Exploring Colonial Architecture and History in Haikou

Haikou, China

By the Travel Wiki editorial team

Walking Through Layers of Port History at Old Qilou Streets

Step off Changdi Road into the arcaded passages of Old Qilou Streets and you enter Haikou's most tangible piece of its past. These streets, with their signature covered walkways blending Southern Chinese and colonial styles, grew up when the port opened to foreign trade in the 1850s and became the island's beating heart. What you see now—the wooden shutters, the courtyard courtyards, the brick facades—represents the merchant life that made Haikou rival its inland predecessor.

The streets reward wandering. Dongmen Market on Bo'ai Road stays true to its role as the place for exotic foods; Zhongshan Road, now pedestrian-only, threads past souvenir shops and cafes but retains the old spirit. Walk into the open courtyards and look up—the original woodwork and architectural details still speak of the different hands that built here: Portuguese, French, Southeast Asian, Chinese. You can trace the story in the stone and timber.

Temples and the Sacred Life of the City

Haikou's oldest temples mark the spiritual anchors of a maritime city. Tianhou Temple, on Zhongshan Road in the heart of the old streets, has stood for over 700 years dedicated to Mazu, the goddess of the sea—a natural patron for a port that has always drawn its livelihood from trade and fishing. The temple remains active and welcoming, its form and purpose unchanged across centuries.

Nearby, Xitian Temple honors Wang Zuo, a poet from Hainan who lived from 1428 to 1512. Though damaged and rebuilt through history, the current structures date from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, carrying the memory of Hainan's intellectual tradition forward. Both temples sit within the preserved old streets, making a walk through the neighborhood a natural path through Haikou's layered past.

Reading Ming Dynasty Architecture and Scholarship

Two figures shaped Hainan's intellectual life during the Ming Dynasty, and their legacies remain embedded in the built city. Qiu Jun, a brilliant scholar and official, left behind the oldest wooden building in Haikou—his former residence, built in 1369 and a rare surviving example of early Ming domestic architecture. The wooden joinery and proportions show the craftsmanship of that era.

The city also honors Qiu Jun at Qiongtai Academy in Qiongshan District, constructed beginning in 1705 as a memorial to his learning. The two-storey brick and wood structure, rich in traditional ethnic characteristics, now houses Qiongtai Normal University but remains open to visitors. The academy gained lasting fame when a Cantonese and Qiong drama was written around events that unfolded there. Entry costs ¥5 and the building is open 09:00–17:00.

Qiu Jun's tomb, restored and opened with a museum in 2022, sits in Qiu Jun Cultural Park in Xiuying District, offering a fuller picture of the scholar's influence on the island.

Wugong Temple, Where Five Exiled Officials Found Refuge

Wugong Temple in Qiongshan District honors five Tang and Song dynasty officials who were banished to Hainan for speaking against the government—a poignant reminder of how the island became a place of exile for the principled. Built during the Ming Dynasty, the temple sits in a tropical setting of ponds filled with lilies, winding bridges, and exotic palms. The main hall houses lifelike statues of the five officials and is known as the first building of Hainan.

The temple also commemorates Su Dongpo, the Song dynasty poet, and holds a Song-dynasty stone tablet dated 1119 AD—one of the important historic artifacts that anchors Hainan's written history. The Haikou City Museum stands directly opposite, offering further context. The temple is open 08:00–18:00 and costs ¥20.

War and Revolution Across Two Sites

Haikou played a role in both Japan's invasion and the Communist transformation of China. The Former Residence of Feng Baiju in Qiongshan District preserves the home of the chief Communist military leader on Hainan Island during the Chinese Civil War and the Second Sino-Japanese War. The original structure was burned by the Japanese in 1942; what stands now was rebuilt in 1984 and includes a small museum. The house tells the story of resistance and survival on the island. Access via Tourist Bus 5; open 08:00–17:30; free entry.

The Qiongya Red Army Yunlong Reorganization Site marks the 1938 moment when Communist and Nationalist forces agreed to unite against Japan. At this site in Yunlong Town, the Qiongya Workers and Peasants' Red Army was reorganized and rebranded. A memorial was erected in 1952, and the exhibition hall (with displays in Chinese) documents Hainan's wartime experience. The site includes a bronze statue of a soldier from the Independent Column. Free entry; accessible via K1 bus or Tourist Bus 5.

Coastal Fortifications and the Red Mangrove Forest

Xiuying Battery, a nineteenth-century fort near the coast, offers a glimpse of how Haikou defended itself in an era of foreign incursion. You can walk the fort's underground chambers, see replica cannons positioned along the walls, and move among the banyan trees that have grown across the site. A museum in the fort's center presents the history of coastal defense, though displays are in Chinese. A plaque in English provides historical context. Entry costs ¥10 October–April and ¥8 May–September.

East of the city, Dongzhai Harbor National Nature Reserve preserves a rare evergreen mangrove forest peculiar to Hainan's subtropical coast. When the tide rises, the roots of the trees appear to emerge directly from the sea—an arresting sight. The trees produce seeds that sprout within their own shells, and their leaves are said to have medicinal value. Boat trips depart from the park entrance when the tide is in, winding between the tree trunks and out to a nearby island with pineapple trees; each trip lasts about an hour. Access requires travel from Wugong Temple via minibus to Fusheng in Qiongshan, then pedicab to the forest park; open 08:00–18:00.

When to Go and What the Seasons Offer

Haikou's tropical climate means you should avoid April through October, when typhoons and tropical storms are most active—particularly August and September, when rainfall peaks. The dry season from November through March offers clearer skies, lower humidity, and the best conditions for walking the old streets and visiting temples. Temperatures remain warm year-round, but the cooler months are more comfortable for extended exploration.

Begin Your Planning

Haikou rewards visitors who come to read its streets and buildings as documents of history. Whether you spend a day tracing the arcaded passages of the old port quarter, standing in temples that have endured centuries, or taking a boat through mangrove roots at high tide, you are moving through layers of trade, exile, war, and scholarship that shaped this island's identity. Start with the old streets and let each temple, house, and archive expand your sense of what Haikou was and what it remembers.

Sources

  1. Haikou
  2. Wikivoyage: Haikou

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