Haikou Zhongshan Road, Hainan, China
4.0 (20 reviews) Thursday: 12:00 AM - 11:59 PM Spent Ranking #11 in Haikou Scenic Drives
Portugese influences
This street has an informative sign at one end explaining that this street (along with several others nearby) is an area used by the Portugese in the 1800s. Further down the street, there is a gallery that highlights the history of European influences here--establishing businesses and schools. The architecture is very interesting and unusual. The Quilou style incorporates columns to elevate the upper floors, leaving open-air shop fronts and covered walkways. The upper floors are have Baroque facades with elaborate designs (in stucco?) and arched windows with wood shutters. This Sino-Portugese architecture brings to mind whitewashed Mediterranean buildings and is so expected and lovely. Nice shops and restaurants though, as you might expect, they are pricier than usual. All of this is set in Old Haikou in a lively neighborhood that is fun to see day or night.
Address
Zhongshan Road, Qiongshan District, Haikou 570101 China
Working hours
Monday : 12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Tuesday : 12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Wednesday : 12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Thursday : 12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Friday : 12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Saturday : 12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Sunday : 12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Current local date and time now
Thursday, May 16, 2024, 6:11
User Ratings
4.0 based on (20 reviews)
Reviews
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4TwoKatz 5:00 PM Feb 27, 2016
extremely charming
Without an English guidebook it was very difficult to locate Zhongshan Road or any of the Old Haikou roads on a Haikou city map so here is a pretty easy way to find them. Go to Haikou's People Park, walk through to the north side where the bridge takes you over a smelly canal and after one or two blocks you'll start to see the old streets with their sotto porticos or covered walkways. The other old streets are South Xinhua Road, Deshengsha Road, Jiefang Road and Bo’ai Road - you'll start to see touristic signage as you get close - even with a few in English. I found the area extremely charming with a pleasant mix of local restaurants, doing-business-everyday shops and even a few more touristy shops. Each street has one or two free museums with old photographs that are interesting and gives you an opportunity to walk inside a few buildings even if there is little English signage inside. Zhongshan Road itself has been pedestrianized which is pleasant but is almost a bit too sanitized for China. I found the other old streets around this one to be a bit more authentic with their everyday activities going on. However the architecture was lovely. We ate lunch at a local Chinese place on Zhongshan Road and it was good and cheap. I think this area is a highlight of central Haikou (along with the Haikou People's Park) and not to be missed.
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4Stephen C 5:00 PM Mar 28, 2016
Nice and quiet
This is part of the Qi Lou area. A nice artsy area that is lined with shops selling art and craft, coffee shops, and also food stalls. Shops are refurbished and the street is converted to a walking street. You can pose for photos with the bronze figures reminding visitors of life back in the early days.
