Haikou

欢迎来到海口 | Welcome to Haikou (Mandarin)

Why visit

Haikou is the entry point to tropical Hainan, stroll the restored Qilou Old Street. Its Sino-European arcaded shopfronts. Visit the volcanic geopark. Its lava-tube caves just south of town. And use as a base for the longer beach destinations of Sanya at the island's southern tip (3 hours by high-speed rail). Try Hainanese chicken rice (Hainan being its true origin), Wenchang chicken, and the local seafood. November through April is the dry season. Avoid summer typhoons.

When to avoid

Summer (May to September) brings brutal heat, humidity, and a sustained typhoon risk, typhoons can shut down flights and ferries for days. Haikou itself is functional rather than visually coherent, most foreign travelers shuttle straight to Sanya. Mandarin dominates. Hainanese dialect is challenging even for Chinese speakers. Visa rules for China are tightening. Check current requirements (Hainan has had visa-free entry pilots).

Plan Haikou

Current conditions and the practical reference material that helps turn the saved places into a trip.

The next week in Haikou

7-day forecast from Open-Meteo. UV badges flag days when sun protection matters (3 and above is moderate; 8 and above is risk territory for unprotected fair skin within 30 minutes).

Today

Thunderstorm

32° / 25°

32.4 mm

UV High

Wed

Thunderstorm

30° / 25°

14.1 mm

UV High

Thu

Thunderstorm

30° / 25°

18.1 mm

UV High

Fri

Thunderstorm

31° / 25°

9.0 mm

UV Very high

Sat

Thunderstorm

31° / 27°

8.6 mm

UV Very high

Sun

Drizzle

31° / 27°

3.3 mm

UV Very high

Mon

Drizzle

32° / 28°

1.2 mm

UV Very high

Climate

Wet season (May-Oct)

About 82% of the year's rain falls in these months. Typical highs around 30°C, lows around 26°C.

Dry season (Nov-Apr)

About 54mm of rain a month, against 253mm in the wet season.

In August 4

Drag to scrub across the year.

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Weather

30° / 26°

Typical high / low

10 mm rainfall this month

Daylight

12.8h

06:18 – 19:08local

Holidays coming up

Public holidays from Nager.Date.

Airports

closest HAK · 17 km

About Haikou

Haikou is the capital and most populous city of the Chinese province of Hainan. Haikou city is situated on the northern coast of Hainan, by the mouth of the Nandu River. The northern part of the city is on the Haidian Island, which is separated from the main part of Haikou by the Haidian River, a branch of the Nandu. Administratively, Haikou is a prefecture-level city, comprising four districts, and covering 2,280 square kilometres (880 sq mi). There are 2,046,189 inhabitants in the built-up area, all living within the four urban districts of the city.

Area: 2,304 km²
Mayor: Q124293431
Airport codes: HAK

China basics →Country context, advisories, and entry links for the practicalities shown above.

References4

The links below support the changing or licensed reference material on this page. Personal notes and ordinary geographic facts are not footnoted individually.

City background. Wikipedia summary may be clipped or paraphrased. Structured fields are cross-checked against the related references. Related: .