View 3 photos

When you think of Hainan, what come to your mind are probably sunny beach, blue seawater, and tasteful seafood. But my journey to Hainan was quite different, and I really enjoyed it. 

After saying goodbye to my friends, I started my journey to Hainan. It took me one night to get there, the southernmost city of China. What welcomed me was the first hint of sun in Haikou. It was really quiet in the morning with the shadows of the coconut trees on the beach. Since my friends, Li Hao and Yang Ping, who would travel with me, were still on the way from Shenzhen to Hainan, I had to walk around to kill the time. At noon, we finally met, and then directly went to our destination, Nanlin Farm. It was the hometown of Li Hao, which we had imagined for quite a long time according to her description. After several transfers, we met Li Hao's bother who then took us to a picturesque tropical farm.

The motor ran on a musty road. My eyes were fully attracted by the green all over the mountains and the flowers blossoming in them. The motor had to stop by a coconut forest and we carried on our bags again to walk for a while. Then a beautiful brook appeared in front of us. We took off our shoes to cross the brook. The water was not so deep and just covered our cruses. The crystal-clear water, the blossoming flowers on both sides, along with the smogbound mountains constituted an enthralling landscape painting. After passing the brook, we reached the house of Li Hao's family.

It was quite a pretty farm with all kinds of tropical fruits such as pawpaw, guava, betel nut, coconut and so on. Li Hao's parents had waited for us on the small hillside. Interestingly, some dogs, chickens, ducks and a cat were also standing by their side to welcome us. We talked for a short time and then came the time for us to prepare for the dinner. Each of us had different assignments. Some went to look for potherbs, some made a fire, some washed the food, and some prepared to pitch camp. Born in a village, I was really familiar with all of those, feeling as if I was back to my hometown. Since it had not been electrified yet, we enjoyed our first dinner in Hainan in the light of a kerosene burner.

After dinner, I went to swim in a brook. I soaked in the cool water in the dark with some unknown insects singing happily by my ears and some glowworms flying over my head now and then. At that time, I did not need to think of anything, but just felt the miraculous fascination of the night in the tropical rainforest. The crystal water touched my body softly, and also touched my heart unconsciously. When I went back to the camp, we chatted over tea, watching the sparkling stars all over the sky. The night sky of Hainan was so clear that it seemed as if we could pick up the stars. Unwittingly, it was late and began to sprinkle. We went into our camp immediately.

Maybe we had occupied their places; therefore, in the next morning, the cocks gave their loud crow out of our camp and never seemed to cease until we got up. To make their dream come true, I went out of the camp with my camera. I walked around the farm and picked up some tempting fruits to eat. The air was fresh and clean with a unique fragrance of the countryside. On the hill not faraway, some cattle were eating grass leisurely. Nearby, a small bird was jumping beside me to look for worms, ignoring me totally. The morning sun looked like a golden veil, hanging on the treetop. The things were all so harmonious and dynamic. Having cleared up the camp, we left the fairyland reluctantly.

Li Hao's brother found some friends to take us out of the farm. We went by a bazaar where the girls in our team enjoyed all kinds of local snacks. Li Hao introduced to us the characteristic lottery in Hainan. We thought about the numbers and then bought one. Since Nanlin Farm was far from the city and tourists seldom went there, the people were simple and honest. After visiting the whole bazaar, we finally went on our trip. The motors went out of the thick tropical rainforest after half an hour. Then we returned to our homes respectively.

I did not enjoy the sunny beach and blue seawater, but I felt a unique Hainan and had my soul purified. Sooner or later,  I'll go to Hainan again to appreciate the beauty of Hainan fully and completely.