowbird crowds, so book hotels and hot-spring resorts ahead.

Reality check

Reality Check

The honest take

If you want a Sanya-scale beach resort complex, Xinglong doesn't have that scale. But if you want a cup of coffee grown by a returnee family and a real cross-border migration story to go with it, this 'mini United Nations' town has no substitute anywhere else in Hainan.

Not a beach destination itself

Xinglong isn't coastal itself — for beaches head to Shimei Bay or Sunset/Riyue Bay elsewhere in Wanning; don't conflate the two when planning.

Prices vary by source

Botanical-garden admission and hot-spring packages are quoted inconsistently online — confirm directly with the official channel or hotel before you go.

Sights are spread out

The coffee valley, botanical garden and hot-spring area sit apart from each other — without a taxi or hired car, seeing them all in one day on foot is tough.

Winter brings crowds

Winter's snowbird season brings crowds — expect queues at hotels, hot springs and restaurants; visiting off-peak gives a better experience.

The full pitfall checklist is member depth

The first two are free & indexable; unlock to see the rest.

Is it for you?

Is It For You

👍 You'll love it if you…

  • Are curious about overseas-Chinese history and cross-border migration stories
  • Enjoy Nanyang-style food and a genuine coffee culture
  • Want a few relaxed days among rainforest hot springs
  • Are folding Xinglong in as the inland stop on a Wanning coastline trip (Shimei Bay / Riyue Bay)

😟 You might be let down if you…

  • Only want beach time and have no interest in an inland town
  • Won't taxi or hire a car and rely purely on walking
  • Have low tolerance for humid heat and mosquitoes
If you're staying a while (settling in)Cost of living, rent, climate, remote-work readiness — the long-stay data lives here.

City basics

Resident pop. (Wanning city)
558.3 k
GDP per capita (Wanning)
¥32.5 k
GDP growth
8.2 %
Urban disposable income
¥41.4 k

Housing & prices

  • 1-bed (whole unit) ~¥1,800-2,200 / month
  • Shared flat, master room ~¥1,300-1,500 / mo; second room ~¥500-800 / mo
place_metric · rent_1br_range

Remote-work setup

  • A high café density (200-plus) offers casual work-friendly seating, though none are dedicated coworking spaces
  • Real wifi speed and outlet density pending an on-site check

Honest notes

  • The tropical humidity takes real adjustment for a long stay — damp- and pest-proofing become daily chores
  • The town itself isn't coastal — if beach access matters for your stay, look at Wanning's coastal areas instead

Daily texture

  • Upside: a high density of overseas-Chinese culture and Nanyang food, with a genuinely cross-border community feel
  • Upside: fast GDP growth (8.2%), with tourism infrastructure still expanding
  • Downside: sights are spread out, and there's no established digital-nomad or coworking ecosystem

Finding community

  • The returnee community's social life centers on cafés, Nanyang restaurants and heritage venues

Who you'll meet

  • Long-stayers interested in overseas-Chinese history and cross-cultural living
  • Winter snowbirds who enjoy a hot-spring-and-café pace of life
  • Those based on Wanning's coast (Shimei Bay / Riyue Bay) who want Xinglong as an inland change of pace

Where to next

Where to Next

From Xinglong onward — the next stop along Wanning's coastline and beyond.

Wanning Shimei Bay

Wanning Shimei Bay

A bay resort area in the same city, where forest runs right to the shoreline — a short drive away.

Wanning Riyue Bay

Wanning Riyue Bay

A surf-town bay that draws board riders — a neat contrast to Xinglong's overseas-Chinese character.

Qionghai Boao

Qionghai Boao

The international conference town in the neighboring county, home to the Boao Forum for Asia — about an hour's drive.

Lingshui Qingshui Bay

Lingshui Qingshui Bay

A resort bay further south near Sanya — a natural continuation of a coastal route.

Hainan's coastal expressways are in good condition, but foreign driving permits work differently in China — read the country guide's Transport chapter before you commit. See the site guide →

Travel responsibly

Travel Responsibly

What you're hearing is a real migration history, not a theme-park script.

01 · Respect returnee history & personal stories

  • Listen fully to hall guides and returnees' oral histories — don't interrupt
  • Ask permission before photographing elderly returnees
  • Buy heritage materials or donate toward venue upkeep where offered

02 · Protect the rainforest & garden resources

  • Don't pick or remove specimens inside the botanical garden
  • Conserve water at hot-spring resorts and follow posted site rules
  • Sort your trash properly — never toss it into the river or rainforest

03 · Support returnee-run businesses

  • Favor cafés and Nanyang restaurants run by returnee families themselves
  • Buy coffee beans and produce directly from farmers near the valley and garden
  • Respect the varied ethnic and diasporic backgrounds you'll encounter