Rambling around my ancestral Hainan

Wenchang Space Centre, Longlou

Book Contents

Trip 1: 2011 January, spring

Chapter 1: The Forgotten Years

Lost memories of early childhood
Growing up in Singapore and lost heritage
Seeking roots in exceptional opportunity

Chapter 2: Hainan, The Enticing Island

Visiting ancestral Houling & Xiayang,

Wenchang
Hainan Provincial Museum & Chinese

history
Haikou’s modern waterfront & Evergreen

Park
Haikou Port, busy gateway to the world
Haikou’s crowded streets

Chapter 3: North Coast - Navigating Around

Haikou City
Lady Xian & her temple in Xinpo
Wugong Temple, celebrating the famous

exiles
Hai Rui, the upright Ming official
Bell Tower & Evergreen Park again
Volcanic Park & the Village God created

by man
Haikou Port Ferry Terminal & Xiuying Beach

Chapter 4: East Coast - In Ancestral Wenchang

Remembering Huiwen villages & kin
Tonggu Ridge & the deep blue

South China Sea
Charlie Soong & his eminent Soong

daughters

Qinglan Port, deep sea fishing, Dongjiao

coconut palms
Wenchang Railway Station & high-speed

trains

Chapter 5: South Coast - From Sunny Sanya

To Exotic Baoting
Luhuitou (Deer Turns Head), the legend

Betel Nut Park & Yanoda, indigenous culture

Nanshan Buddhist culture & Hui Hui Village

Yalong’s international beach & nuclear

submarines

Phoenix Island, the new port & cruise hub

Tianya Haijiao, the edge of the world

Chapter 6: Departing Sanya and Hainan

Trip 2: 2011 May, Summer

Trip 3 and 4: 2012 and 2013

(Photographs will be uploaded soon.)

Yalong Beach, Sanya

Tianchi Lake, Jianfengling

Statue of Lu Bo De, Tianya Haijiao

Su Dongpo Academy,

Zhonghe

Luhuitou (Deer-turns-head)

Luxury
Travel

Your window to HAINAN

your next destination?

Wuzhishan (Five-Finger Mountain)

* Visit with him the beautiful Haikou volcanic crater, Binglanggu Li-Miao cultural park, coastal Bo’ao and Wanning, Danzhou limestone cave, Dongzhai mangrove forest, famous Yalong Beach, historic Baimajing and Zhonghe, lofty Wuzhishan ranges, Lingshui’s cheeky macaques, Nanshan Buddhist cultural park, Tianxin paddyfield egrets, serene Bawangling and Jianfengling nature reserves, Tianya Haijiao, Wenchang Space Centre, Yangpu millennium salt fields, and many more.

* Experience the anguish of notable exiles like Li Deyu, Su Dongpo, Li Gang, Li Guang, Zhao Ding, Hu Quan, and the Mongol prince who later became emperor.

* Glimpse into the amazing lives of Admiral Chen Ce and Charlie Soong and his three famous daughters, whose ancestral homes are in Wenchang, as well as the Wanning grand staff supervisor Feng Ruofang who hijacked merchant ships.

* And learn the significance in Chinese history of ethnic Li Lingnan warrior Xian Ying, Mrs Feng Bao, the “Qiaoguo Furen” worshipped as a goddess in Guangdong and Hainan since the seventh century and is - in Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai’s words - “the first female heroine in China’s history”.

Many books and articles have been written in Chinese about the geography, history, culture, and wildlife of Hainan Province.

But the same cannot be said for materials in English.

As a result, very little is known among English-speakers about this sub-tropical region of China.

With rapid economic development, this future metropolis is increasingly becoming a favourite destination among foreigners.

They want some basic information. This website intends to provide it.

Born in that idyllic paradise but grew up in Singapore from the age of four, Dr H.H. Pang made four trips to his ancestral homeland between 2011 and 2013.

And he wrote about them in his “entrepreneurial” (Lots of Laughter!) self-published travelogue entitled Rambling Around My Ancestral Hainan (2015).

In there, he relates the beautiful scenery, diverse wildlife, and fascinating history of Hainan Island, the main island of Hainan Province.

He now shares his experiences here – to encourage others to embark on their own adventure.

A word of caution: tourists wishing to tour Hainan Province should seek further advice from other sources because the information provided in this website might be outdated.

Trip 2: 2011 May, summer

Chapter 7: Haikou once again
The aristocratic Feng family
Emperor Xuanzong’s confidante,

Eunuch Gao Lishi
Flying from Sydney to Singapore
The golden cow at Jinniuling
Egrets of Dongzhai Mangrove

National Reserve

Chapter 8: East Coast - From

Wenchang To Qionghai
Wenchang relatives & their rustic lives
Longlou Space Centre, Qinglan Port
Confucius’ Temple; Fengjia Bay’s

snail-breeding Zhan family
Qionghai and the liberation ladies
Bo’ao, where world economic leaders

congress
Fengmu Deer Park, preserving native

deer

Chapter 9: East Coast - From Wanning

To Lingshui
Dongshanling and the mutton dish
Xinglong Coffee best in the world
Showcasing Xinglong Overseas

Chinese
Lingshui, international spotlight
Macaques lord over Monkey Island

Chapter 10: Heart of Hainan,

Wuzhishan
Pulsating soul of mountains & forests
Vainly attempting to climb Wuzhishan

Chapter 11: West Coast - From

Ledong To Dongfang
Yinggehai, the salt fields
Jianfeng Nature Reserve, Tianchi Lake
Mingfeng Valley, beautiful flora, fauna
Dongfang, Aust. POWs garrisoned

Chapter 12: West Coast - From

Changjiang To Danzhou
POWs, tears in Shilu Iron Mine
Bawangling, home of singing

Mountain Bulbuls
Bustling Danzhou city
Nanfeng, the little town that

remembers Lady Xian
Renowned poet Su Shi, Zhonghe
Ningji Temple, oldest Lady Xian

temple in Hainan
Yangpu Port, ancient salt fields,

and Baimajing
Lanyang hot springs & Lotus Temple

Chapter 13: Revisiting Haikou City
Nangang ferries crossing Qiongzhou

Strait
Baishamen Park, Qiu Jun, and tertiary

institutions
Tianxin Paddy Fields, rice and egrets
Modern Century Bridge & Hainan U